海角大神

Isshu Fujii, a senior at Tokyo鈥檚 Aoyama Gakuin University, has a sense he鈥檚 bucking a trend he sees among Japanese youths.

At a time when more of his peers are choosing the comforts of life in their island nation over studying abroad, Mr. Fujii has his sights set on graduate study in either the United States or the United Kingdom.

Wherever he ends up, the young advocate of a more robust global role for his homeland wants to pursue security studies 鈥� a discipline he says hardly exists in a country with an enduring 鈥� though evolving 鈥� postwar pacifist tradition.

鈥淚 do think Japanese young people are pretty comfortable and are content to choose an easier path,鈥� Fujii says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 this idea that the Internet and social media bring the world to you,鈥� he adds, 鈥渁nd if they do think about going abroad, it鈥檚 more for a limited 鈥榚xperience鈥� than the hard road of studying and learning a new language.鈥�

But the picture Fujii paints of a younger generation inwardly focused even as tensions rise in Asia, and many of their South Korean and Chinese counterparts study abroad, is prompting alarm in Tokyo 鈥� and spurring some initial remedial measures from the Abe government, which also envisions a more robust global role for Japan in the 21st century.聽Mr. Abe, whose concerns about Japan's lost luster extend to the stagnant economy, has called elections for聽Dec. 14聽in hopes of delivering a boost to stalled reform efforts. 聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much a worry for us if more Chinese and South Korean students are going abroad, it鈥檚 actually positive if instead of remaining in China, for example, the Chinese come to Japan or go elsewhere and learn a different view of human rights and universal rights,鈥� says Takako Ito, assistant press secretary at Japan鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

鈥淏ut what is a challenge,鈥� she adds, 鈥渋s if our students are becoming more introverted.鈥�

A decade ago, nearly 83,000 students were studying abroad, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But by 2011, the number was down to 57,500. Japanese studying in the US have declined even more sharply, from nearly 46,000 in 2002 to under 20,000 in 2011.

The concern over the phenomenon is both economic and political.聽A聽less globally conscious and entrepreneurial Japan could lose to more dynamic countries around it. At the same time, a key pillar for Abe 鈥� revising the pacifist Constitution to allow a stronger regional security posture 鈥� could also be thwarted by a population that sees little benefit from engaging more with an increasingly fractious region. Many young people here, mirroring the general population, may simply opt for a 鈥渟tatus quo鈥� that they see as having given Japan nearly seven decades of peace, some experts say.

聽To begin to reverse the trend, the government聽doubled scholarships for undergraduate study abroad from 10,000 to 20,000, while increasing scholarships for graduate students to study abroad from 200 to 250 this year.聽More ambitious still is a new joint venture between the government and private sector that aims to send 10,000 students for study in the US by 2020. Called the "Tobitate! Young Ambassador Program," the initiative has already received $80 million in pledges from Japanese companies, and this fall sent the first 84 "ambassadors" to American universities.聽The government is also phasing in an earlier start for English instruction, beginning in primary school.

聽But just how far such initiatives will go in stoking a broader interest in what many Japanese see as a threatening outside world remains a question for some experts. Fumio Ota, former director of Defense Intelligence and a retired professor at the National Defense Academy, sees an ambivalence about the world among young people, spurred by uncertainty. 鈥淭hey see the international situation is very severe, from the difficult relations with China to threats from North Korea, and the tendency for some is to turn away from the world and focus on life in Japan,鈥� he says.

And young people who want Japan to assume the role of a more active regional power are still in the minority, Dr. Ota says. 鈥淵ou do hear more often among young people the idea that if Japan remains limited in its security capabilities by a postwar Constitution, that could actually encourage instability in the region by suggesting to others that Japan cannot properly defend itself,鈥� he says.

A bigger factor behind 鈥渨idespread indifference towards the world鈥� is prosperity, Ota says. 鈥淲hen I was a youngster our society was poor, and young people were more driven to go to a more advanced foreign country,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or many that interest isn鈥檛 there anymore.鈥�

High costs are a factor

Still, some students say there are reasons other than 鈥渋ndifference鈥� to explain the falling numbers.

鈥淢any students do want to understand global issues and develop a global view, but it costs a lot of money to study abroad so they study those issues in Japan if they can, or take advantage of less expensive options,鈥� says Marino Mori, a political science major at Gakushuin University.

Tuition at an American university can be four times or more that of a Japanese university 鈥� which helps explain why many students studying abroad opt for programs in Australia and New Zealand. Others say Ja stagnant economy heightens worries about landing a good job out of university and discourages efforts to fit a year aboard into a tight study schedule. One reform has targeted the traditional post-college recruitment calendar to accommodate those studying abroad.

Ms. Mori, who is Japan vice-chairwoman of the Japan-America Student Conference, a prestigious student exchange and discussion program, says more students are seeking alternatives like the one she helps organize that offer a taste of international affairs without costing so much or taking them away from their studies.

Some young people are also simply trying new ways to energize their peers.

Ryo Masuzawa, a graduate student at Tokyo Institute of Technology, recently set up a food delivery service aimed at Millennials that delivers a monthly newsletter on a topic of interest along with the donburi and soba noodles. A recent issue focused on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement among Pacific Basin countries and the impact it could have on Japan鈥檚 agriculture and food production.

鈥淛apanese young people don鈥檛 have a good view of politics, their participation in elections is very low. But at the same time surveys indicate they want to be involved in improving the world but they don鈥檛 know how to,鈥� Mr. Masuzawa says. 鈥淭he idea behind 鈥楨ating and Politics,鈥� 鈥� his food-with-a-side-of-ideas project, 鈥渋s to get young people thinking about how their involvement in something can make a difference.鈥�

But will they think like Abe?

A more active youth population is almost certainly something the Abe government would like to encourage. But it鈥檚 also true that many of Japan鈥檚 more globally minded young people have a perspective that doesn鈥檛 align with Abe鈥檚 vision.聽

Indeed, some self-described internationalists see merit in preserving Japan鈥檚 鈥渟tatus quo,鈥� including constitutionally imposed limits on military activity 鈥揳nd they don鈥檛 believe that should hinder Japan from being an outward-looking nation.

鈥淛apan was able to become a global economic power without abandoning our pacifist approach, and I think we should continue along that line,鈥� says Yugo Kimura, who is majoring in global politics and economics at Waseda University.

Social media in Japan are full of belligerent discussions of the neighbors, in particular China, that are fueled by a small but loud slice of extremist youth, Mr. Kimura says. But he says his view is that East Asia will be better off if everyone focuses on cooperation.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a sense of fear of a rising China or of a progressing South Korea,鈥� he says. 鈥淥n the contrary, I favor a friendly approach because I think there are benefits for everybody in regional cooperation.鈥�

Kimura holds so strongly to the idea of Japan avoiding conflict that he would favor his country ceding to China on territorial conflicts over open confrontation.

鈥淚 think Japan should focus on its economic relations in East Asia and find other ways to take up these territorial disputes,鈥� he says. Concerning the Senkaku Islands 鈥� the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that China calls the Diaoyu Islands and also claims 鈥� Kimura says Japan should consider international arbitration 聽鈥� or even step back to avoid conflict.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want Japan to risk a war to keep them,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the end, it鈥檚 just some very small islands and rocks.鈥