English Archives - Page 13 of 13 - Education is not tourism

Jasmin, 31, Austria

Even in my younger years, it has always been my dream to travel to a country, that is so rich in culture and history. The reason for studying Japanese in Japan, includes many aspects for me, as for example, as to know more about the country, people, traditions and culture and to understand all these aspects, I need and want to learn the language from native speakers.

The international students are young people who have been preparing to study in Japan for a long time, and many of them have already been granted student visas and are waiting for the borders to open.

Many other countries are accepting foreign students or making efforts to accept them with precautions in place while people wanting to study in Japan are still stuck in limbo.

With the suspension of new arrivals for almost a whole year, since April 2020, with a brief exception for October through December, the plight of overseas students is increasing. Without a timeline being announced as to when they will be able to come to Japan, they are stuck in their home countries waiting for news and their lives remain on hold. We hope you will take a look at the students stories, understand the difficulties they are facing and announce when they will be able to enter Japan again.

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, an entry ban has been put in place, affecting all foreing student-visa holders for most of 2020 and 2021. However, the immigrations bureau continues accepting student visa applications and issuing Certificates of Eligibility without any indication of when students will actually be able to enter the country. To try and understand the reality of this long-lasting situation for students, we conducted a questionnaire among international students overseas who are waiting to enter Japan. The responses we have received clearly show the stress students are suffering as a result of the uncertainty about when they will be able to enter Japan and start their studies. Many other countries are accepting international students and students are forced to give up on their dream to study in Japan and switch to other countries like China or Korea instead or cancel altogether. Having these insights made us feel the need to convey the difficulty international students are facing to the Japanese society and government. We hope you will take a look at what the students have to say and share their stories to raise awareness of their plight.