Japan Times: What became of the Meiji spirit of Japanese young people?

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20110217hc.html

Hugh Cortazzi, former British ambassador to Japan writes:

Japan's future lies crucially in the willingness of young people in Japan to develop individual personalities, to be ready to speak out and debate with others, but above all to think in international terms.

He feels that Japanese young people recently do not have enough ambition or English communication skill to go abroad, learn new ideas, and come back with the intention to change their country.

At ICU, at least in the English Language Program (which is more like a liberal arts core curriculum than a language program) we are doing quite a bit of training for our students to think critically, ask key questions politely, and not be afraid to speak up when they think something is wrong. I believe our students are developing the needed skills to work with persons from around the world to face difficult domestic and global issues.

However, in many high schools and universities around Japan, education to stimulate initiative to learn, critical (constructive) thinking, and communication skills in speaking and writing (in Japanese) is lacking.

High school and college students in Japan need to be undertaking research and writing projects, even if on a small scale, both in Japanese and in English.