In order to promote overseas study by Japanese students, the Japanese government approved a special supplementary budget for 2009 that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology will allocate to high school study abroad programs. JAOS members running high school exchanges and similar 1-year high school overseas programs can now offer scholarships of 500,000 yen to students who qualify based on academic merit, English ability and financial need. High schools running 1-year sister-school exchange programs will also be eligible to participate. For more details about this program (in Japanese), refer to the following links.

Last year, Mr. Hakubun Shimomura , a member of the Lower House of Representatives and Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan's 'Committee for Researching Study Abroad Issues' asked JAOS to propose a concrete plan regarding the government's goal of sending 300,000 students overseas (see link).
This 'Workshop for Promoting Outbound Study Abroad' was called for by Mr. Shimomura and Democratic Party of Japan and House of councilors member Mr. Yoshitake Kimata in order to discuss the creation of a special supplementary budget for 2009. In addition to Mr. Shimomura and Mr. Kimata, participants included lower house representatives Ms. Yasuko Ikenobo (Komeito Party) and Mr. Hiroshi Hase (LDP) as well as Mr. Kusuo Oshima (DPJ - Democratic Party of Japan) and Ms. Aiko Shimajiri (LDP) from the House of Councilors.

JAOS and JAISE (Japan Association of International Educational Exchange Organizations for High School Students) were asked to explain the current overseas study situation in Japan and present a concrete proposal concerning how outbound overseas study for high school students might be promoted.

Due to this workshop, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology decided to allocate money to be used as grants for high school students wishing to go abroad through programs offered by JAOS and JAISE members.

JAOS greatly appreciates the efforts of representatives Shimomura, Ikenobo, and Kimata for helping to make these funds available and for their dedication to promoting overseas study activities through their participation in the workshop.

This seminar was held in order to inaugurate the founding of JACSAC as well as to explore the theme 'Counseling students on how to use their study abroad experiences to successfully launch careers' through a panel discussion.

It was attended by JACSAC members (counselors who successfully completed the JAOS Certified Counseling Course and Examination), staff from the international offices of Japanese institutions of higher learning, counselors from Japanese study abroad agencies, current JAOS course students and other people involved in study abroad and international exchange. Altogether, 60 people participated.

For the panel discussion, career consultant and president of the firm Estrellita, Mr. Nobuyuki Suzuki, was joined by JACSAC president Ms. Yoshiko Fujinobe and secretary general Mr. Tatsuhiko Hoshino. Citing research data and other materials gathered from the human resources departments of various companies, the panelists discussed what skills and characteristics Japanese companies look for in students who have returned from abroad.

During the second half of the seminar, participants talked about how students can prepare for their careers before, during and after overseas study experiences. Furthermore, JACSAC members discussed what kinds of advice they should give students regarding this important topic.

The sixth JAOS Certified Counselor Training Course screening seminar and certification test were held over a two-day period (sponsored by JAOS and administered by ALC Press). 32 candidates and 5 instructors took part. It involved a workshop, an extremely productive screening seminar and 1-hour examination, and evaluated group presentation. Candidates will learn if they have successfully qualified for certification at the end of July.

This study abroad fair was sponsored by the Australian Embassy along with support from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. With 600 people in attendance, it was an extremely successful fair. JAOS provided the 52 attending school organizations with a very well-received seminar on the current state of the Japanese study abroad industry.

This study abroad fair was sponsored by the Public Diplomacy Department of the U.S. Embassy and held in collaboration with JAOS. As part of the event, JAOS worked with the embassy to put on a study abroad seminar. With 3,500 guests taking part in the study abroad seminar and U.S. College Catalog Fair and a total of 18,200 overall visitors, it can be said that the event was highly successful. JAOS was proud to have 5 of our successful graduates from the JAOS Certified Counselor Training Course serve as volunteer consultants at the U.S. College Catalog Fair.

For the 12th time, JAOS and FGER (Foreign Government Educational Representatives) got together for an annual meeting in order to discuss overseas study trends and exchange information and perspectives.

Just as it has the past two years, JAOS once again requested that FGER provide a numerical summary of what countries and programs JAOS member organizations are sending their students to. Likewise, JAOS again disclosed the number of overall students its organizations sent abroad in order to improve the understanding of industry trends. While we were only able to get about 30% participation during the initial year, last year saw a dramatic increase in the amount of information divulged, as we were able to collect 70% of student data. This year, perhaps due to the fact that there was not much time to prepare data, the number of members participating in this activity unfortunately dropped by half. This sensitive information has a direct link with sales figures and might be difficult for some companies to divulge. However, this activity is necessary for cultivating a stronger study abroad industry.

JAOS also used the meeting as an opportunity to provide an update concerning the “JAOS Certified Counselor Training Course and Certification Test.” More than half of the FGER member organizations have already consented to officially support our program by lending their names to our JAOS Certified Counselor Training Course literature and training materials. Moreover, we announced the continued development of JACSAC, an organization that will be made up of candidates who successfully complete the JAOS Certified Counselor Training Course and Certification Test. JAOS also detailed how our organization is checking the contents of member pamphlets and literature to make sure they follow JAOS guidelines and regulations.

Attendees included 38 representatives of 28 JAOS member organizations, 12 representatives of 7 FGER institutions (Cultural Affairs and Commerce departments of the U.S. Embassy, Japan-U.S. Educational Committee, Australian Governmental Organization for International Education, Ireland Governmental Bureau for Business Affairs, British Council and Canadian Embassy) and 3 observers, bringing the total number of participants to 53 people.

The 5th JAOS Certified Counselor Training Course screening seminar and certification test was held over a two-day period (sponsored by JAOS and administered by ALC Press). 15 candidates and 5 instructors participated.

Like the previous screening and examination, we saw a drop in participants. This was perhaps due to the fact that it came just 3 months after a similar event in October. Content included workshops, a lively and productive screening seminar, a one-hour examination and group presentations. Examination results are set to be announced at the end of February.