Reconsidering Englishization: the Japanese government’s Top Global University Project

ABSTRACT This article begins with a brief historical overview of Japan’s education reforms, focusing particularly on language policy in higher education. In the Meiji era (1870s), lively discussions took place regarding making English the national language of Japan and providing education through English-medium instruction (EMI). Ultimately, Japan avoided both making English the national language and Englishization of higher education. However, since the Japanese government launched the Top Global University Project in 2014, which aims to promote the globalization of public and private universities and recruit foreign students from across the globe, Englishization has been accelerating. Upper-tier universities designated as Top Global Universities are particularly enthusiastic about increasing the scope of EMI across disciplines. To this end, more and more foreign instructors have been hired, and these seem to be replacing Japanese faculty in those universities. This educational setting is reminiscent of that prevailing during the early Meiji era. To reconsider the current situation in Japan’s higher education, the article discusses the Nordic language policy that was set forth to address the threat of the dominance of English. It suggests the limited use of English in Japan’s higher education and ends with a review of the literature on the fetishism of English.