Category: Expat Musings

Musings from a not-so-expat expat.

Expat Musings, Opinion

Japan’s Re-entry for Foreign Nationals: A Little Too Late?

acitybythebay

Appeared originally on Voice Up Japan

Japanese version, translated by Kiyou Kamisawa

Several international students at Japanese universities speak to Voice Up Japan about their current situation outside of Japan, and why they won’t be returning to Japan anytime soon.

“It was two, three months of going back and forth between two schools…and the whole thing got cancelled,” explains Irene, a third year exchange student at one of Japan’s most prestigious universities. She was left with more than half a year gap because her exchange program had been abruptly cancelled. With the semester already ongoing at her home university, University of Southern California, Irene reached out to both schools to continue her study abroad program. After months of emailing, calling, and signing petitions to advocate for international students to continue their studies, Irene was not allowed to enroll in either school, and was thus forced to take a gap semester. When she left Japan on February 5th, Taiwan had not been included in the list of countries in Japan’s comprehensive travel ban. With her student visa expiration date soon approaching, she may not be able to return to Japan anytime in the near future. As a result, her belongings are split between Japan, California, and Taiwan. 

Irene, along with her band mates at her music club circle while she was in Japan.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of international students face similar situations in which they are unwilling or unable to return to Japan, foregoing internships, scholarships, and job opportunities. Although the Japanese government has expressed intentions to lift the ban on foreign residents, many cite unclear regulations, unfair requirements, and unease about the Japanese government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. Various measures targeting only foreign nationals have already been met with widespread criticism, which only serve to further deter students from returning to continue their studies.

As a international student, navigating the many requirements in order to return to Japan safely is difficult because of unclear regulations and constant changes to the existing guidelines. On many foreigner community forums, many have been asking for advice in returning to Japan but have been met with comments that state that returning to Japan is on a case-by-case basis, and each person should inquire of their corresponding embassy or consulate in order to prevent misunderstandings. Due to rising daily cases, process in order to return to Japan, difficulty in maintaining proper social distancing guidelines, and continuation of online school, I have also decided to postpone my return to Japan indefinitely, like many other students. 

Japan currently has an entry ban on 159 countries (as of September 1), and re-entry of foreign nationals with status of residence are limited to four categories: “Permanent Resident,” Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” and “Long Term Resident” (including the spouse of a Japanese national or Japanese child who does not have these statuses of residence; the same applies hereinafter). As for students and working visa holders, they have been allowed one-time entry permissions from August 5, but only for those who had left the country before their destinations were included in the travel ban list. Non-Japanese nationals must fulfill certain requirements such as a re-entry confirmation letter (from the embassy/consulate in their home country) and a negative PCR test result within 72 hours of flight. 

The only case for foreign residents who have left Japan before the ban to enter Japan is under humanitarian reasons, such as a death in the family. However, special permits for re-entry are based on a case-by-case review, so re-entry is not guaranteed. Starting from September, Japan will loosen entry restrictions on foreign residents, after coming under criticism from the foreign community and business groups that have been heavily affected by the travel restrictions. Many have been stranded abroad for months, unable to visit their families. 

University response 

Many universities have been scrambling to fill in the gaps to accommodate incoming foreign students who are unable to enter Japan. Rachel Tse, an incoming freshman at Waseda University, stated, “After the Immigration Bureau closed, I haven’t been able to receive my COE (Certificate of Eligibility).” The COE is required to apply for a student visa, and without a visa, she cannot enter Japan. “I think the school could have done more [in informing students], but I don’t think they have the responsibility to do that,” she continues. “If they could send an email to notify students about the travel situation, that would be helpful.” She has already paid for the down payment for her dormitory for September and October, and worries whether the school will refund her for the lost costs. 

Rachel Tse

According to a representative at Waseda University, in a survey conducted April 2020 in the international political science and economics department, 39.1% expressed that they were spending the 2020 Spring semester out of Japan, with 17.7% who expressed they may be moving in and out of Japan depending on travel restrictions. With Waseda having the largest number of international students at 8,000, 5,000 could not return to Japan, according to a webinar hosted by Aiji Tanaka, President of Waseda University, at the US-Japan Research Institute (USJI). 

Financial concerns

Her sister, Jacqueline, an incoming senior also at Waseda, says, “I am thinking about deferring for one semester.” After leaving Japan on June 6th for Hong Kong, she has been unable to return and worries how it will affect her job hunting opportunities.  For many students, some are considering a leave of absence, citing a loss in job opportunities, online schooling, housing lease contracts, and safety. However, they fear that doing so will risk derailing their plans in terms of scholarship and visa expiration dates.

