When universities run out of students

The race for international talent

As domestic enrolments decline, internationalisation is increasingly becoming a strategic necessity.

Japan’s international student population surpassed 400,000 in 2025, reaching a government target eight years ahead of schedule. According to the Immigration Services Agency, the country hosted 435,200 international students in June 2025, highlighting the scale of its internationalisation efforts.

South Korea has adopted a similar approach through its “Study Korea 300K” initiative, which aims to attract 300,000 international students by 2027 to help address a shrinking school-age population and strengthen university competitiveness.

Universities across East Asia are looking abroad for students, but experts caution that international recruitment alone cannot solve the ageing or decreasing population problems.

“International student recruitment can offset demographic decline to some extent, but only within limited bounds,” says Professor Jung. Japan and South Korea have traditionally relied heavily on Chinese students, but China’s own demographic transition means that the recruitment pool is beginning to shrink.

Hans de Wit, Professor Emeritus of the Practice and Distinguished Former Director at the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, sees this as part of a wider global challenge.

“International recruitment of students and graduates becomes important, but it is not sufficient to compensate for the lack of local students and graduates, also because of competition for them,” Professor de Wit tells QS Insights.

Competition for international students is intensifying both within Asia and with traditional destinations such as the US, UK and Australia.

According to Professor Mok, countries and regions including Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and mainland China are investing heavily in attracting global talent. English-medium instruction, scholarships, research opportunities and post-study employment pathways are becoming important competitive advantages.

Japan is also expanding its efforts. Professor Yonezawa notes that leading institutions such as the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University and Waseda University have rapidly expanded English-medium programmes. Yet significant barriers remain.

“Japanese language skills are still required for employment at Japanese companies,” he says, limiting the appeal of some programmes to international students.

Professor Ota also cautions that attracting international students requires substantial resources. “Recruiting international students and supporting those already enrolled require a significant upfront investment,” he says. Universities facing enrolment problems lack sufficient financial resources to make such an investment.

There are additional concerns about quality. Professor Jung warns that as international students become an increasingly important source of tuition revenue, some institutions may prioritise enrolment numbers over academic preparation and language proficiency, creating challenges for both students and universities.

At the same time, China is emerging as an increasingly attractive regional destination. Professor Mok expects growing numbers of students from India, Southeast Asia and Central Asia to consider studying in China and Hong Kong as economic and educational ties deepen across the region.

Universities as workforce strategy

The demographic deficit is not only changing who universities teach; it is also reshaping why governments invest in them.

Across East Asia, higher education is increasingly being linked to workforce development, talent attraction and economic competitiveness.

Jung says governments are adopting more strategic approaches to attracting talented international students, particularly in STEM fields, while creating pathways for them to remain and contribute to national innovation systems. However, these initiatives remain concentrated among leading research universities.

Professor Mok sees similar trends across mainland China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“As these countries and regions are facing the decline of young people, they have tried very hard to attract global talent to study, work and set up families in their societies by offering attractive packages to retain them,” he says.

Japan’s approach reflects both the opportunities and tensions associated with this strategy. Professor Ota notes that more than half of international graduates find employment in Japan after completing their studies, suggesting that universities are already functioning as important talent pipelines. Yet Japan continues to avoid describing itself as an immigration country.

“The country lacks a national immigration policy,” Professor Ota says, despite growing reliance on international graduates and foreign workers.

Professor de Wit, who also serves as Visiting International Professor at Zhejiang University, argues that these developments reflect a broader reality. Talent shortages are becoming a significant challenge not only for Japan and South Korea but increasingly for China as well, pushing governments to place talent development and recruitment much higher on the policy agenda.

Asia’s demographic divide

Perhaps the most significant consequence of these demographic trends is the growing divergence between East and South Asia.

While East Asian countries adapt to shrinking student populations, countries such as India, Bangladesh and Nepal continue to face demand-driven expansion.

This contrast is already beginning to reshape student mobility. According to Professor de Wit, recruitment from neighbouring countries that do not yet face severe demographic decline is becoming increasingly attractive for East Asian institutions.

“While the high-income countries in the global North are struggling with the tension between reducing immigration and the need for talents, in countries like China, Japan and Korea, talent development and talent recruitment is high on the policy agenda. Recruitment in the region from countries with no demographic challenge is a priority,” he notes.

Professor Yonezawa points to Japan’s evolving recruitment patterns as an example. Leading universities are increasingly targeting Indian STEM talent, often through partnerships with the Indian Institutes of Technology. However, these flows remain relatively small compared with traditional destinations in the English-speaking world.

At the same time, a different trend is emerging. The number of Nepali students in Japan has grown rapidly and now exceeds the number of Indian students by a considerable margin. Yet many are enrolled in Japanese language schools and often become part of the country's labour force rather than traditional university pathways.

Professor Jung believes there is considerable potential for greater intra-Asian mobility in the future, although affordability and economic disparities remain important barriers. Alternative forms of mobility, including online degrees, short-term programmes and professional education pathways, could help connect expanding and contracting higher education systems across the region.

A drop in the college-going population is forcing universities and governments across East Asia to rethink long-standing assumptions about growth, funding and internationalisation. Some institutions will merge or disappear, while competition for students and talent is likely to intensify.

As Professor Mok observes, crises can also create opportunities. The challenge for East Asia's higher education systems is not simply how to manage demographic challenges, but how to remain competitive in spite of it.