International Japanese Staff Armageddon   Japan seems to be going in opposing directions at the same time, when it comes to the supply of internationalised staff suitable for foreign companies. The statistics show a peak in 2004 of 83,000 Japanese students venturing off-shore. This dropped to a low of 57,500 in 2011 and since that point has climbed back above 60,000. Just to put that in context, Korea has over 73,00 students studying overseas but has half the population of Japan. Today, with many international companies looking to hire English speaking, internationalised Japanese staff, the supply situation is looking grim. Some Japanese domestic companies are becoming strong competitors because they need more international Japanese as well. These firms are branching out overseas because they fear the decline in the Japanese consumer population will stunt their future growth. Once upon a time, this meant shipping Japanese expats off overseas to be forgotten for five years, before sending the next one. The shortage of staff in Japan makes this proposition harder these days, because they are needed here as the boomer generation retires. Also with the increasing integration of overseas enterprise purchases into the Japanese mother ship, the internationalisation of the local headquarters staff is also becoming more important. So we have less Japanese youth going overseas and an increasing demand at home for those with good English and international experience. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has been attempting to address this shortage. In 2013, the Japan Revitalization Strategy announced a government target of doubling the number of students studying abroad to 120,000 by 2020. There have been new programmes introduced such as the “Reinventing Japan” project (2011), the “Tobitate!” (Leap for Tomorrow!) study abroad campaign (2013), and the TeamUp campaign (2015). Doubling the overseas Japanese student population to 120,000 by 2020 sounds like an education bureaucrat’s wild fantasy, but at least there is an effort being made to address the shortage. I won’t be holding my breath in anticipation that these programmes will be producing the numbers needed in the immediate future. Why aren’t this generation heading overseas to study? A British Council 2014 study found four key reasons: 1. Don’t have the language skills (51%), 2. Too expensive (41%), 3. Unsafe (32%) and 4. Courses abroad are too difficult (12%). There has been a lot of discussion also about the inward looking nature of this generation. The Lehman Shock put loyal staff out on the street and shook up their kid’s assumptions about following the same lifetime employment path of their fathers. Consequently, like Millennials elsewhere, they seem very focused on themselves. They don’t have much patience for things which are mendokusai or troublesome That includes studying English and dealing with pesky foreigners. The 3/11 triple whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor core meltdown refocused everyone on family, staying close (kizuna) and personal safety. Going overseas doesn’t really fit into that picture. Having said that though, the British Council study concluded that the interest in studying abroad is still strong. The interest may be there, but their actions are not matching the needs of business here. The risk aversion of the Japanese mentality also operates against going overseas. Their perfectionist qualities also make the mastery of English seem like the impossible dream. Getting a job when you get back is an issue because of the inflexible nature of Japanese company hiring practices. Being older than your sempai (seniors) who entered the company before you, is confusing for the company hierarchical culture. Fitting in is also harder because now because they no longer think the same as everyone else. They have dared to be different and this is not a formula for career success in Japan. There are a couple of