Jacqueline Tse, along with students from her dormitory at a Hanami, or spring blossom viewing, picnic.

While many universities have also provided emergency scholarships and financial assistance programs for students during the pandemic, foreign students are at a disadvantage, either for not having access to the physical paperwork needed or for fulfilling certain requirements such as duration of stay in Japan. Some students are ineligible for scholarships that require the students to reside in Japan, or require specific documents such as utility bills or other evidence that students cannot access if they are abroad. With online banking services still under development and online banking unavailable for Japan’s post bank services, students find it difficult to either cancel utilities, rent, or other services that were paid previously through bank transfers. For large cash payouts by both federal and local governments such as PM Shinzo Abe’s 100,000 yen subsidy, those stuck abroad missed the deadline, while having to continue to pay their rent and bills in Japan. 

Many international students are heavily dependent on financial aid, and with many services and assistance inaccessible by students who are abroad, many students feel left behind by the government. Many Japanese industries rely heavily on foreign workers and the government has consistently boasted about increasing foreign student enrollment to fill labor shortages. “The government should provide more support for international students,” Jacqueline says. “The future [for international students] is very insecure.” 

Opportunities elsewhere?

Some students who spent their last semester abroad who planned to seek job opportunities in Japan have decided on other options. Some students like Leigh, who were scheduled to graduate after the spring semester, have decided to stay in their hometowns. She was initially planning to start shuukatsu, or job hunting in the spring, and extend her visa if needed to continue job hunting. With her student visa set to expire in December, she has opted instead to seek opportunities elsewhere instead of returning to Japan. “If I was there [in Japan],” Leigh states, “I planned to have fewer classes so I could job hunt.” 

Leigh Williams

Travel restrictions have further alienated international students and foreign workers, causing them to decide to seek work or further education in their home countries. It is a paradox in which the Japanese government desperately needs foreigners to supplement their labor shortages while treating many long-term foreign residents as second-class citizens. Asymmetric information between universities and the Japanese government have left many students out of the loop. 

Long-lasting impacts

Coupled with the Japanese government’s handling of the pandemic, many students feel uneasy about returning anytime soon. “Everything has deterred me [from going back to Japan],” Jacqueline lamented. She cited rising case numbers in Tokyo and shrinking job opportunities. While some programs at Waseda have not received any requests to delay enrollment, some universities which depend heavily on foreign enrollment may start to feel the squeeze. With many universities spending the fall semester online as well, many are revising syllabuses to better incorporate students and professors in an online setting. Some are planning to use a hybrid system, in order to keep some in-person classes while maintaining proper social distancing measures. 

Further limitations such as PCR tests required for only non-Japanese residents have come under scrutiny as Japanese nationals are not held to the same standard. “I don’t think it’s fair,” Leigh states. She worries that testing before and after for foreign nationals is rendered useless if there are possible positive cases (of Japanese nationals) on board the same flight. Depending on the country, some may have difficulty acquiring PCR tests, and testing results may be delayed, and thus not make the deadline of 3 days before flight, according to the Japanese guidelines. Testing can also be costly in some countries: in Taiwan, it costs 7000 nt, or around 25,000 yen. Coupled with a two week quarantine, many of my compatriots feel that extra costs associated with the process of going back outweigh their need to return. With many small limitations adding up, students are more inclined to stay in their home country, weighing the risks and costs of returning to Japan.

Limited access to PCR testing, additional required documentation from embassies or consulates, two week quarantine, and vague guidelines continue to deter students from returning to Japan. “I have to cancel my ticket,” Irene says. “I won’t be back anytime soon.”

Expat Musings, Opinion

Tokyo 2020 Employees: Where Do We Go Now?

acitybythebay

There is little reprieve for the many contract workers, freelancers, and interns of Tokyo 2020.

One of the reasons why I chose to study in Japan was to be able to live in the same city as the Olympics; to feel the vigor and unity as hundreds of thousands of people join underneath the five interlaced rings. I, along with thousands of others, joined the volunteer program. I, along with thousands of other college students, raced to apply to the olympic broadcasting program, which would consequently make us employees of the olympics broadcasting systems. And I, along with thousands of others, were let go last week, when the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee announced that the Olympics would be postponed. 

I knew that the Olympics would have to be postponed. Months leading up to the announcement, I had doubts about Japan’s capacity in holding the Olympics in the midst of a global pandemic. While Western media praised Japan for its efforts and often alluded to the mystery why Japan had avoided the fate of many of its neighbors inundated by the novel coronavirus– Japan had deliberately avoided widespread testing and relied on contact tracing in order to keep the cases at a minimum. For months, discontent over the current incumbent government has been stirring over a multitude of problems: tax policies, corruption scandals, inability to enact social change, and the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The mismanagement of the Princess Diamond, resulting in 712 infections and 10 deaths was just the brim of what to come. 

