Nihon University President Shinichiro Ohnuki is rethinking what global education means in the age of AI. In a recent interview, he argued that Japanese higher education's value comes not from imitating English-speaking institutions but from preserving cultural authenticity and training students to develop human judgment that machines cannot replicate.
The university, founded in 1889 and now one of Japan's largest with roughly 1.3 million alumni, is responding to demographic decline, AI disruption, and intensifying competition for international students. The institution operates more than a dozen faculties across disciplines, maintains a campus in Newcastle, Australia, and runs an education center at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Its guiding AI Learning Path for Teachers reflects a broader institutional commitment - the university already has enterprise-grade AI tools deployed to roughly 10,000 faculty and staff.
Why Japanese universities shouldn't imitate the West
Ohnuki said Japan would fail by offering the same educational experiences as English-speaking countries. "If we offer exactly the same educational experience, it becomes difficult to explain why students should choose Japan instead."
The president's perspective was shaped by three successes with roots at Nihon University. The history of acclaimed historical drama "Shogun," Grammy-winning song "Idol," and anime Detective Conan all trace to Nihon University alumni. Each reached global audiences without abandoning its Japanese origins. "They developed expertise by focusing deeply on what they cared about, and the world recognized the value," Ohnuki said, "including the value of studying in Japan and its education system."
For international students, the university wants to offer both English-language teaching and a deeper engagement with Japanese language and culture. That dual approach, Ohnuki said, offers students "something that cannot be replicated elsewhere."
Population decline and the driving need for lifelong learning
Japan's demographic reality - falling birth rates and an aging workforce - directly affects Nihon University's existing the university operates campuses in Fukushima and Shizuoka, well outside the Tokyo hub often associated with the university.
Role Universities is responding on multiple fronts. It has built out correspondence education that serves students into their nineties. It is strengthening healthcare-related faculties to support a longer working population. .
One role is "thinking about [how] to respond to these changes," Ohnuki said. "Universities must provide opportunities for learning throughout life, not only during a person's early adulthood."
What AI means for the classroom
AI forces "perhaps one of the most important questions facing education today," Ohnuki said: what if machines outperform humans at transmitting knowledge?
A conversation with a distinguished translator clarified the answer for him. "Yokoso," a Japanese welcome, cannot easily be rendered into English. What does the configuration depend on - how many people are present? What is the atmosphere and historical context? A skilled translator considers all these factors before selecting words. That decision requires "human judgments, emotional understanding, experience, and sensitivity," Ohnuki said, and "at least today, these remain uniquely human capabilities."
The same logic applies to his university's medical schools. "Reading about how to minimize pain when giving an injection to an animal is one thing. Actually standing in a veterinary hospital and observing the animal's reaction is something entirely different." That being in the world turns data into understanding."
Choosing Japan: a network of 1.3 million alumni
What differentiates a Nihon University education? She pointed to a large and active alumni network that spans medicine and local leadership in nearly every Japan region. "For many students," Ohnuki said, "This is how lifelong community is one of the most valuable aspects of the value of their education."
As of around international recruitment, the university is shifting away from growth targets to "meaningful engagement." It is exploring placements in India, where Japan may stand to benefit from the Japan-India relationship and proximity to Indian communities in Japan-and it already maintains the Newcastle campus in Australia, which positions the university in a "place where international exchange occurs naturally as part of daily academic life."
Why this matters for people in education
The university leaders are what you do with the changing expectations that any educator faces now. Students still come to courses for their professional knowledge; what makes the difference is how categories can deliver it - through hands-on experience, human judgment, and exposure to a culture of a culture.
And educators choosing to develop professionally will be important separate from historical precedent: considering what you do and can't have automated - in language, in medicine, or in advising - is the start of a curriculum that won't be obsolete by sunrise.
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