Why is the number of doctoral degree Ph.D. holders decreasing in Japan

Professor Kamuro's near-future science predictions:

Why

is the number of

doctoral degree Ph.D. holders

decreasing in Japan

Quantum Physicist and Brain Scientist

Visiting Professor of Quantum Physics,

California Institute of Technology

IEEE-USA Fellow

American Physical Society-USA Fellow

PhD. & Dr. Kazuto Kamuro

AERI：Artificial Evolution Research Institute

Pasadena, California

HP: https://www.AERI-japan.com/

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Why is the number of doctoral degree holders decreasing in Japan?

1. Since the early 1990s, our country has been witnessing the proliferation of over 500 universities with academic rankings below a deviation score of 60, akin to what could be described as "F-rank" institutions. These universities often serve as post-retirement destinations for career bureaucrats from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). Simultaneously, a practice exists where scholarships are offered as bait to underperforming, low-achieving, and incompetent students (referred to as "ponkotsu" students), facilitating the conferral of doctoral degrees with ease and contributing to the mass production of faculty members, including professors, associate professors, and assistant professors, within these low-quality universities.

2. In recent times, the decline in the number of doctoral degree recipients in Japan can be attributed to the realization by a significant majority of bright students that obtaining a "ponkotsu" (subpar) doctoral degree from academically subpar Japanese universities doesn't offer any significant advantages on a global academic scale. Many students who pursue doctoral programs in graduate schools often find themselves surrounded by fellow "ponkotsu" students, ultimately leading to a destination comprised of "ponkotsu" professors, associate professors, and assistant professors within these low-quality universities. They have come to understand that this path leads to becoming uninspiring individuals with limited societal value and no meaningful social experience.

3. To maintain Japan's dwindling doctoral program and doctoral degree system, university administrators at subpar institutions and career bureaucrats from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) have concocted a "foreign student program." This program entices underperforming, failing, long-term repeating, dropout, and subpar students (referred to as "ponkotsu" students) from their home countries to Japanese universities by offering scholarships. These students are then encouraged to enroll in doctoral programs and continue to obtain doctoral degrees.

As a result of this scheme, both MEXT bureaucrats and subpar university administrators collaborate to implement this questionable business model. It helps in curbing the under-enrollment issues at subpar universities, prevents a decrease in the number of doctoral degree recipients, and secures a record of graduating doctoral students. Consequently, subpar universities and their faculty members are able to maintain a facade of a respectable number of doctoral degrees awarded within their institutions.

4. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), subpar universities, and "ponkotsu" students have all come together in a rather cunning and unique Japanese business model that uses national taxes like water, creating a win-win situation for all. This complex model could be seen as a form of internal betrayal to the nation.

As a result, thanks to Japan's foreign student program, there has been a surge of underperforming, failing, long-term repeating, dropout, and subpar students (referred to as "ponkotsu" students) from other countries flocking to Japanese universities, especially those with academic rankings below 60 or in the "F-rank" category. They come with the intent of exploiting Japan's graduate school system for their own purposes.

5. Before 1990, in Japan, the saying "In the end, it's either a Ph.D. or a Minister" accurately reflected the stringent standards for obtaining a doctoral degree, which were at the highest level globally. Possessing a Ph.D. was the minimum requirement for active participation in academic circles and securing a high-paying societal status. However, due to government policies, particularly the "Ph.D. oversupply plan," the criteria for obtaining a Ph.D. were lowered to the lowest global standards, making it easier to attain. Consequently, there has been an influx of low-quality Ph.D. holders, professors, associate professors, and assistant professors.

These subpar (sometimes referred to as "notarins" or "ponkotsu") Ph.D. holders and faculty members naturally find employment in low-ranking universities in Japan, including those with academic rankings below a deviation score of 60 or in the "F-rank" category, where they contribute to the perpetuation of subpar educational institutions.

