Message from President of JANU “Dear international students awaiting entry to Japan” (January 17)
January 17, 2022
Dear international students awaiting entry to Japan: We feel it regrettable that many international students have been unable to enter Japan due to the repeated spread of COVID-19. International students are a very significant part of Japanese society. National universities in Japan have welcomed you and will be committed to accepting you in the future as well. In September last year, the Japan Association of National Universities (JANU) asked the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to ease restrictions on the entry of new international students so that they can study in Japan more quickly. At present, however, an emergency preventive measure against the Omicron variant, the Japanese government’s policy of generally suspending the new entry of foreign nationals from all countries and regions has been in effect. National universities have been thoroughly preparing to deal with COVID-19 over the past years. In addition, we have conducted solid online learning and teaching for students. We are ready to welcome you at any time and will do our best to accept you once the government restrictions are lifted. This pandemic is a challenge common to the whole world and must be overcome with the collective wisdom of the entire world. JANU greatly appreciates the patience of all of you who, despite this difficult situation, continue to have a strong will to study in Japan. We look forward to your preparation for future learning in Japan and wish you good health. We sincerely hope that the day will come soon when we will meet you in Japan and learn together. Sincerely yours, NAGATA Kyosuke President of the Japan Association of National Universities (JANU)