Japan’s foreign students struggle with high bar for coronavirus aid

Nearly four in 10 foreign students in Japanese universities are from China and they are among those who must meet extra criteria to qualify for financial aid

The money is meant to help those who have lost income from part-time jobs and professors are asking the government to treat all nationalities equally

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Students head to the University of Tokyo. File photo

Published: 12:00pm, 24 Jun 2020Updated: 10:38pm, 24 Jun 2020

Xiaomei Wang can no longer find work in Japan and her savings are running low. She is unable to return to China because of the restrictions on travel and she fears that if she did leave it would be very difficult to return to Japan and complete her university studies. So the money that the government has promised students to help them through the coronavirus pandemic would be a huge help.

Unfortunately, Wang is not Japanese and is still not sure if she meets the criteria to receive the assistance. A group of professors has taken up foreign students’ cause, calling on the authorities here to support students who are facing hardship no matter their nationality, but she is still waiting.

“It’s a big problem and it’s very worrying for me and my friends,” said Wang, 26, who is studying ethics and Japanese thought in the graduate school of Kobe University. “I used to work as a Chinese language teacher, but nobody wants to study now so there are no students for me.

“I don’t plan to go home because the biggest problem would be coming back to Japan later to continue with my studies.”

Wang, from Zhuzhou city in Hunan province, has filled in the paperwork from the Japanese government to receive a one-time payment of up to 100,000 yen (US$935) – and is waiting to hear if she has been successful.