Internationalisation in Japanese higher education through the lens of women’s leadership

This study undertakes a critical examination of the intricacies of internationalisation ‘beyond the West’, with a particular focus on gender in and university leadership in Japan. Notwithstanding Japan’s considerable academic achievements, a notable gender disparity persists with regard to university leadership. We examine career trajectories based on the publicly available profiles of university presidents, and interviews with women university presidents in Japan. The article focuses on the characteristics and impact of internationalisation on their role in higher education. The analysis reveals how women leaders strategically leverage international experiences and networks to navigate domestic gender barriers while simultaneously managing culturally authentic demands. This study demonstrates how internationalisation operates as both a resource and burden for women leaders, offering critical insights into the limitations of binary ‘West versus Rest’ frameworks in understanding intersectional experiences of academic leadership. It also contributes to the field of comparative education by demonstrating the complex interplay between gender, culture, and global academic mobility.