Japan urges local universities to accept students at US colleges

TOKYO - The Japanese government has asked local universities to consider accepting students at US universities as President Donald Trump seeks to force Harvard to submit to unprecedented oversight.

The Trump administration moved last week to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students, but on May 23, a judge suspended the order pending a hearing.

Mr Trump is furious at Harvard for rejecting Washington’s oversight on admissions and hiring, amid his claims that the school is a hotbed of anti-Semitism and “woke” liberal ideology.

Japan’s Education Minister Toshiko Abe said on May 27 that her ministry has asked Japanese universities to do what they can to help those affected.

“We have asked universities to consider possible support measures such as accepting international students enrolled in US universities so that the students can continue their studies,” she told a press conference.

She said the United States is the most popular destination for Japanese students wishing to study abroad, and many of them have voiced worries about their status.

She said her ministry will do its “utmost to ensure that young people with ambition and talent can continue their studies”.

The University of Tokyo, among the country’s most prestigious universities, is considering accepting affected students in the US, albeit on a temporary basis, said the institution’s vice-president Kaori Hayashi in a recent interview with Nikkei newspaper.

A spokesman for Kyoto University, also an elite school, told AFP on May 28 that the institution was considering accepting young researchers from US universities and was also reviewing what it can do to help students in the US.

Last week, Hong Kong’s Education Secretary Christine Choi called on universities there to welcome “outstanding students from all over the world”. AFP