About 90 universities in Japan open to accepting intl. students in US
Japan's education minister says about 90 universities in the country are considering accepting or supporting international students who may no longer be able to study in the United States.
The Japanese education ministry had asked the nation's universities to consider support measures for such students with either Japanese or non-Japanese citizenship.
The move came after the US administration under President Donald Trump announced it is barring Harvard University from enrolling international students.
Education Minister Abe Toshiko said on Friday that by Thursday, her ministry had received positive responses from about 90 universities. Some of them are reportedly considering offering accommodation to students.
Abe said the ministry is working to upload the responses to the request on the website of the Japan Student Services Organization, which is an independent administrative agency.
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Kyodo News
2 hours ago
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: China's "panda diplomacy" in focus as zero moment may come in Japan
By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - 6 minutes ago - 09:38 | World, All, Japan China's "panda diplomacy" is drawing renewed attention with Japan's first zero giant panda moment in over half a century approaching, amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry that could provide an incentive for Beijing to stabilize its oft-strained ties with Tokyo. China's decisions on leasing the bear species abroad are usually revealed in high-level bilateral talks. Foreign affairs experts say a new loan may be announced late fall this year during a possible visit by a Chinese political leader to Japan, though they doubt the gesture will carry the same diplomatic weight as it once did. Since the first black-and-white animal arrived in Japan in 1972 to commemorate the normalization of diplomatic ties, Chinese pandas have become beloved by the Japanese public, bringing major economic benefits as tourist attractions. The two governments have embraced the bamboo-munching iconic animal's role as a symbol of friendship. China last sent pandas to Japan in February 2011, based on a deal struck at a meeting between then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Tokyo in May 2008. Currently, Japan is home to six pandas, all of which were born domestically but owned by China. Four at the Adventure World leisure complex in the western Japanese town of Shirahama will be handed over to China next Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their loan period in August. The other two at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens are also due to return to China next February. Emi Mifune, a Komazawa University professor well-versed in Chinese diplomacy, believes China will rent out new pandas instead to Japan as Beijing is "in the middle of an escalating confrontation with the United States and needs to mend relations" with Tokyo. China's relationship with the United States has been cooling in recent years, as Washington maintains a hard-line stance toward China, renewed by tariff-fueled trade salvos by President Donald Trump who returned to the White House in January. She also said Beijing's agreement with Tokyo in late May to begin procedures to resume importing Japanese marine products indicates that China is making visible efforts to improve the relationship, something that a new panda allocation would support. China imposed a ban on Japanese seafood imports in August 2023 in opposition to the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. The Asian neighbors have long been at loggerheads over historical and territorial issues, including a dispute over the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China's increasing military activities in the Indo-Pacific region have only stoked tensions. China has long used the panda as a tool of diplomatic outreach and goodwill toward various nations, including the United States, Russia, Australia and South Korea among others. With an eye on fostering "an atmosphere of improving bilateral ties," China may announce a new panda loan, perhaps during the next meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mifune speculated. Japan hopes to host a summit with China and South Korea later this year in Tokyo, and Ishiba-Li talks are expected to take place on the sidelines. During a China trip as leader of a business delegation in early June, Yohei Kono, the former Japanese House of Representatives speaker, met with Li and floated the idea of the high-ranking Chinese official bringing pandas with him to Japan. While calling on Japan to promote cooperation to address "challenges posed to the world," such as "U.S. tariff measures," Li told Kono he attaches "great importance" to the panda request as "an important proposal," according to a delegation member. However, on Sept. 3 China will mark 80 years since it declared victory in its 1937-1945 War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, making diplomatic outreach in the approaching period challenging, Mifune said. Mifune also pointed out that China may be unwilling to send pandas to Adventure World in Shirahama during the tenure of the town's pro-Taiwan Mayor Yasuhiro Oe, who took office in May last year in a move that might have led to the four panda's repatriation ahead of schedule. Oe, a former House of Councillors member, has deep ties with Taiwan, with which the Japanese government only maintains unofficial relations. China sees the self-ruled democratic island as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Adventure World has engaged in a collaborative project to breed the animal, now classified as "vulnerable" on the global list of at-risk species, with China since 1994. Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, said that China has used pandas not as a tool to demand other nations "give ground" on bilateral issues, but as a signal that the attitude toward Beijing in the recipient nation is "right and friendly." "Even if China were to give Japan some pandas, it would not mean that Japan has to do a lot of things for it," but how the Japanese public reacts to the arrival of new pandas will matter to Beijing, he said. Ienaga is also skeptical that a new panda loan will have any tangible impact on the Japanese government's diplomatic posture toward China or Japanese public opinion about its neighbor. "Japanese society no longer really looks at pandas through a political lens," as opposed to in 1972 when the animals were accepted "genuinely as a symbol of friendship," Ienaga added. Related coverage: All 4 giant pandas at western Japan zoo to return to China in June Giant panda Eimei dies in China after repatriation from Japan
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Koike-backed party gains seats as LDP dealt setback in Tokyo assembly poll
The political party backed by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike cruised to victory in Sunday's Tokyo metropolitan assembly elections, as voters dealt the Liberal Democratic Party a historic blow. Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites First), supported by Koike as a special adviser, remained the biggest party, taking 31 seats, up from 26. Meanwhile, the LDP secured just 21 seats — down from 30 in the previous assembly. The party, which together with Komeito makes up the ruling bloc in national politics, had never had fewer than 23 seats in the assembly. Komeito was also dealt a blow, winning 19 seats, down from 23. It was the first time since 1993 that every Komeito candidate running for the assembly had not managed to win a seat. Still, the three parties supporting Koike — Tomin first, the LDP and Komeito — managed to maintain their combined majority of 127 total seats in the assembly. Two smaller parties, the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito, also won seats for the first time, securing nine and three spots, respectively. Despite fielding 42 candidates, the Path to Rebirth, the new regional party set up by Shinji Ishimaru — runner-up to Koike in last year's gubernatorial election — all failed to win a seat. Turnout across 42 voting districts in Tokyo was 47.59%, 5.2 percentage points higher than the previous election in 2021 and the fifth lowest in history. A main focus of voters were measures to combat rising prices in Tokyo. The election results were seen as an indicator for the Upper House election which is expected to be held July 20.
NHK
5 hours ago
- NHK
Party backing Tokyo governor becomes largest force after assembly election
A regional party for which Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko serves as special adviser has emerged as the largest force after the capital's metropolitan assembly election. Parties had pitched all-out campaigns because they see the vote as a bellwether for an upcoming Upper House poll in July. The two elections concur only once in 12 years. Sunday's assembly election put all 127 seats up for grabs. Candidates ran in 42 districts. TOMIN First, which was established by Koike, won 31 seats, the most of all the groups. The Liberal Democratic Party, the biggest force before the vote, acquired 21 seats, its record low. The LDP is the largest ruling party in national politics. Komeito collected 19 seats, with three of its candidates defeated. It had seen all its candidates secure seats in the previous eight assembly elections for Tokyo. The party is the LDP's coalition partner in the Diet. TOMIN First, the LDP and Komeito back Koike's agenda. Combined, they hold a majority of the assembly seats. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan racked up 17 seats, a gain of two from its pre-election showing. The CDP is the largest opposition force at the national level. The Japanese Communist Party notched 14 seats, down five. The Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito chalked up nine and three seats, respectively. Both secured seats for the first time at the assembly. Tokyo Seikatsusha Network retained its pre-election level of one seat. The Japan Innovation Party lost its sole seat it had held before the vote. The Path to Rebirth fielded 42 candidates, but earned no seats. Its head is Ishimaru Shinji, who lost to Koike and ended up as runner-up in the Tokyo gubernatorial election last year.
