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Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, circumstances have continued to prevent international students from being able to enter Japan, and the sense of urgency in the voices of students from around the world calling to be allowed to enter the country to begin their studies has become more apparent with each passing day. 

At the Japan Association of Private Universities and Colleges, we have repeatedly advocated for the government and other administrative bodies to actively facilitate and prioritize the entry of international students.

Recently, the Japanese government informed us that international students would be permitted to enter Japan in the near future, answering your urgent calls and expectations. However, it seems that it will take some time for the government to arrange all the procedures necessary to begin accepting students from overseas again. At JAPUC member institutions, not only are the faculty and staff eagerly awaiting your arrival on our campuses but so are the students who have been looking forward to studying with all of you. We strongly believe in the importance and significance of having students from other countries come to Japan to study. Therefore, we will keep imploring the government to open our borders to all international students who wish to do so.

Throughout these challenging few years, private universities and colleges have offered online subjects, and we have endeavored to create as many opportunities for various kinds of exchange as possible. However, we have been very concerned that students have been unable to experience life in Japan for themselves, and that feeling the excitement of learning, interacting with Japanese culture and society, and forming relationships with other students have been difficult to do.  

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who chose to study at one of Japan’s private universities or colleges and have continued to wait for the opportunity to enter the country throughout this difficult time. All of us at these institutions will be working together to prepare to welcome international students while making sure to take infection prevention measures as well. 

Private universities and colleges are responsible for hosting around 80 percent of all international students in Japan. Within our diverse association of institutions, each university and college offers their own unique educational opportunities based on their founding philosophy, and many of the students who come from around the world to engage with these opportunities become lifelong friends, transcending all national boundaries and borders.

We are very much looking forward to meeting all of our international students and hope to see you on our campuses as soon as possible.