Foreign Students Disappointed in Japan’s Corona Policy — Putting a Lot of them in Dilemma

Was it necessary to keep them in their home country in the first place?

New entries of foreigners, excluding tourists such as business people and foreign students, finally resumed in March. The government expanded the daily entry limit from the initial 5,000 to 7,000 on March 14. They are also considering a proposal to raise the number to 10,000 from April.

It has been two years since Japan has continued its strict restrictions on immigration. Criticism of Japan’s “coronal isolation” has grown both at home and abroad, and some foreign students who are unable to come to Japan have begun to change their study destination to other countries, such as South Korea.

According to the Immigration and Residency Management Agency, the number of foreign students who have been granted status of residence but have been unable to come to Japan will total approximately 152,000 by the end of 2021.

I think this is an extraordinary number.

So points out Usubi Sako, former president of Kyoto Seika University, who has been referring to Japan’s globalization and diversity.

Our university has around 120 international students who are unable to come to Japan in the 2020 and 2009 academic years combined. We have taken three measures to help them: first, we have a deferred admission policy, which allows those who were accepted in the 2008 academic year to defer admission until the 2009 academic year; second, they can enroll and take distance learning classes; and third, they can take a distance learning course. The other option is to enroll and take a leave of absence.

But I personally do not think it is necessary to keep already accepted international students in their home countries. They are not short term visitors. After coming to Japan, they will live in Japan for 4 or 5 years. It is nonsense not to allow them to enter Japan on the same basis as ordinary tourists.

In line with the relaxation of waterfront measures, the government has introduced the “Smooth Entry Scheme for Foreign Students” to take advantage of empty seats on weekday airplanes in order to prioritize the acceptance of foreign students. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno indicated at a press conference that “by the end of May, a considerable number of international students will be able to enter Japan.

We wanted international students to be able to enter Japan by April, when the new semester begins, but the announcement from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology regarding new arrivals was made on February 21, and even if we were told that they could enter Japan from March, it would be difficult for them to apply for a study abroad VISA,” he said. If you have not yet done so, there is no way you can make it in time. Combining those who have been waiting in their home countries with new students, we do not know when all international students will be able to enter the country by the end of the year. So I ask teachers to proceed with hybrid classes, thinking that some international students won’t be able to come to the university until June or July.”

State and university systems and regulations regarding study abroad are not suitable for the Corona disaster.

The government’s waterfront measures over a long period of time have disappointed international students who wish to study in Japan and exchange partners. It may be said that whether or not it is possible to dispel the distrust invited during this period depends on the response of each university after international students have arrived in Japan. However, …….

There are a number of national and university systems and regulations concerning study abroad that are not suitable for the Corona disaster.

For example, in the case of our university, we apply tuition reductions and exemptions to international students who are already living in Japan, and we also provide scholarships. However, international students who have not been able to come to Japan and are still in their own country are not eligible for tuition fee reductions or exemptions.

Tuition reductions and exemptions are determined by checking the international student’s remittances and rent, but if the student has not entered Japan, neither remittances nor rent will accrue. The standard at all universities is, “Therefore, we cannot make a decision. But from an international student’s point of view, it is natural to think, “I am paying a large amount of tuition to the university even though I can only take remote classes. Universities explain that “the tuition fee includes the facility use fee. In that sense, I think the cost of education is not subject to simple calculation, so I would like to see the university change its explanation of tuition and fees in the opposite direction.

Despite the inconsistent regulations in the Corona disaster, universities are forced into a situation where they can only take the same measures as in normal times. Unless the regulations and systems are urgently revised, the administrative office will be able to do its routine work and no one will complain.

But student support, scholarships, and tuition fee reductions and exemptions would also be covered if expanded. It would be possible for each university to develop a system that would be available even to undocumented students.

As president of the university, it is difficult for me to say this, but I have advised the university to do so. How about changing the various regulations with emergency considerations? Although the university did start to consider this, it did not go as smoothly as we had hoped.

Japanese are losing confidence and becoming exclusive.

–The university must now have the will and the ability to stand up to policies and ludicrous things that are not in the best interest of the students….

Mr. Sako writes in his book, “From Africa, President Sako Talks about Japan” (Asahi Shinbun Publishing Co., Ltd.).

He says, “Japan claims to be proactive in accepting international students, yet it is taking measures that make international students distrustful of Japan. This makes Japanese universities less likely to be chosen as destinations for study abroad. I have a strong feeling that we must change the mindset of our universities.

In fact, Seika students are now going to Europe on exchange programs. The students over there were not allowed to come to Japan due to Japan’s water border measures, but they accepted our students after confirming the other country’s corona measures. There are other universities that have said we are very welcome. There are students who enrolled in Seika because of the study abroad program, so the university must do everything it can to meet their needs.

Naturally, I encourage students to study abroad. Going abroad is an opportunity to rediscover yourself. By putting yourself outside of Japan, you can see who you are for the first time. This will lead to your future job-hunting activities. As far as I am concerned, I would like you to go as much as possible. That is why I recommend that you select a study abroad program that is feasible even under the current circumstances.

As with the immigration restrictions targeting foreign students, Sako has her own thoughts on Japan’s foreign student policy itself.

In the past, the government planned to accept 100,000 foreign students, and then 300,000 after that. However, despite the call to increase the number of foreign students, Japanese society is not ready to accept them. The objective should have been to raise the global awareness of universities and society, but there is no mechanism in place to achieve this goal. It is doubtful that the nation is truly ready to accept international students.

In his book, Mr. Sako lists “symbiosis” as one of the important keywords for a global society. We live in an era in which globalization is no longer inevitable, but has Japanese society achieved multicultural conviviality?

I think it depends on how you define globalization, but globalization is something that will happen even if we don’t let it happen. No one can stop it.

In the midst of this, many Japanese people seem to have lost confidence. I think they are becoming exclusive in this corona disaster because of their lack of confidence. When I came to Japan 30 years ago, just before the bubble economy burst, Japanese people were quite bold. Now, they may be trying to gain a sense of security by excluding strangers, saying, ‘I’m OK.

So, what is necessary for Japan, for the Japanese people, now that we are entering the age of With Corona?

During the two years that the corona outbreak has spread, I feel that things have become more visible in the community, at home, and in the slow life style. For example, we have more opportunities to see international students participating in local festivals and other forms of interaction.

I strongly believe once again that we need to place more value on individual relationships and diversity. I believe that society in the age of With Corona will show us various directions. Such is my feeling.”

Usubi Sako, Director of the Research Organization of Kyoto Seika University and former President of Kyoto Seika University, was born in Bamako, Mali in 1966, studied at Beijing Language and Culture University and Southeast University in China from 1985, and entered the Japanese Language School in Osaka in 1991, completed a Ph. He became Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in 2013 and President of the University in 2018. His publications include “What I want to tell you to live in the ‘future world'” (Yamato Shobo) and “Usubi Sako’s ‘Still, I can’t read the air'” (Sekaishisosha).