Abstract
This research examines empirically the social support, especially cultural support for international students given by Japanese host students. 50 pairs of Japanese and international students answered a questionnaire, using quantitative scoring about the social support needs and perceived support of international students. The descriptive data regarding cultural support was also obtained and analyzed qualitatively. The results show that cultural support was relatively ranked high among other social support. Although there was no substantial discrepancy between social support needs and perceived support among the recognitions of the hosts and guests, Japanese students tend to put more emphasis on the understanding of international students' culture rather than explaining their culture to the guests. The future challenges for Japanese hosts are proposed.
