A ¡°stark¡± over-representation of images of white people on Japanese university websites suggests institutions may favour European and North American students ¨C a trend that could damage the country¡¯s attempts to attract more foreign students, researchers have found.?

In a new study published in?, academics used AI to identify the ethnicity of the people in 670,000 images scraped from roughly 1,000 Japanese university websites that featured campus internationalisation.?

It finds white students were disproportionately represented relative to their actual enrolment in Japan, accounting for about 8 per cent of the faces on the websites ¨C substantially higher than their estimated enrolment, which is less than?1 per cent.?

The authors also find there were around a quarter of the number of images of black students compared?with white ones, even though enrolment levels are similar for both groups.?

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Images of white students also outnumber those of South 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn ones, despite South 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn students having a ¡°substantially larger¡± presence in Japanese higher education.

The researchers concluded that, as a result, Japanese higher education ¡°is likely to be subject to a white-centric perspective¡±.?

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They argue this could damage the country¡¯s attempts to increase foreign student numbers, a key priority for policymakers as?domestic enrolment in higher education dwindles. The government is aiming to?attract 400,000 international students by 2033?and has previously offered scholarships to encourage students from Africa to enrol in Japanese universities.?

¡°If universities had, whether consciously or unconsciously, embraced a view that favours white over black persons, African students might feel alienated and isolated on campus. They?may leave Japan with little desire to stay connected, counteracting the nation¡¯s diplomatic efforts,¡± the researchers write, adding that the same issues may apply to South 51¹ú²úÊÓƵn and other non-white students.?

¡°Usually, people are more cautious about what they say in writing, but less so when it comes to images,¡± said Takeshi Yanagiura, associate professor at the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ of Tsukuba, and Radomir Ray Mitic, assistant professor of higher education at William and Mary School of Education, two of the authors of the study.??

¡°Images can reveal unfiltered perception of international diversity, whether consciously or subconsciously,¡± the researchers told?Times Higher Education?over email. ¡°In our case, the white over-representation may reflect a narrower conception of diversity that prioritises whiteness.¡±

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The study builds on criticism that universities in some non-Western countries may ¡°narrowly define¡± campus internationalisation as campus westernisation, ¡°thereby uncritically accepting white-centric norms and the sense of superiority of white across the campus community, intentionally or unintentionally¡±.?

¡°At the end of the day, this study isn¡¯t just about the website content. It urges university leaders, faculty, staff, and policymakers to critically reflect what international diversity means to them,¡± Yanagiura and Mitic continued.

¡°Universities should be mindful that recruiting strategies targeting students from one particular area come with a risk of alienating best and brightest students from the other regions if they are not based on merit.?

¡°Japan already attracts many bright students from many parts of the world. They should be careful not to lose their close friends by chasing distant connections too much.¡± ? ?

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helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com