Abstract:

Entrepreneurship education - assisting students in developing an intentionality towards being entrepreneurial- is gaining traction in Japanese business education circles. For the purposes of this study, entrepreneurship education is considered to be a set of activities relating to curriculum, research, and engagement with industry, both inside and outside the institution that seeks to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in individuals. Each program or course has various learning objectives, materials, topics, pedagogies, and instructors, yet little research has been conducted into these programs in Japan, the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education, and entrepreneurial behaviours.

This research provides an overview of the current state of entrepreneurship education in Japan as a first step towards comparing and contrasting Japanese entrepreneurship education with other parts of the world. As part of a government-funded research project on Japanese entrepreneurs, the long term goal of this research is focused on understanding the mindset of international entrepreneurs, seeking out conceptualizations of entrepreneurship in business education, and sharing examples of best and forward-looking practice in higher education. At the conclusion of the three-year study the researchers intend to provide recommendations to inform practitioners and policy makers.

Entrepreneurship education in Japan is primarily delivered through course work in classes such as Corporate Management, Intellectual Property and Strategy, an Introduction to Venture Companies, and the Need for and Methods of Marketing. Content is explored through activities that encourage students to engage in business planning exercises and business performance analysis methods. Less than 20% of entrepreneurship classes include courses on business etiquette and in the past, none were found to teach professional skills such as soft skills and communication (METI, 2009). Although there are many classroom activities and practical content, such as the creation of a business plan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ascertain that the content that is directly linked to actual entrepreneurial activity is presumed to be small. They list four points that need to be addressed for entrepreneurship education to be more successful:
the purpose of entrepreneurship education is not always clear;
there is a link between theory and practice;
universities are not taking full advantage of external human resources, as a result they build insufficient relationships with real industry;
cooperation with external organizations of the region is not sufficiently advanced.

This presentation argues that there is an additional issue to be addressed, that of how to develop entrepreneurs who can function outside Japan - those that become self-initiated expatriate entrepreneurs - and only by engaging with colleagues in education and industry in a wider context can business educators better understand how to develop their entrepreneurship education curriculums.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship education, Japan, global.