6. Here is the world university ranking list. The California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), to which I belong, is ranked second.

a. For reference, here is the ranking:

1st: University of Oxford

2nd: California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Harvard University

4th: Stanford University

5th: University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

7th: Princeton University

8th: University of California, Berkeley

9th: Yale University

10th: University of Chicago

11th: Columbia University

12th: Imperial College London

13th: Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania

15th: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

16th: Peking University, Tsinghua University

18th: University of Toronto, University College London

20th: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

b. The determinants of the world university ranking mentioned above are as follows:

(1) Educational Environment (30%)

Reputation Survey: 15%

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 4.5%

Ratio of Bachelor's to Doctoral Degree Holders: 2.25%

Ratio of Doctoral Degree Holders to Faculty: 6%

Institutional Income: 2.25%

(2) Research (30%)

Reputation Survey: 18%

Research Income: 6%

Research Productivity: 6%

(3) Citation of Papers (30%)

(4) Internationalization (7.5%)

Percentage of International Students: 2.5%

Percentage of Faculty from Abroad: 2.5%

International Cooperation: 2.5%

(5) Industry Income (2.5%)

7. What's even more disheartening is that the majority of Japan's national and private universities, excluding prestigious institutions like the University of Tokyo (ranked 35th in the world), Kyoto University (ranked 61st), Tohoku University (ranked 268th), Osaka University (ranked 330th), Tokyo Institute of Technology (ranked 346th), Nagoya University (ranked 385th), University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (ranked 448th), and Yokohama City University (ranked 499th), which are included in the world university rankings, are categorized as subpar universities with an academic ranking below a deviation score of 60 or in the "F-rank." This means that these universities, both public and private, are essentially regarded as having little to no international recognition and value.

Overseas, universities like Waseda University, Keio University, Sophia University, and Aoyama Gakuin University, which are often touted as top-tier institutions in Japan, are met with little more than vague awareness, with people abroad often asking, "Do such universities even exist?" In essence, they are seen as universities whose value as academic institutions and the doctoral degrees they confer are largely disregarded on a global scale, rendering them "dispensable universities."

8. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in national universities. Aside from the former Imperial universities like the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, the regional national universities such as Tsukuba University, Yokohama National University, and Chiba University are virtually unknown overseas. Very few people abroad are aware of their existence.

Some cunning foreign students infiltrate these lesser-known universities with the aim of obtaining scholarships and end up acquiring what is deemed a "worthless Japanese doctoral degree." However, the qualifications of a "useless Ph.D." obtained through these means are seldom recognized, not only by Japanese domestic companies but also by foreign enterprises. Even if they manage to secure employment, they often face a short-lived career, with their true capabilities eventually exposed, leading to termination.

9. As previously explained, individuals who obtain doctoral degrees in Japan, where the criteria for earning a Ph.D. are at the lowest global level, including both Japanese students and underperforming, failing, long-term repeating, dropout, and subpar foreign students, are practically useless even when hired by foreign companies, not just in Japan.

Even those who hold a Ph.D. often find themselves disillusioned, as they had hoped for an easy path, having been nurtured within the sheltered environment of graduate school. Instead, they end up lost in the real world.

In recent years in Japan, a Ph.D. has sadly diminished in value to the point where it is mockingly referred to as "a grain of rice under one's foot ? you feel uneasy not picking it up, but it's inedible when you do," serving as little more than a decorative qualification.

Indeed, it's a deeply pitiable and wretched state of affairs for Japanese universities, the doctoral education system, and the value of Japanese doctoral degrees...

END

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Quantum Brain Chipset & Bio Processor (BioVLSI)

Prof. PhD. Dr. Kamuro

Quantum Physicist and Brain Scientist involved in Caltech & AERI Associate Professor and Brain Scientist in Artificial Evolution Research Institute（ AERI: https://www.AERI-japan.com/ ）

IEEE-USA Fellow

American Physical Society Fellow

PhD. & Dr. Kazuto Kamuro

https://www.AERI-japan.com

email: info@AERI-japan.com

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【Keywords】　Artificial Evolution Research Institute：AERI

HP： https://www.AERI-japan.com/

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