ABSTRACT

This chapter looks at how the themes of Asian engagement canvassed in the previous chapters of this book are taken up as explicit concerns by Japanese universities through the development of cross-border partnerships for student mobility. It develops a case study of arguably the most high-profile and innovative move in this area: CAMPUS Asia (Collective Action for Mobility Program of University Students in Asia), a trilateral university student mobility initiative involving Japan, China and South Korea. Using analysis of primary texts and qualitative interviews with project officers, this chapter examines how the scheme’s Erasmus-style vision of intra-regional student mobility and mutual understanding is operationalised in Japanese universities. It sheds light on the challenges of connecting local institutional strategies and administrative structures with the broader dynamics of regionalism and regionalisation in East Asian higher education.