2025 JFIPP Research Fellow - ISHIKAWA Mayumi

Project Summary

Despite the rapid massification of cross-border higher education, our understanding of its long-term implications for the Indo-Pacific region and global society remains limited. Once a privilege of the elite, study abroad has become increasingly accessible to youth worldwide, including a growing number from the Global South. The Indo-Pacific is not only a major source of internationally mobile students but is also emerging as a key destination region, driven by proactive government and institutional internationalization strategies. As Euro-American host countries tighten restrictions on international student inflows, education providers in the Indo-Pacific are offering more affordable and accessible alternatives.

This project reconceptualizes international student mobility by envisioning the Indo-Pacific as a nexus of global youth exchange. It challenges dominant state- or institution-centered narratives that frame international students as fee-paying customers, soft power, or reputational assets, and instead foregrounds the question of equity through increased participation from a broader spectrum of societies. By centering student agency, the project seeks national and regional policy innovations that leverage massive, multidirectional student flows for the future of the region and global society. The potential of youth diplomacy, or youth engagement with global and regional publics for peace and democracy, is the focus of inquiry. Empirical case studies include Australia, a world-leading provider of higher education, and Malaysia, an emerging regional hub. Insights from India analyze the drivers and changing trends behind outbound mobility. These findings will serve as a comparative reference point for Japan.

Building on longstanding collaborations and cultivating new ties with scholars in Australia, Malaysia, and India, the project aims to inform policies that reorientate towards more inclusive and democratic models of mobility. Ultimately, youth exchange in the Indo-Pacific may signal a potential shift in global higher education hegemony, based on improved access and regional cooperation.