[No Repayment Required] When does the 10 million yen preferential treatment for Chinese students start? Is the suffering of Japanese people being completely ignored...
Hello, this is Kanna!
Today's topic is a bit heavy, but...
I've looked into and thought about the news I saw recently regarding 'support for Chinese international students'.
Honestly, at first, I was surprised and thought, 'Wait, what?'
Is the treatment really that different from us who are working hard here in Japan?
But I don't think it's good to judge based on emotion alone, so I'll organize the facts properly before writing down my thoughts.
[No Repayment Required] When does the 10 million yen preferential treatment for Chinese students start?
It was revealed through a question by House of Councillors member Haruko Arimura that there was a system providing up to 2.9 million yen per year to doctoral students for 3 to 4 years.
And this was done with 'no repayment required'!
In other words, a grant of about 10 million yen per person.
Moreover, out of the 10,564 recipients in fiscal year 2024, Chinese international students accounted for 2,904 (about 30%).
Japanese students accounted for 6,439, or about 60%.
Doesn't it seem a bit unbalanced that the remaining 40% are foreign students?
We Japanese students are struggling with scholarship repayments, yet foreign students get 10 million yen without needing to repay it...
I think it's natural that everyone is angry about this disparity.
It's a system called the 'Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation (SPRING)' run by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which started in fiscal year 2021 and had no nationality or age requirements.
What is the SPRING program?
The official name is 'Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation'.
The support amount is up to 2.9 million yen per year, and the support period is 3 to 4 years.
What surprised me the most is that there is absolutely no obligation to repay it!
It is a full grant.
It started in the 2021 fiscal year, and the selection process is determined independently by about 90 universities nationwide.
There were no restrictions on nationality or age, so it was in a state where anyone could apply.
But think about it.
It's normal for Japanese students to take out student loans and be chased by repayments for a long time after graduation, yet they just hand over 10 million yen to foreign students...
Doesn't that seem strange?
I also took out student loans during my university days, so I was really surprised by this difference.
The selection criteria are also left to the universities, so it is unclear what criteria they are using to choose.
Don't you think there should be clearer criteria?
What is everyone's reaction?
Looking at Twitter, so many people are really angry...
There are many voices saying, 'It's our tax money...', 'Japanese students are suffering from student loan repayments', and 'Why is priority given to foreigners?'
I really understand how you feel.
I also took out student loans during my university days.
I was repaying them every month even after I graduated, and honestly, it was tough.
Yuta Misaki was also angry, saying, 'Why are you supporting Chinese people with 10 million yen?'
This is Japan, right?
'Is this politics for foreigners?' and I really think he's right.
Lawmaker Arimura also said, 'The reality that about 10 million yen in support for students in doctoral programs was being provided to about 3,000 Chinese students was revealed for the first time through my questions,' and everyone is also angry about the fact that it had been hidden until now.
There are also many voices questioning the transparency of the selection process.
Is the suffering of Japanese students being completely ignored...
In my circle, I have many friends who have been paying off student loans for over 10 years, seniors working side jobs to pay them back, and juniors who gave up on continuing their education...
Meanwhile, foreign students get 10 million yen without needing to repay it...
I really think this disparity is wrong.
The reality for many Japanese students is that they take out loans to cover tuition and living expenses, and are hounded by repayments for a long time after graduation.
My monthly repayments are really tough, and I wonder if you can understand the feeling of hesitating to think about marriage or having children because of the debt.
Under such circumstances, the sense of unfairness regarding such generous support being provided to foreign students is really strong.
We Japanese students are the ones who will carry the future of Japan, so I can't help but wonder why foreigners are being given preferential treatment.
Of course, international exchange is important, but the priorities are wrong, aren't they?
Number of Chinese students at the University of Tokyo
I was also surprised by this, but the number of Chinese students at the University of Tokyo has increased 4.7 times in 16 years, from 727 in fiscal 2008 to 3,396 in fiscal 2024!
The proportion of all international students has also doubled, from 30% in fiscal 2009 to 61% in fiscal 2024.
In other words, more than half of the international students at the University of Tokyo are Chinese.
Is this normal?
Of course, I think it's important to gather talented people from around the world, but when it's this skewed, it makes me a little worried.
Seeing the current situation where the University of Tokyo, Japan's top academic institution, is occupied by so many Chinese students, I really wonder if it's okay.
And if many of them are receiving non-repayable support through the SPRING program...
We Japanese students are studying while worrying about money, so I have mixed feelings about it.
What is it like overseas?
According to research by Representative Arimura, tuition for international students in Canada is 5.5 times that of domestic students, and in the United States, it is 2.9 times higher.
