The effect of exchange program between Japanese high school and asian students: a focus on JENESYS program

Abstract

This research is an inquiry into the Japanese government-lead asian exchange program called JENESYS. I use Japanese students 'testimonies of their exchange experiences as case studies to illustrate the effect of the program. Historically. Japanese students have had significant preference to visit English-speaking Western countries, mostly disregarding Asian nations. As such, they missed the opportunity to learn about their Asian neighbors. Thus, it is critical to analyze the Japanese students 'learning experience acquired from the exchange program with Asian countries. The results of the study show that such exchange increases cross-cultural understanding of the participants, who are in many ways prejudiced towards some Asian cultures because of the prevailing negative images of the national media. In addition, positive changes to the Japanese students 'overall attitude towards their Asian students in general were observed. which provide a compelling proof that these programs are worth the effort.