Detethering economic subjectification from intercultural identity
Towards an inclusive internationalization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13017192 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M D Smith (0000-0003-4492-1648, Kobe University), Mike Smith (0000-0002-6177-8217, Kobe University, corresponding author), Christopher Samuell (0000-0003-1357-4081, Kyoto Institute of Technology, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal for Multicultural Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2053-535X • E-ISSN: 2053-5368 |
| Publisher | Emerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1108/jme-06-2025-0122 |
| OpenAlex | W7133344134 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Purpose This paper aims to critically examine how Japan’s higher education internationalization policies shape intercultural identities. Drawing on a discursive framework, it interrogates the extent to which policy promotes neoliberal conceptions of transnationalism through language policy, institutional branding and credentialism. Design/methodology/approach By analyzing policy documents, rhetoric and reform initiatives, the authors trace the discursive construction of global human capital and examine how market logics influence educational values. Findings Findings reveal that Japan’s global human resource agenda privileges economic utility and elite mobility over inclusive intercultural engagement. Top Global University Project, for instance, promotes a prestige-driven model of internationalization that reproduces inequality and marginalizes alternative linguistic identities. Practical implications This study suggests that Japan reorients its internationalization agenda by integrating English as a lingua franca and expanding inclusive pedagogical models, such as collaborative online international learning. Social implications Reform efforts should prioritize intercultural reciprocity to promote more just and accessible forms of global engagement across Japanese higher education. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on intercultural education by offering a critical, Japan-specific analysis of intercultural identity formation within the context of higher education reform. Specifically, it reframes globalism not as a culturally responsive subjectivity, but as a policy construct aligned with neoliberal rationalities and the accumulation of symbolic capital
Context (archaeology · Discourse analysis · Higher education · Intercultural communication · Internationalization · Internationalization of Higher Education · Neoliberalism (international relations · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology · Rhetoric · Subjectification · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Introducing Global Englishes
Questioning linguistic instrumentalism
Native-speakerism
Advancing Intercultural Competence in Higher Education
Trans-speakerism
Social Reproduction as Language Policy
The Economic Approach to Human Behavior
The State Nobility
Challenges of the Japanese higher education Amidst population decline and globalization
Bourdieu, language and linguistics
Shadow education, Bourdieu, & meritocracy
The Entrepreneurial Self and ‘Youth at-risk’
Much ado about ranking
Neoliberalism, higher education and the knowledge economy
Problematising the goals of study abroad in Japan
From global imaginaries to local realities
Teeth of the hydra
Brief History of Neoliberalism
Global English, neoliberalism, & governmentality
Shakaijin, shadow education, and the entrepreneurial self
Neoliberalism, internationalization, Japanese exclusionism
Becoming Shakaijin
The Hermeneutics of the Subject
The birth of bio-politics
Curbing Academic Freedom in Japan
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |