International Students in Japan are forgotten by the Japanese government, priority has been given to Olympic athletes instead.
Foreign students pursuing higher education or language study in Japan are a key resource for the country’s aging economy, however, Japan is prioritizing the entrance of foreign Olympic athletes and foreign Olympic-related staff.
Japan has decided to guarantee access to 200,000 athletes from around the world plus related staff and their families but has forgotten international students who are now left in limbo and don’t know if/when they will be able to enter Japan.
Many students have had their life on hold for over one year, due to all the uncertainty. Students have been working towards their dreams to come to Japan for a long time, it takes planning, money, and effort on their behalf to commit to coming.
I would lose not only one scholarship, but two. Also, I would have wasted one year and a half of my education, not being able to plan anything relating to jobs and education during a critical time of my life. The ban has forced me to deny important opportunities both in the education field and work field.
Filippo, a 24 year old graduate student from Italy said.
I want to learn the language and immerse myself in the culture. After mastering the language, I want to get a Master’s Degree in Japan […] I’ve been waiting for a year now and all set to move. I quit my job because I thought I can enter Japan soon, but they imposed another travel ban. I don’t want to spare another month or year being kept in the dark. If there will be another delay, then I’ll continue with my life and forget about moving to Japan. I like the country and the culture, but it’s sad that I feel unwanted and I can’t spare another year waiting for something to happen.
Denmoree, 27, product officer from the Philippines said.
I will have a Problem. I gave it all up for this.
More concisely Raphael, from Austria said.
Why should international students be allowed to enter Japan with higher (or at least the same) priority than Olympic athletes?
Japan has the responsibility to use the same treatment for international students who are willing to contribute long term to Japanese society as they are for Olympic Athletes — as unlike athletes they are committed to learning the language and will build more bridges between Japan and the rest of the world.
I’m doing a master’s focusing on EU-Japan relations and politics and law in East Asia. Studying Japanese and going to Japan to complete my Double Master’s Degree at a Japanese university this year is an essential part of advancing my expertise in this area and contributing to the understanding and exchange between the European Union and Japan. After my studies, I wish to seek employment in Japan and contribute with my language skills as well as knowledge about politics and law in the European Union and Japan to academic and economic exchange between the EU and Japan. During my studies, I furthermore plan to contribute with my Master’s thesis to the research field of international relations in East Asia and relations between the EU and Japan. My research focuses on Japan as playing an important role as an international actor to advance liberal values on the global stage and can help the understanding of how to develop this role further, especially in its cooperation with the European Union.
Laura 27 from Germany
I want to begin my PhD in Japan, it’s my dream to be involved with one of the premier laboratories in immunology. I will give up my current job in my country
Maha, an assistant researcher from Egypt wrote to us.
As an exchange student, I hope to bring the chance of intercultural exchange to the students at my guest university. Coming from a very diverse home city, I think I can offer new perspectives and ideas to those that I have the pleasure of meeting. Furthermore, as my goal is to be an international researcher in my field of mathematical computer science, a fruitful stay in Osaka would definitely make it possible for me to attend a Ph.D. program in Japan as well, leading me to become directly involved in not only strengthening German-Japanese relationships but also helping Japan stay relevant in the global research scene […] I cannot postpone my exchange year another time. And since I will finish my degree in 2022, I cannot re-apply at a later time. If I cannot come to Japan, I lose this opportunity forever. This will impact my entire future plan, I need this opportunity to succeed in becoming an internationally active researcher.
Paula, 23 master’s student from Germany wrote to us
Students can not wait forever in the dark, thousands of young, bright and motivated people from all over the world have been stuck in their country for over 1 year waiting for any news that can help them to understand if and when they will finally be able to enter Japan and move on with their lives project.
I will be frustrated and disappointed as I’ve already wasted 1 very important year of my life waiting just to enter Japan […] my whole life and career is in hold.. I’ve already waited over a year now.
Ashish from Nepal
My semester will be canceled and I will not be able to graduate.
Cleto 22 years old from France
Every international student is well aware of how important is to follow the measures and precautions to limit any spread of the COVID-19, including being tested before and after entering Japan, not using public transportation on arrival, do any required quarantine, report their health condition, and location daily via smartphone apps and follow all recommended social distance guidelines, and they even agree in a pledge to their sponsor schools to ensure they comply to all rules.
