TOKYO — At least 17 Japanese universities are going to launch data science departments in the academic year starting in April to train some 1,900 students in skills needed to drive digitization in businesses and government, Nikkei has learned.   The efforts come as Japan struggles to deal with a severe shortage of talent in this area — a shortage….Read more

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–State-run universities Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University, which are aiming to merge in fiscal 2024, said Thursday that they have decided to name the new university “Institute of Science Tokyo.”   The name will become official after necessary procedures, such as registering with the education ministry and revising the national university….Read more

Novel ideas and technologies rarely emerge from a highly homogeneous group. To foster originality, it is necessary to gather diverse human resources.   The University of Tokyo has announced a goal of increasing the number of female professors and associate professors by 50% by the 2027 academic year. To this end, the institution plans to hire some 300 people in….Read more

TOKYO — The University of Tokyo, Japan’s top university, will hire another 306 female professors and associate professors by 2027, Nikkei has learned, to catch up with foreign rivals in employing a more diverse staff.   The university aims to push up the ratio of female teachers to 25% in six years from the current 16% through creating new jobs….Read more

The Yomiuri Shimbun   To increase the proportion of women in its student body, the Tokyo Institute of Technology has announced a new admissions policy in which it will set aside 143 slots specifically for female students in each year’s incoming undergraduate class by the 2025 academic year. The slots will be filled through a recommendation-based process.   The number….Read more

Nancy Snow   Nancy Snow is distinguished visiting professor of strategic communications at Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University and was previously Pax Mundi professor of global public diplomacy at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.   The University of Tokyo “seeks to reimagine the university as an institution that serves the global public by nurturing diverse and talented individuals who can provide….Read more

By Torii Shimpei, Tokyo Science & Environment News Department   The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has drafted the basic policy for the 10-trillion-yen university fund set up to support university research. The policy was approved at a meeting of the MEXT expert panel on Nov. 2. Among the criteria for certifying universities that will receive….Read more

TOKYO — The Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Tokyo Medical and Dental University said Friday they will merge into a new national university by the end of fiscal 2024, aiming to increase their global competitiveness in research.   The two universities, both considered top-tier in Japan within their respective fields, intend to apply for a government grant for the integration.….Read more

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio attended a meeting of the Council for the Creation of Future Education at the Prime Minister’s Office [Kantei] on Sept. 29, and directed Cabinet members to consider new policies to enable international students to remain in Japan after graduation. The council will formulate concrete measures before the end of FY2022.   More than half of the….Read more

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo — Students from overseas have been excited about their long-awaited college life in Japan here for the first time in three years, following the resumption of student exchanges that had been on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, stopped accepting exchange students from the spring semester of 2020 in response….Read more