M.B.A.’s in Japan Struggle for Respect

But, partly in an effort to counter those perceptions, some business schools themselves are working to make their M.B.A. degrees more relevant.
Administrators of Japanese business schools like Hitotsubashi University’s Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy and Globis Business School, both in Tokyo, say they seek to offer a business education that takes into account the local corporate culture.
Hitotsubashi’s dean, Christina Ahmadjian, said that students at her school are required to take a course in “knowledge creation.”
“Students read about the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, among many other things, and learn about how leading Japanese companies have innovated through sharing of ‘tacit knowledge’ — knowledge that is best communicated through long-term, close, personal relationships,” she said. “This is the polar opposite of the Wall Street view of things.”
This evolving approach to M.B.A.’s comes at a time when there is something of a boom for a mid-career business education in Japan.
Since the Ministry of Education began accrediting graduate schools meant to train business and management professionals seven years ago, more than 30 schools have sprung up in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka, typically run as evening and weekend programs stretched over two-year to four-year periods.
The growth in Japan has been fed by two major factors: A weak economy has pushed more professionals to seek degrees and certificates to improve their job prospects, and big Japanese companies have largely stopped sponsoring expensive overseas degrees the way they once did for their employees.

　M.B.Aはアメリカから見たら大事な「売り物」だからその価値は高いほうがいい。