English as Medium of Instruction in Japanese Higher Education

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This book addresses the question of why Japanese universities would be offering courses taught in English instead of their longstanding use of Japanese as the language of instruction and academic inquiry.  Through an ideological deconstruction of the cultural-politics of such a move, it becomes apparent that what is advertised on university websites may not stand to close scrutiny or be as substantial as might be assumed. The author provides an analysis of power laden political and ideological challenges as they apply to the current surge of English-medium courses at Japanese universities and unveils the underlying presence of conceptual and systemic contradictions that appear to accompany this relatively novel and perplexing phenomenon. Written from the perspective of an insider in Japanese higher education, the book offers incisive perceptions as well as startling revelations of a system that is obliged to adapt to challenges that come with the low birth rate and the rapidly encroaching forces of globalization.