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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 279 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 279

  To state the sense of the Senate concerning the Government of Japan 
recognizing American college and university branch campuses in Japan as 
               American institutions of higher learning.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 7 (legislative day, September 12), 1994

Mr. Roth submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  To state the sense of the Senate concerning the Government of Japan 
recognizing American college and university branch campuses in Japan as 
               American institutions of higher learning.

Whereas Japan sends approximately 45,000 students to study in the United States, 
        but hosts only 1,500 American students studying in Japan;
Whereas increased educational and cultural exchange between the United States 
        and Japan is mutually beneficial to both countries;
Whereas Japanese Government officials at the highest level have repeatedly 
        called for cooperative ventures between the United States and Japan in 
        educational and cultural exchange and stressed the need to foster the 
        development of mutual understanding of each country's social, political, 
        and economic systems;
Whereas certain United States institutions of higher education established 
        overseas branch campuses in Japan in order to facilitate such 
        educational and cultural exchange;
Whereas the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Japan (AACUJ) 
        was formed to ensure the academic quality of American branch campuses in 
        Japan and to enhance the educational contributions by American branch 
        campuses in Japan;
Whereas AACUJ-approved campuses in Japan have been fully accredited by 
        appropriate accrediting agencies in the United States;
Whereas the Government of Japan has unreasonably refused to accord official 
        status to AACUJ-approved branch campuses in Japan as accredited American 
        institutions of higher education;
Whereas the Government of Japan, by its refusal to accord official status to 
        AACUJ-approved campuses in Japan as American institutions of higher 
        education, degrades the status of AACUJ-approved branch campuses of the 
        rights and privileges available to students attending similar Japanese 
        institutions of higher education, including transportation pass 
        discounts, student visas, and other rights and benefits accompanied by 
        student visas;
Whereas foreign students wishing to attend AACUJ-approved branch campuses in 
        Japan are not eligible for student visas and almost all American 
        students must instead apply for ``enhanced cultural activities visas'' 
        in order to study at these branch campuses in Japan;
Whereas the process for securing ``enhanced cultural visas'' has not been 
        regularized and is unnecessarily burdensome, time-consuming, and subject 
        to procedural surprises, irregularities, uncertainty, and delay;
Whereas the policy of the Government of Japan constitutes unreasonable 
        restrictions on the number of American students studying in Japan and 
        contributes to the disproportionate disparity between the number of 
        Japanese students studying in the United States and the number of 
        American students studying in Japan;
Whereas Japanese university branch campuses in the United States receive 
        appropriate recognition through accreditation by American accrediting 
        agencies in the same way as American universities; and
Whereas the Government of the United States grants foreign students attending 
        Japanese branch campuses in the United States student visas with the 
        same rights and privileges available to students attending similar 
        American institutions of higher education: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Government of Japan immediately cease its 
        discriminatory policy toward AACUJ-approved branch campuses in 
        Japan;
            (2) the Government of Japan accord official status to 
        AACUJ-approved branch campuses in Japan as American 
        institutions of higher education and grant them all the rights 
        and privileges enjoyed by similar Japanese educational 
        institutions; and
            (3) the Government of Japan grant student visas to students 
        wishing to attend AACUJ-approved branch campuses in Japan and 
        accord them all the rights and privileges available to students 
        attending similar Japanese educational institutions.
                                 <all>
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