I briefly wondered whether I should rescind my position. The virus had no sign of stopping as it ravaged through Europe and America. If the Olympics were to be held in the summer, what sort of precautions should I take? Would I be endangering myself, exposing myself to thousands of people everyday in enclosed spaces like stadiums, broadcasting trailers, or commentary rooms? Would I be endangering others, interacting with my teammates, my colleagues, and thousands of other Olympic employees? 

I expected that the announcement would come soon, as countries were quickly dismantling in the midst of the pandemic. Health care workers in America were pleading for people to stay home; city upon city were issuing quarantine orders. Borders were closing down as thousands of people rushed against the virus to return home. I watched as headlines blared new jumps in cases and new jumps in death tolls. A week prior to the announcement, the government continued to press on, refusing to consider any derailment to their dreams of Olympic grandeur. And yet the world screeched to an abrupt halt as everything shuttered down around us.

The announcement was brief: the Olympics was to be postponed to 2021. I felt relief for a moment before the sinking emptiness and realization hit me. Yes, I would be safe this summer. Yes, I would not be exposing myself to others. And with a brief statement that was released the next day by the broadcasting systems, me, along with thousands of students, and thousands of freelancers, contractors, and volunteers at the Olympics, were let go. 

I realized that I would have to do over the series of tests, applications, training sessions, group discussions next year. My place would not be guaranteed. Hundreds of other students around me gave up coveted positions at other firms for a chance at the Olympics. Many of us are scrambling to apply to other positions, only to find out that many firms, facing an economic crisis, have shuttered their internship programs and turned back new recruits. Our plight cannot compare to the thousands of contract workers and freelancers who work during the Olympics, serving as ticketing organizers, broadcasting professionals, and transportation service providers. With rescinded contracts, many may be without work for several months. Most Olympic employees are on a contract basis without the safety net that other full-time employees have. There is no unemployment insurance to collect; there is no compensation for lost time.  At the end, all of us are faced with the same question: where do we go now? 

With the world in disarray, there is little hope for the many who have become unemployed. There is little solace in the misfortune of many who have the same plight. However, we will continue on, as we always have. 

 

Expat Musings

Why Is Your English So Good?

acitybythebay

The first time someone asked me that question, I was stunned. The first time someone asked me that question, I struggled to answer in a composed manner. Why couldn’t my English be good? Why was I being asked such a question? Why was I so angry?

“I was born in America. I grew up in California,” I replied, after a moment of shocked silence.

“Oh, I’m from San Diego,” came the reply. As we lapsed into conversation, I couldn’t forget the wave, the feeling of anger that washed over me. It felt foreign; I’ve never been questioned about my English ability before. Perhaps I had been asked in Chinese before, asking why I could speak English by a curious shopkeeper or street seller; but never directly as a conversation starter in English. Was it because the asker was a white American? Was it because of his tone? I felt offended.

On the train ride back, I mulled over the question. Why? But then I realized that this question would have been unacceptable if asked in America– to an Asian American who has spoken English all their life suddenly to be asked about the validity of their American-ness, about their identity as an Asian-American. The question is akin to the “Where are you from?” question often asked to POC, as if America can’t be a valid answer because the color of their skin is not white. In this sense, this question is asking if one can’t be a native English speaker because their appearance is not of Caucasian descent.

The second time someone asked me this question, the shock was no longer there. “Why don’t you have a Taiwanese accent?” the person asked me.

“I grew up in America,” I explained. I had grown accustomed to the question; I had realized that the circumstances abroad and back in America are different; many people haven’t met that many Asian-Americans or other third-culture individuals. I was simply not used to the question; since asking this same question to an Asian-American or to an Asian who has never lived in an English-speaking country would yield very different results.

This question underlies the assumption that the askee is a foreigner– something that would be considered racist towards Asians who have always lived and grown up in an English environment. That’s why this question is acceptable when asked to Asians who have not grown up in an English environment; the asker is wondering how they acquired their English ability.

Once I came to understand how different people would react to this question, I began to understand. The assumption that I couldn’t possibly be American, the assumption that I couldn’t possibly be a native English speaker was what angered me. This assumption would be unacceptable in America, due to the ethnically and culturally diversified demographic. However, this is not the case in Japan, or in any homogeneous society. It is natural to assume that people are not third-culture individuals, or that people’s nationalities and upbringing match their ethnic and cultural background. It is natural to assume that I’m not American.

So if someone asks me this question, I’ll just take the compliment and say that their English is good too.