International students wait for Japan to open

 International students wait for Japan to open

Adeline Leng continues to wait to come to Japan, while many students give up or study abroad.

Adeline Leng was expected to start studying at a language school in Japan last April, but has not been able to go yet because of strict border control policies.

Adeline, 26, applied 16 months ago. Since then, the Singaporean schoolgirl can only wait. In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Adeline said that she was stressed because of the passage of time but couldn't go to Japan to study.

International students wait for Japan to open its border

Adeline Leng gave an online interview to Kyodo News from her home in Singapore on January 14. Screenshots

Japan banned the entry of foreigners who are not citizens or permanent residents from the end of November 2021, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) identified Omicron as a worrisome and easy variant. spread.

Adeline has a Japanese grandmother. She was born in Singapore but moved to Australia at the age of 10. A long time ago, Adeline wanted to come to Japan to live. She remembers saying that wish to her parents since she was 13 or 14 years old, but was told that she would face language and cultural barriers because she was "not 100% Japanese".

Even so, Adeline still looks forward to going to Japan. She started learning the language when she was in high school. Adeline has a master's degree in architecture and urban design but switched to digital design when the pandemic began because she felt "the construction industry is not doing well".

Also during this time, she had an Australian boyfriend who was living and doing business in Japan. Adeline's goal is to one day work for a Japanese technology company.

According to Adeline, Japan's entry restrictions for foreigners are too strict.

While some like-minded friends have moved to European countries, Anais Cordeiro de Medeiros, in Brazil, remains faithful to her choice. She did not give up on Japan, even though her plan to study abroad in Japan had gone up in smoke.

The 29-year-old girl plans to attend graduate school in Tokyo for two years from April 2020. She quit her job, sold her car and packed up her belongings at home in the city of Rio Branco, when the pandemic situation took a turn for the worse, but in the end still could not go to Japan.

International students wait for Japan to open its border - 1

Anais Cordeiro de Medeiros (left) takes a photo with relatives at home in the city of Rio Branco in February 2020. Photo: Anais Cordeiro de Medeiros

The time difference is 14 hours, but she decided to take her classes online in Tokyo. Anais said the travel ban "will definitely have a "negative social impact".

"I'm not a threat. I'm just a student," the Brazilian schoolgirl said.

After completing her master's thesis by distance research for almost two years and booking flights to Japan "more than 10 times", her graduation is fast approaching. If the ban is relaxed, she could attend her graduation ceremony in Tokyo in mid-March.

Davide Rossi, who now runs a Tokyo-based company that helps international students study in Japan, condemned the "double standards" policies as "completely unfair" and "quite pointless".

"The government interprets the ban on foreigners entering the country as a way to prevent Omicro, as if only foreigners can bring Omicron in," said 39-year-old Rossi, who said students he knew were willing to go. glass as long as required.

In 2008, Rossi left Italy to go to Tokyo to study languages. The UK founded an association called "Open Borders for Safe Learning" last spring to support foreign students affected by the country's border control measures and share information. with them.

"I couldn't change everything on my own, because it was too big, but I decided to do something for the students," Rossi said.

According to Rossi, more and more students who once loved Japan have "changed their attitudes to hate".

Japan's Education Ministry says there are about 147,000 people waiting to enter Japan, but "a significant number" of them are said to no longer want to come.

Japan's entry ban has been criticized internationally, including by the WHO. The organization has urged member states to lift or relax international travel bans by mid-January.

Many domestic enterprises also voiced concern that such steps could negatively affect the economy in the long run by reducing the number of foreign workers and talented researchers.