b. The Invitation of Foreign Students to Japan and Other Means of Educational Cooperation

In the postwar period the Japanese government has instituted two particularly noteworthy programs in the area of international exchange, namely, the invitation of foreign students to Japan under the Ministry of Education scholarships and the cooperation and assistance in the educational development of developing countries. The government also participates in the education and training of technicians from developing countries in cooperation with the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency (OTCA) as part of its affiliation with the Colombo Plan and other multilateral projects. In this' connection, the Japanese government invites researchers and technical trainees from foreign countries to Japan, conducts educational and training programs, sends Japanese specialists to the developing countries, and sets up technical training centers at the locates of these countries. The Ministry of Education cooperates in the educational aspect of these projects. Trainees who had been accepted under this program of technical cooperation by 1971 amounted to 568 from Asian countries 32 from Middle and Near Eastern and African countries 25 from Central and South American and other countries, for a total of 625. Educational specialists who had been sent abroad by 1971 amounted to91 to Asian countries, thirteen to Middle and Near Eastern and African countries, six to Central and South American and other countries, for a total of 110. In addition to these specialists, volunteers from the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers have been sent abroad; in the field of education, by 1971 116 youth volunteers have gone to Asian countries, 67 to the Middle and Near Eastern and African countries, 27 to Central and South American and other countries, for a total of 210.The system of bringing ' foreign students to Japan under scholarships from the Ministry of Education began in 1954 with the invitation of 23 students. The system was instituted in order to cooperate in the social and economic development of Southeast Asian countries through the training of talented youths. Since that time the number of foreign students studying in Japan on governmental scholarships has steadily increased each year until some 2,536 foreign students from more than 60 countries have been enrolled in Japanese schools by 1971. The large majority of these students were from Southeast Asian countries. In addition to the governmental program, the number of foreign students studying in Japan at their own expense has also risen steadily and it is estimated that more than 10,000 students have studied in Japan by 1971 since the end of the war.

The Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also established a program in Japanese studies by 1971 at seven universities in Southeast Asia. Each of the programs is staffed with a professor and several instructors and offers lectures on Japanese culture, economy and society, as well as directs research in these fields.