Youths should hold opportunity to study abroad

The public is divided over the pros and cons of the government's plan to use taxpayers' money to provide subsidies for those who study abroad for short periods in response to a decrease in the number students attending universities overseas.Opponents say such subsidies are just a waste of taxpayers' money, while other people welcome the move by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry hoping it will help reverse the inward-looking mindset of today's youth. However, the matter should be considered more seriously.Some observers point out that fewer students opt to study abroad because of the economic downturn. If one studies abroad, they have fewer opportunities to job-hunt in Japan. Others say youths do not bother to go abroad because they can easily gather information on other countries from the Internet.In short, today's young people tend to be stay-at-homes. Moreover, a growing number of students are shying away from entering overseas universities as they would be required to study harder.In ancient times, many Japanese youths lost their lives in the East China Sea while attempting to travel abroad, but the survivors imported culture, technology and even political systems into Japan.

In his novel,Tenpyo-no-Iraka Roof tiles of the Tenpyo Era, Yasushi Inoue described the struggles of young priests who visited China as members of a Japanese delegation in the eighth century.The work obviously reflects the feelings of Inoue and those in the same generation who spent their youth in the late Taisho and early Showa eras. Even though Inoue did not study abroad, he was enthusiastic about studying and had an intellectual curiosity just like those who traveled abroad in ancient times.There are many things to learn and there are a pile of books I must read. I try to watch everything with my eyes and listen to everything with my ears. I'll absorb everything I should learn from this vast land of Tang,one of the priests said aboard a ship in the novel.

While trying to learn a lot, the priests in the novel are struggling with their solitude and skepticism. They wonder whether they are capable, and whether they should seek their own success or choose to preach sermons for people at the bottom of the heap. Such distress suffered by the priests fascinated youths in many generations who have a strong desire to learn.Is it wrong to believe that the students of today who do not want to study abroad have lost their passion, enthusiasm and the thirst for knowledge?Okinawa residents who were selected to study abroad before the island prefecture was returned to Japan's sovereignty in 1972 formed a friendship group called Kinmon (Golden Gate) Club. They received a cold response from some local residents because they had studied in the United States, which occupied the islands following World War II, but they held important positions in the prefecture in the post-war period.

They named their friendship group after the symbol of San Francisco where they entered the United States.I was glad that I'd be able to study,one of them recalled.Former Okinawa Gov. and former House of Councillors member Masahide Ota is one of them. He was able to make straightforward assertions about the concentration of U.S. bases in the prefecture and visit Washington to hold negotiations with top U.S. officials apparently because of his experience of studying in the country.It is exciting to learn something in an unknown world and use that knowledge for the benefit of society. The youths of today should be more proactive about studying, even if they do not have any particular sense of mission.