Impact of the Covid Pandemic on Asian International Students in Japan: Lessons Learned and Future Recommendations for Student Support

• In Event: Examining the Experiences of International Students

Proposal

More than half of the world’s internationally mobile students come from Asia, making the region core to the global dynamics of international student mobility (ISM). The governmental and institutional policies to proactively recruit international students and to “internationalize” in stimulating ISM expansion has partially succeeded. Since 1980s when Japan first implemented such policies, its international students’ number reached 312,214 in 2019 reaching the goal to host 300,000 international students by 2020 a year early. However, this number dropped to 242,444 in 2021 due to travel restrictions. As a counter measure, the Japanese government has decided to restore the number of international students to the pre-Covid pandemic level by 2027.
Covid-19 restrictions greatly impacted international students’ well-being worldwide (Amoah & Mok, 2020). Students lost jobs as the restrictions closed vendors (Sekiya, 2021), and finding new jobs became a daunting task (Suzuki & Yazaki, 2020). Many students could not receive any support due to language or cultural barriers (Kinoshita, 2021). In addition, newly enrolled students did not know when they could travel to Japan as the immigration services stopped granting student visas (MOFA, 2021), until March 2022. In Japan, international students’ lived experiences during pandemic have received limited attention in research. Previous studies showed that international students in Japan are largely expected to adapt to the host culture and that Asian students navigate the system best (e.g., Simic-Yamashita & Tanaka, 2010, Ikeguchi, 2012). While students’ overall satisfaction with Japanese education, adjustment process and common challenges have been more studied (e.g., Lee, 2017), discussion around student support, particularly during the pandemic is less explored. As most international students in Japan (93.6%) are from Asia, we need more studies that explore intersectionality of international students in Japan and their different experiences.
This study aims to explore the impact of Covid-19 on Asian students in Japan, by asking a) how did Asian students from the different socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, gender, and age groups experience the pandemic in Japan, and how did it affect their learning? b) how did students navigate the challenges, and c) what implications can we draw from students’ experiences in better supporting international students in Japan? Drawing from phenomenological approach (Creswell & Poth, 2016) we aimed to understand each student’s lived experiences before identifying broader themes. In addition, we utilized intersectionality as an analytical lens to investigate their experiences overall. As a result, our study makes evidence-based suggestions for Japanese higher education institutions to further improve their international students’ services.
The study focuses on the personal lived experiences of ten international students from four Asian countries (China, Mongolia, India, and Vietnam). All students were studying in Top Global National universities that accept high number of international students. The interviewees were mainly women (3 male and 7 female) in different program levels (5 PhD students and 5 Masters) and majors (6 students in STEM and 4 in Humanities and Social Sciences). Half of the students had been in Japan before the Covid-19 pandemic, while the other half had arrived in Japan during the pandemic restrictions. We used a convenient sampling method to identify students from a different academic, social, and economic backgrounds as well as gender and age groups.
The researchers created an interview portfolio with semi-structured questions divided into three parts: 1) their personal and professional motivations to study in Japan, imagined career outcomes after graduation, previous knowledge, and connections to Japan, 2) adjustment to Japanese education, research, and social life 3) impact of Covid and pandemic restrictions—including opportunities and threats—to their education and life in Japan. As foreign faculties and former international students in Japan, the researchers have insider knowledge built throughout our lives in Japan. It helped us connect with the students and ask in-depth questions. Each researcher conducted a one-on-one interview with each student for about 2 hours totaling 20 hours of interview data. Each researcher then transcribed the data and shared. We used NVivo software to manage the data during our analysis process.
The analysis showed that the pandemic had a negative impact on international students’ academic and personal life; however, some students were able to take advantage of the new situation for their benefit. Most interviewees agreed that the pandemic negatively affected their research activities due to delays in field work and data collection, financial instability, health concerns, and other changes in everyday life, such as COVID-19 prevention measures in the lab work. On the other hand, a few students actively sought new opportunities utilizing increased use of ICT in research and academia. Examples include strengthening their CVs through online research conferences, internships, and even finding online jobs.
Newly arrived students took more time to adjust and start their research. Many felt isolated and had difficulties connecting personally in their departments and research labs. On the other hand, old comers who were going through life transitions such as creating a family or finding jobs had difficulties finding supports and navigating the changing environments. While students did not feel marginalized due to their ethnic background or race, they needed additional support from their professors and peers.
Our findings overall showed the necessity in Japanese universities to introduce customized support services, mentorship activities, and other engagement programs beyond individual departments or laboratories. Faculties and administrators need to consider the diversity in students’ experiences even if they come from similar cultural backgrounds or know the Japanese language.

Authors

• Ming Li, Osaka University

• Ariunaa Enkhtur, Osaka University