FOCUS: Cut to foreign PhD student support deals blow to Japanese academia
Before the change proposed late June, the government offered up to 2.4 million yen ($16,400) as a living allowance annually to PhD students. Now, however, the education ministry plans to extend the support only to Japanese nationals, with the change likely taking effect as early as fiscal 2027, if approved by a ministry committee.
"It is unacceptable that suddenly a line is drawn between the students based on nationality when both Japanese and foreigners have bonded and studied together daily. It is unthinkable that the students will be treated differently," said Emi Omuro, a Japanese third-year PhD student at Ochanomizu University.
Omuro organized a rally in front of JR Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo in early July, with approximately 20 mostly-Japanese university students holding up placards saying, "Don't discriminate," "Nationality clause will shake the foundation of Japanese academia," and "Academia has no borders."
The issue of payments to foreign students entered the political discussion during a parliamentary debate in March when Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Haruko Arimura stated that over a third of those who have received the money were foreign nationals.
Arimura singled out Chinese students, saying the "government should not just stand by" and watch doctorate programs become dependent on Chinese students "from the perspective of national economic security."
"The program cannot win the support of the public without clearly stipulating that it is designed to support Japanese nationals," Arimura said.
Of the 10,564 people who received the subsidies in fiscal 2024, 39 percent were foreigners, with Chinese nationals accounting for 76 percent of the non-Japanese cohort at 3,151, according to the ministry.
The number of foreign students at high-level institutions such as universities and vocational colleges as of May 2024 surged 21.7 percent from the previous year to 229,467, including 20,015 enrolled in PhD programs.
The decision to withdraw support for foreign students comes in stark contrast to the government's stated goal of increasing the number of PhD candidates from overseas.
It set a target to raise the ratio of international students in doctoral programs to 33 percent by 2033 over 10 years, up from 21 percent in 2023.
"The (funding withdrawal) plan shows the government is only looking at one aspect of a person, their role as a researcher, when they are living human beings that need to make a living," Omuro said, adding that most would have to cut back on their study time to instead work to survive.
Azusa Karashi, another Japanese doctorate student, said, "I am extremely angry at the government for creating a division between students, who improve knowledge and research by exchanging views and through communication. The measure suppresses people with diverse backgrounds."
In addition to affecting the student experience, the loss of PhD students will deal a blow to the universities' research capabilities.
Norihiro Nihei, professor at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo, warned that excluding and discriminating based on nationality will lead to a "steady decline in the level of academia in Japan over the medium to long term."
"I have felt up close how many foreign students with highly specialized expertise have generated significant ideas and knowledge while studying at Japanese universities and raised the level of academia," Nihei said in a comment posted on an online petition against the changes.
Demonstrating this brain drain, a Chinese graduate school student at the University of Tokyo said she would abandon plans to advance to a doctoral course because of the new measure, arguing it is unfair.
"I was thinking of applying for (the program) next year. But given the inflation in the price of daily goods, I will give up advancing to a PhD program if I can't get financial support and look for a job instead," she said at the student rally in Ikebukuro.
The government program was launched in fiscal 2021 to provide support for PhD students, offering 1.8 million yen to 2.4 million yen in living support, with the aid also covering research and other fees totaling up to 2.9 million yen. Foreign students will remain eligible for research expenses.
Yusuke Kazama, lecturer at Nara Prefectural University, said the policy is a reflection of the recent increase in xenophobia in Japan, characterized by the "Japanese First" platform promoted by Sanseito, a new populist right-wing party that campaigns on anti-immigrant policies.
"I fear that foreigners, who are in the minority, are being scapegoated" in this social phenomenon, Kazama said, stressing, "International students who have come to Japan with a desire to learn and who have chosen to study here should never be excluded."
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