ABSTRACT
English-medium instruction (EMI) in Japan is a complex subject, especially in a country that lacks an English-speaking hinterland. In Japan, Japanese has historically been the principal language of instruction, supported by a nation-statist cultural politics which remains influential in policy-making and implementation. Such politics have been the source of struggles over long-standing issues like school curricula and textbook content or in the present case, the use of what is perceived as a foreign language as instructional medium. To understand EMI in Japan, it is necessary to examine the following key concerns: (1) the cultural politics of English as a non-Japanese language, with implications for the way English is taught; (2) government policies and initiatives relating to internationalisation; (3) issues and challenges vis-à-vis knowledge, meaning-making, inclusivity, diversity, and their implications for academic inquiry in English; and (4) ways in which institutions, where content subjects are taught in English, conceptualise and put EMI into practice.
