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TOKYO -- Two out of three university students in Japan are interested in working overseas, according to a survey conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun and a Tokyo-based IT firm, revealing their strong interest in foreign countries.

The survey was carried out online from July 4 to 14 by the Mainichi Shimbun in collaboration with Penmark Inc. that offers a schedule management app for college students called "Penmark." A total of 1,116 first- to fourth-year university students responded to 13 questions about their lifestyles and work styles.

When asked if they were interested in working abroad, 66.8% of respondents answered affirmatively, while 33.2% replied negatively. When those interested were asked to choose up to two specific reasons, the most common response was "to learn a new language" at 28.3%, followed by "to experience a different culture" at 26.9% and "because it is likely that incomes will be higher abroad" at 14.2%.

Naoaki Yokoyama, 27, CEO of Penmark, said that compared to how he felt when he was at college, he feels that two out of three students answering "interested in working abroad" is a very large number.

An increasing number of Japanese up to the age of 30 are working in Australia under working holiday programs, which allow them to obtain special visas. Yokoyama said, "We actually hear students say, 'Going abroad under such schemes is more cost-effective than studying abroad because I can learn, as well as earn money.' The popularity of the program may be reflected in the survey results."

Meanwhile, the poll also asked the university students if they would like to travel abroad. The most common response, at 56.5%, was "would like to go, but cannot because the cost is too high," while 18.2% said they "would like to travel and are planning to do so." Those who answered "don't want to go or are not interested" totaled 11.6%.

In a choice of up to three travel destinations, Europe was the most popular at 57.9%, followed by South Korea at 48.5%, Hawaii at 46.1% and North America (U.S. and Canada) at 43.7%.

(Japanese original by Tsuyoshi Goto, Business News Department)