In other words, usually foreigners pay higher tuition fees.
The current reality is that Japan is doing the opposite and giving them preferential treatment...
I wonder if this is rare even from a global perspective.
Councilor Arimura also said, 'Japan should also actively implement tuition settings that prioritize its own students and have international students pay their fair share.' 'Japanese students are the treasure of our country.'
'We should clearly establish the principle of supporting Japanese students,' and I really think that is true.
Other countries prioritize their own students as a matter of course, so why is Japan the only one giving preferential treatment to foreigners?
They say it's to increase international competitiveness, but isn't it a priority to first properly cultivate our own country's human resources?
The order is completely reversed, isn't it?
Putting Japanese students on the back burner...
Of course, international exchange is important.
I also think it is necessary to attract excellent human resources from around the world.
But isn't the order wrong?
Shouldn't we first properly support Japanese students?
We are also important people who will carry the future of this country, right?
I can understand attracting young talent from overseas as Japan's declining birthrate and aging population progress.
But that doesn't mean it's okay to put our own students on the back burner.
While we Japanese students are suffering from repaying scholarships, giving 10 million yen to international students just like that...
It feels like putting the cart before the horse.
Moreover, it started in 2021, but it's only becoming an issue in 2025, which means there was no information disclosure at all, right?
It's strange that our taxes are being used, yet we weren't informed.
I want them to be more transparent and explain things to the public.
What is the government's response?
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has promised to present a policy for strengthening support for Japanese students by the summer of 2025.
But I wonder if it will really change...
It's a system that has been in place for many years, so I'm worried.
The working group that started on April 18th explicitly stated the theme of 'reviewing the support content for Japanese students and international students under SPRING,' and indicated a policy to compile specific details of the proposed changes by this summer.
Diet member Arimura also said, 'When I pressed them, saying that they would not gain the understanding of the public, MEXT promised to clarify support for their own country's students by this summer,' so it seems like there is some progress.
However, according to a report by Toyo Keizai, MEXT has begun reviewing the system based on the assumption that 'the presence or absence of support through SPRING does not affect the number of international students,' and there is also the issue that they have not sufficiently investigated the effectiveness of the system in attracting international students.
I want to keep a close watch to see if it will really change.
The issue of transparency
The thing I thought was the biggest problem this time was that such an important matter was hidden.
Our tax money is being used, yet this happened without us knowing...
I want them to disclose more information!
It's a program that started in fiscal year 2021, so it's strange no matter how you think about it that it only came to light in 2025 through a question from Diet member Arimura.
I think the government needs to regularly publish details of support policies and share them with the public.
I think it is only by fulfilling accountability to taxpayers that a policy can gain the understanding and support of the public.
To prevent distortions in system operation like this, I want them to operate with more transparency.
We also want to know how our tax money is being used, and I think we have the right to know.
Hiding things is why they are suspected and lose trust.
What we can do
Make your intentions clear in elections, keep raising your voice on social media, and share the facts with those around you...
Even if each person's power is small, if we all raise our voices together, we should be able to change things.
I think the government started to move this time because it became a hot topic on Twitter.
It is truly important for us in the younger generation to take an interest in politics and keep raising our voices.
When it comes to elections, I want to choose candidates who properly face these issues, and I want to keep talking about this problem on social media and in conversations with people around me.
We can't afford to be indifferent, can we?
Because our future is at stake.
Politicians should be listening to our voices as well.
I believe that by not giving up and continuing to raise our voices, we can surely change things.
I would be happy if everyone would raise their voices with me.
Even a small step can become a big change if we all walk together.
Kanna's thoughts
While researching this issue, so many different emotions welled up in me.
At first, it was pure surprise and confusion, like 'Wait, why?'
After that, it was anger, thinking 'This is unfair.'
But when I calm down and think about it, Japan is also struggling with a declining birthrate and an aging population, so maybe it is necessary to bring in talented people from overseas.
However, I still think the order is wrong.
Shouldn't the order be to first properly support us Japanese students, and then if there is any surplus, support overseas students...?
The most shocking thing was that such an important matter had been hidden for so long.
I really want to demand transparency from the government.
But I don't want to give up.
Even if our individual voices are small, if we all speak up together, we should definitely be able to change things.
Summary
Honestly, learning about this issue made me sad.
Why do we, who are working hard in the same Japan,
have to be treated so unfairly?
But I don't want to give up.
I hope our voices will be heard,
and that the system will change to be even a little bit fairer.
What do you all think?
Please let me know in the comments.
Thank you for reading until the end!