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The development of social entrepreneurship education in Japan

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Abstract

Though the importance of social entrepreneurship (SE) and its education are widely recognised by practitioners in prior literature, SE pedagogy in universities and graduate schools, especially in Japan, has not been well researched. Using the syllabi of 457 courses at 91 Japanese universities, the authors found the following: first, courses are mainly provided in Economics and Management, followed by Sociology, Basic Liberal Arts, Political sciences, Community and Region Studies, Engineering, Design and Art, and Social Welfare departments. Second, teaching methods primarily included theory and history, followed by case studies, group work and discussion, presentations, guest speakers, field work, analytical methodology, and making business plans. Third, courses aimed at understanding SE were followed by nurturing the students’ basic academic skills, sense of entrepreneurship, knowledge about enterprises, and management of social enterprises.

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Notes

  1. Retrieved 29 July 2018, from https://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/news/articles/2016/63.html (in Japanese). The pilot projects were implemented in a plenary adoption project with the Yokosuka city government, the countermeasure project for recluses (subjects with abnormal avoidance of social contact) with the Amagasaki city government, and dementia prevention projects with Fukuoka city as well as six other municipalities.

  2. Retrieved 29 July 2018, from https://www.jfc.go.jp/n/rate/index.html and https://www.jfc.go.jp/n/finance/social/yushi.html (both in Japanese). As of 11 July 2018, the credit limit was: 7.2 million JPY (equivalent to 649,000 USD), repayment periods for equipment fund: 20 years and operating fund: 7 years (including a period of deferment not exceeding two years), and the interest rate: (0.4% ~ 2.6%).

  3. The difference between COC programmes and COC + programmes lies in the additional elements of the COC + programmes, such as the description of the roles of the universities in the municipalities’ education promotion plans; collaboration among regional universities, local small, medium, and venture enterprises (SMEs), and non-profit organisations; the evaluation of achievements according to the number of people employed in the enterprises; and evaluation from the collaborating municipalities and SMEs (Yamdada 2016).

  4. Fujii et al. (2013) defined the ‘triple bottom line’ as social purpose—owned by the stakeholders—and insisted that only cooperatives and non-profit organisations could fulfil the bottom lines; that private enterprises do not fulfil the role of ‘social ownership/possession’; therefore, private enterprises should not be included as social enterprises, though private enterprises are strategic partners for social enterprises.

  5. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan, the number of universities in Japan as of 2016 was 777. Retrieved 29 July 2018, from the Excel file on http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/002/002b/1383990.htm.

  6. MEXT has promoted social business projects (SBP) that aimed at resolving regional problems by developing social business with the collaboration between high school students and the enthusiastic adults for the regional development and revitalisation since 2017, after the headquarters of the ‘Promoting Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens’ of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) called for the nationwide development of SBP activities by high school and university students in the proposal.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP17K03918 and 19K13795.

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  1. University of Hyogo, Gakuen Nishi cho 2-8-1, Nishi-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

    Koichi Nakao

  2. Tohoku University, Kawauchi 27-1, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

    Yuko Nishide

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  1. Koichi Nakao
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Correspondence to Koichi Nakao.

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Nakao, K., Nishide, Y. The development of social entrepreneurship education in Japan. Entrep Educ 3, 95–117 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41959-019-00020-5

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