While US legislators seem to be driving Americans from attending college, our colleges still sell well around the world. The Institute of International Education reported in 2011 there were 5.7 percent more international students than the year before, totaling 764,495 students. This is not true of all foreign countries. In 2010 there were 14 percent fewer students from Japan studying in the U.S. This could reflect the aging of the Japanese economy or the maturation of the Japanese education system t the point where a US education is not to all that important.
A lot of foreign students come over to the US to become fluent in English faster as they have to use it every day while in college. However, due to the digital age making everything easier, there are now English apps for children (or 子供英語) that want to learn English and means that there is less need for students to come to the US as they are already fluent and have been learning English from a young age. English is the most common second language to use as it is found in every continent so lots of children are taught it to give them a better chance of success in later life.
Another reason for the fewer Japanese students is because it is becoming more expensive for students to move to the US due to rising visa and living costs. This is putting more people off as they think they can get all the benefits of a US college while living in Japan still.