International partnership of Japanese university: Reciprocity and stratification of study abroad

This study investigated international partnership held by Japanese universities focusing on their student exchange reciprocity shown in tuition fees and institutional stratification. Using data in academic year 2017, we found that there were 26,747 agreements in Japan as a whole, with Asia accounting for about half, followed by Europe and North America. The number of agreements per student was about three times as large for national institutions and about twice as large for municipal institutions compared to private institutions. The results showed that 57.2% agreements have mutual tuition waiver, which were varied by regions of partners, with an average rate in Asia and approximately higher in Europe and 10% lower in North America. It varies by hierarchy of Japanese universities. For both national and private institutions, quantity and quality of student exchange agreements are varied. As expected, the higher the tier, the greater quantity and higher quality in partnerships.