<< Students choose to study abroad for various reasons. I do not know many cases, but some people I know decided to study abroad because they can obtain diplomas such as bachelor�fs, master�fs , doctorate degree of their desired fields and language skills at the same time. Acquiring a good command of any foreign language will be faster and efficient if you are immersed in the environment where the target language is spoken. It is truly a case of killing two birds with one stone. Also, as the job market in Japan today is very tight, young people need to have certain sets of skills that are attractive to recruiters. They are seeking for people who can offer marketable talents. In this respect, studying abroad will give young people competitive edge for many reasons, especially in terms of language skills.   Not all students who choose to study abroad have specific goals in mind, though. But I think that is OK, too, as long as they can afford to do that. Before they knew, they can broaden their views and understandings of the world. Schools, especially universities are where people around the world gather to study. Students could stay in Japan and broaden their view, interact with international friends, but I think they can learn a whole lot more if they step out of Japan once and see first hand how different and diverse the way people of other nationalities think and do. Students' intellectual curiosities will be further stimulated in foreign environments where people teach, think and do differently from students' Japanese counterparts.   Some people say there is not much that we cannot study if we do not study abroad. There are plenty of people who perfected their skills that are of first rate without stepping out of Japan. Still, I can understand people who choose to study abroad without specific goals. They believe the experience itself is valuable and beneficial for their future as a whole. These are some of the reasons I can think of why many people decide to study abroad.