JAPAN: Plans to reverse post-disaster student exodus

Japan's recovery plans following the powerful earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident on 11 March includes luring back thousands of foreign students who play a significant role in bolstering higher education in the country.

Some 4,300 foreign students left the country or did not turn up for the new term, according to a survey, with many of them being advised by their governments not to travel. Universities in the disaster region were worst hit but the effects were felt much further afield, including in Tokyo.

"Various measures have been taken to assure international students they can return to their studies following the disaster," said Kenichi Ota, official in charge of the overseas population at the Japan Students Association, which provides support for local and foreign students.

Under Japan's Disaster Relief Act, the association is overseeing a financial scholarship programme extended for four months to undergraduate and graduate students in disaster-affected universities.

Under a special support programme that will accept applications through universities, students can receive Yen65,000 (US$800) a month each between April and July to cover the initial expenses of settling back into university, including rent and books.

Foreign students enrolled in two-year programmes in colleges in the area will be offered Yen 48,000 (approximately US$585) monthly for the same period.

The Education Ministry is also extending air fares to graduate students who want to return to their studies in the affected region which includes the Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures and parts of 113 municipalities in Tokyo. An official explained that the offer covers 350 students and is open-ended, pointing out that the universities have not yet opened.

Universities and colleges not located in the disaster zone have also been conducting seminars and offering information to foreigners in a bid to reduce concern over radiation and aftershocks and to prevent further deterioration of confidence in Japan, explained university staff.

Some have even dispatched staff to China and South Korea, where a large number of foreign students originate, to explain to returned students and prospective students how universities are dealing with the disaster.

According to a survey conducted by the Yomiuri newspaper, a leading daily, at least 4,330 foreign nationals studying at 71 Japanese universities left the country after the earthquake. The figure includes students who cancelled their planned visits to avoid the aftershocks and radiation contamination from damaged nuclear reactors in badly-hit Fukushima prefecture.

The survey conducted among universities indicated fear and concern among foreign students.

Sophia University in Tokyo, with a foreign student body of 10% of total enrolments, reported that 120 of 149 expected newcomers had cancelled their plans. Of 147 foreign students who enrolled at the university last September, 75 have not been attending classes that began this month.

Damaged Tohoku University in Sendai, the prestigious national institute in the largest city in the region, had 1,499 students from overseas when the quake struck. More than two-thirds have left, according to the survey.

Reiko Ogawa, director of the international students section at Kyushu University in southern Japan, pointed out that foreign enrolments were vital for higher learning institutions.

"Apart from bringing financial resources, overseas students provide stimulus to Japanese counterparts by bringing in new ideas and culture. Japanese students tend to be insular given the homogeneity in the country," she explained.

Kyushu University attracts the top students from the area and accommodates almost 2,000 from overseas with the majority enrolled in graduate programmes.

Japan's prestigious University of Tokyo has almost 3,000 foreign students. Only 11 out of 28 foreign students enrolled in the one-year exchange programme that began in October have been absent since the spring term started in April.

Chinese and Korean students top the overseas list in Japan followed by students from the US and Southeast Asia. Graduate level courses and research programmes in agriculture and engineering are the most popular.

Japan, hit with a declining national student population, has set an annual target of attracting 300,000 foreign students but the current number is slightly above 141,000. Officials fear that unless the exodus is swiftly reversed, students will enroll in universities in other countries instead.