The Changing Role of the Japanese Professor

In analyses of the professorial role, an opposition is often established between the professional or external components and the university or internal components. From this perspective, professors at leading universities in the West are said to emphasize the professional components of their role. In contrast, in the past Japanese professors tended to emphasize the local university-centered components. In recent years, many professors have shifted their energies away from these university-centered components. Some have become "professional" in the Western sense, but others have become showmen and still others politicians. No single phrase suffices to summarize the trend away from university centeredness.