Japanese Government Agrees To Host About 150 Syrian Refugees As Foreign Students

Japan International Cooperation Agency

In a move widely viewed by experts as responding to international pressure, Japan has said it will host some 150 Syrian refugees as foreign students in support of Europe’s efforts to tackle the influx of tens of thousands of people fleeing war in their country.

The announcement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 20 May was timed for the Summit of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised countries hosted by Japan in Ise, western Japan, on 26- 27 May. The summit highlighted the refugee and migrant issue consuming the Western world. However, until now, Japan's contribution has been mainly financial, while lagging conspicuously on the humanitarian front.

Collaboration to solve global challenges was the focus of the G7 declaration by the United States, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Japan. Citing the need to counter terrorism, extremism, refugees and deal with economic slowdown, the G7 Ise Shima Leaders' Declaration said: “We remain bound together as a group guided by our common values and principles, including freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.”

On the migration and refugee crisis, the declaration said: “The G7 recognises the ongoing large scale movements of migrants and refugees as a global challenge which requires a global response.”

Under Japan’s just-announced scheme, eligible Syrians, selected by international organisations such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will join Japanese universities under a five-year plan accommodating 30 Syrians each year.

Some will also be accepted under Japan’s aid arm, Japan International Cooperation Agency’s technical cooperation programme, which provides technical training to young people.

“Syrian war-affected youth will be accepted at various universities so that they can broaden their opportunities through education and technical expertise and help in the reconstruction of their country,” said Iwami Shiroeda, in charge of the foreign students programme at Japan’s Education Ministry.

He added the government did not have a separate programme for accepting refugees into higher education institutions.

Demographic decline

Professor Andrew Horvat, visiting professor at Josai International University, said Japanese universities should accept Syrian refugees given the country’s demographic decline – a third of the country’s population is over 60 and the population is shrinking. The Japanese government’s own projections put the population in 2055 at 90 million compared to 127 million now.

Horvat notes the number of Japanese universities has been allowed to increase – to 800 now compared to 500 just two decades ago – while the student population has shrunk by 60% in that period.

Germany’s shrinking working-age population and declining tax base was one of the main motivations for that country’s decision to take in large numbers of Syrian refugees but their ‘open door’ policy sparked a huge influx and led to border closures in some European countries as refugees and migrants sought to get to Germany.

“Japan has a desperate need to implement policies to increase immigration but political leaders do not want to open the doors because they look at Europe and are frightened by what they perceive to be problems of integration,” he explained.

Horvat also noted that few Japanese universities offer English language university degrees.

Human rights activists have criticised Japan's stringent policy on refugees – just 27 refugees were accepted from more than 7,500 applicants last year, according to Justice Ministry statistics. In 2014 Japan granted refugee status to just 11 out of 5,000 applicants.

“Against such a difficult backdrop we welcome the government’s decision to accept Syrian refugees. But the fact that they are under a student category rather than refugees does not pave the way for accepting refugees in Japan,” said Shiho Tanaka, a spokesperson at the non-profit Japan Association for Refugees, which supports refugees in Japan.

Diversity

Academics contend that the G7 Summit, including the meeting of education ministers that preceded it on 14-15 May, in Kurashiki, Okayama, has prodded Japan into a new approach towards diversity and tolerance in education.

The Kurashiki Declaration issued by G7 education ministers also set new targets for future education policy, emphasising the importance of tolerance and diversity in changing societies.

Among the priorities of G7 education policy set out by education ministers was the need to deal with the huge rise in migration to Europe, social inequality, violent extremism and international collaboration.

The declaration highlighted the role of education in promoting values of social inclusion, diversity and in providing the skills and competencies necessary to take up job opportunities and promote social equality.

It said G7 countries will join hands in training teachers capable of guiding children with distinct cultural, religious and language backgrounds to accommodate the recent global surge in refugees and immigrants.

Professor Koichi Nakano, who teaches political science in the English language curriculum of Sophia University, Tokyo, said the Kurashiki concepts such as diversity and tolerance are still on the back burner for policy-makers in Japan.

“Despite the increase in foreign students, Japanese campuses have not yet started a national debate on adopting a zero-sum tolerance policy dealing with racism for instance,” he said.

Well-respected for his activities in promoting multiculturalism, Nakano has initiated discussion on the topic but says this type of debate is usually restricted to academics.

Another important point in the Kurashiki statement was recognising education for employment and society for borderless labour markets brought about globalisation.

Professor Hideki Maruyama, an expert on comparative education at Sophia University, said this was important as the Japanese market has restricted access to foreign employees.

The concept of borderless employment is still not really grasped by employers and universities, where the student population is still not internationally diverse, he said.