Japan's top university and business leaders have announced they will come together to reverse a steady slide in the country's global standing by focusing on a growing mismatch between the needs of industry and academe. But some experts are already warning that the plan will not work. "It's just another example of round up the usual suspects with no real agenda nor any other expected outcome than hope and a prayer," says Bruce Stronach, dean of Temple University, Japan Campus. Stronach, an adviser on education reform, wants the government to focus on the quality of education inside the bulk of Japan's universities, rather than research inside the best 13.