According to media reports, among 27 major Chinese universities interviewed, 21 have already stopped sending exchange students to Japan, and only 6 universities are still carrying out the plan as scheduled.
This change goes both ways: not only can Chinese students no longer go to Japan, but Japanese students who originally planned to study in China have also received notices from Chinese schools saying they will “stop accepting” them.
One third-year student said he had been studying Japanese since high school and had originally planned to go to Japan for a one-year exchange in April, but his school suddenly told him the program was canceled because “the country does not allow it.”
However, some students said that although the school’s official program has stopped, they still hope to go to Japan for further study later through individual applications.
Although official exchange programs between schools have decreased, students applying individually to study in Japan or attend language schools have not been greatly affected for now.
The suspension of these study abroad programs has not only affected students’ futures, but also posed challenges to people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.