#Internationaleducation

Japanese students are increasingly turning their sights to Asian study destinations such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines as inflation and a weakened yen make traditional Western options more costly. This shift is visible in recent outbound volumes and agent surveys showing both a rebound in overall numbers and a marked rise in short- to mid-term programmes in Asia, a change that creates new opportunities — and new responsibilities — for Thai universities and the broader education and service sectors in Thailand (Japan Times report).

Economic pressures drive historic shift from Western universities

A silent revolution is transforming Japan’s education landscape. As living costs soar and the yen weakens, thousands of Japanese students are abandoning dreams of studying in America, Australia, and Britain. Instead, they’re choosing Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan — destinations that promise quality education without financial devastation.

The numbers tell a compelling story. More than 70,000 Japanese students ventured abroad in 2024, marking a robust recovery to 90% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Japan Association of Overseas Studies. Yet the destinations have fundamentally changed. Asian countries now capture unprecedented market share, growing faster than traditional Western powerhouses since 2020.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s recent proposal to end or entirely overhaul Multnomah County’s flagship Preschool for All program has ignited fierce debate across the United States, drawing attention from education policymakers far beyond the Pacific Northwest. Citing what she described as the program’s failure to deliver on its promises despite hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, Governor Kotek declared, “The program as it stands cannot keep its promise” — a statement that has sharply divided public officials, early education advocates, and the families the initiative was designed to serve (OregonLive).

Shares of IDP Education, the Australian-headquartered international student placement giant, plummeted as much as 48 percent after the company announced it was bracing for a steep decline in student placement volumes, warning investors that tightening government visa rules are upending the market for cross-border education Reuters, Investing.com. The warning, issued on June 3, reverberated not just through financial markets but across the global higher education sector—including Thailand, a country with a fast-growing cohort of outbound students and deepening ties to international universities.