Japanese Universities Let Potential Academic Partners Know They’re ‘Open for Business’

As various countries sell themselves as student destinations during the annual meeting of Nafsa: Association of International Educators, Japan is assuring conference attendees that it remains a safe place for study abroad, despite the disastrous earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation in March.

While concerns linger about radiation leaking from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant some 150 miles northeast of Tokyo, representatives from Japan are reminding people at the conference here that the problems affected only a small part of the country.

Aside from glossy brochures and pamphlets highlighting academic programs and cultural benefits, the Japan Student Services Organization is handing out a public statement from Japan’s minister of foreign affairs, declaring that the country is “open for business.”

Takahiro Ogawa of Niigata University, who is helping to run the university’s booth in the meeting’s exposition hall, said American university officials and others do want to know about the effects of the multiple disasters, though they often mention it quietly at the end of conversations.

“People are asking about it,” he said.

To reassure officials interested in developing academic exchanges with Niigata, he shows them a map of the country, pointing out that the university is in the country’s northwest region, away from the disaster zone and therefore safe.

In an area of the hall filled with fake cherry blossom trees, about 20 Japanese universities are promoting their programs and meeting with potential partners. None of the institutions’ campuses are located in the region most-affected by the natural disasters or nuclear crisis.

Sanfo Han of Waseda University, in Tokyo, said he, too, is getting asked about the radiation fallout, but that it hasn’t hurt traffic at his institution’s booth.

“We are having meetings almost every hour,” he said. While the university postponed the start of its spring term because of the nuclear crisis, he said international partnerships have not been affected.

“Things are recovering,” he said.