After some thinking, one girl volunteered an answer: "I want to have国際結婚-international marriage." The other girls nodded in agreement- apparently they had all been thinking the same thing.

Further discussion showed they expected to meet their future English-speaking, Japanese-incompetent husbands here in Japan.

Disheartening, to say the least.

It seems, though, that the lack of curiosity or willingness to see the world is becoming more and more common among Japanese youth. The number of Japanese students studying abroad is decreasing every year, and English schools across the board are seeing enrollment dwindle.

Obviously the bad economy has an effect, but when the economy goes south and one of the first things to be dropped is internationalization it shows a bit of where the youth's priorities are. The Mainichi Daily even reports on the Funai scholarship program for students who want to study technology abroad. The ratio of applications to scholarships is 1:1- even when offered a free ride, students aren't jumping to go abroad.

As foreign teachers, part of our job is to increase students' curiosity in the world outside Japan.

We need to think of ways encourage students to have an interest in other countries for reasons besides just romance.

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