For a foreigner in Japan, not complying with the rules, may cause deportation and any chance to get a visa again so international students take the situation very seriously.
I want the government to know that I take COVID very seriously. I follow all of the laws and precautions within my home country, and I will do the same in Japan. I’m willing to follow all of the precautions necessary to keep Japanese citizens and myself safe.
Zachary 21 years old from Canada wrote to us
I’m willing to do everything from quarantine to vaccinations but Japan has to start giving us something at this point a clear date would be preferred. For now I probably have to look again for a new job […] since there I have no sight on entering Japan any time soon. It makes me really sad and frustrated
Iris, a Doctor assistant from Poland wrote
So why is the Japanese government not letting the students in?
The primary reason can only be a political one. When the subject is the Olympics, Japan immediately had a response. But for students, there isn’t enough pressure.
I understand that athletes, who have been training for several years, need to come in, but it’s kind of frustrating that students who have a higher commitment to Japan for the long term and who are willing to strictly follow the measures in place to avoid spreading the COVID-19, can not enter the country yet and don’t know what the plan for them is yet.
Decisions about the Olympics athletes were quick to be made, why do international students, that have already been approved entry and who are holding the necessary paperwork, have to wait for so long for an answer?
Japanese people have criticized Prime Minister Suga that coronavirus infections increased because of the government’s lack of proactive policies.
“Strengthening of border controls is one of the few cards Mr. Suga has left to show the public that he is strictly controlling the coronavirus. He (Mr. Suga) is becoming very defensive and cannot gamble” said Hitoshi Komiya, a professor of modern Japanese political history at Aoyama Gakuin University.
In contrast, South Korea has continued to accept international students (with PCR testing, quarantine, and proper measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19) while Japan has banned them. South Korea, at the time we write this article, has only one-fourth of Japan daily cases, this shows that allowing international students to enter the country, with proper measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, is not the reason for an increasing number of cases.
In Japan, it is often reported that foreigners are responsible for having brought the virus in from abroad and have contributed to the spread of the COVID-19, but in reality, for most of the last 12 months foreigners have been unable to enter Japan, so pretty much every case from abroad has actually been from a Japanese person coming back, the measure of closing the borders selectively to foreigners hasn’t really worked (although politically it has its power to show the government is acting strongly to stop the virus).
One other reason cases increased, especially last autumn, was the Go To Travel campaign from the Japanese government. This campaign was launched to promote and support local tourism while international tourism was no longer possible, but it caused the mainly Japanese people to use this campaign to spread the virus from big cities like Tokyo and Osaka to smaller tourist villages in the country.
With the apparent lack of care about the situation of foreign students, many are questioning whether it’s the right choice to make a long-term investment in Japan or to now consider other countries.
Japan has one of the best universities for the legal field I’m interested in, and that program will allow me to materialize the dreams I have for my career. It will mean disappointment, depression, anxiety, feeling of unfairness and injustice and the possible change of destination to South Korea, I don’t want to lose another year of my life
Maria Alejandria a 24 years old lawyer from Colombia wrote
It is still possible for the Japanese government to improve the situation, but they have to act now. Time is running out and international students need urgently to have details and a time frame for when they can enter Japan so they can at least plan their lives for the next few months.
Help me share the message
I wanted to help and raise this issue, I can not do this alone so I met with some of the language school associations to discuss what we can do to lobby the government on behalf of all international students.
The response from the school representatives was that the government highly weighs the impact to those students who are most directly affected and so we created a form to help capture that information to be able to share with the government more easily. Some of the responses captured so far are in this article.
I know many people reading this have already been pushing for answers from the government but we would like to ask that as many of you as possible share your story and pass this on to friends too, in order to be able to supply the school representatives with as much helpful material as we can.
We ask if you are willing to share your story that you please fill the form here as soon as you can, so we can use the information to push for students to be able to enter Japan for the April term as soon as possible.
The form can be filled in your native language, English or Japanese. If you are an international student waiting to go to Japan, even if you didn’t use my company to apply for a school, you can enter here: https://forms.gle/mS53z3p3NrkEu6b17
If you are not an international student, but you know someone who is please let them know about this initiative. If you want to support other international students, please share and like this article since the more people and awareness we get the more powerful messages we can deliver to the Japanese government.
I talk more about the situation of international students on Twitter and YouTube
I hope I will see all of you in Japan soon.
