Photo/Illutration This building of the Far Eastern Federal University’s Hakodate branch is offered rent-free by the city of Hakodate. The photo was taken on June 19 in Hakodate, Hokkaido. (Ichiro Noda)

HAKODATE, Hokkaido--A university branch here offering Russian studies and language courses is saying "nyet" to new admissions from the next academic year starting in April 2025 due to a sharp decline in enrollments. 

Far Eastern Federal University’s Hakodate branch is the only Russian university branch that is designated by Japan’s education ministry.

However, there has been a sharp decline in enrollments caused by negative sentiments of Japanese toward Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Half of the operation costs of the campus come from subsidies from the city of Hakodate.

If the subsidy is terminated, the branch may have to close in March next year.

Yoshiyuki Watanabe, 75, chairperson of the board of directors of Hakodate international educational institution, which operates the branch, said it has been educating students for 30 years with the assistance of Hakodate residents.

"We seek to develop people who understand our neighbor country Russia and its people, with which we have the Northern Territories disputes and other problems," he said. "But we were not able to avoid the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Far Eastern Federal University, Hakodate, was founded in 1994. 

The university branch offers a four-year Russian regional studies course and a two-year Russian language studies course. 

The school currently has 14 students in total but only three are new enrollees from the academic year that started in April.

The operating costs for the branch are 60 million yen ($376,000) annually and the main revenues are the tuition fees from students and a subsidy of 30 million yen from the city of Hakodate.

The school needs “33 or more students to continue its operation,” according to Watanabe.

The number of students was 26 as of March 2022 soon after the Russian invasion in Ukraine started, but the number of enrollments plummeted afterward.

SCHOOL ASKS FOR INCREASE IN SUBSIDIES

The operational institution of the school branch decided in May not to accept new students from the next academic year.

The reason is because the number of new students is not expected to increase, with no sign of the war in Ukraine ending.

Five students are scheduled to graduate from the school next March, and school officials asked the city of Hakodate to increase subsidies to 50 million yen to continue its operation until all 27 students graduate in the 2027 academic year.

Hakodate city had provided 20 million yen to the school annually since the 1998 academic year and increased its annual subsidy to 30 million yen since the 2001 academic year to support the school's operation.

“We will discuss the subsidy for the next academic year later,” said a Hakodate official. 

According to Watanabe, the school branch will introduce students and faculties to other schools or job opportunities, with the possibility of being unable to operate the school from the next academic year.

This school branch has been contributing to cultural exchanges between Japan and Russia, including offering Russian language lessons and holding Russian cultural events for local residents.

Corporate worker Aki Tomihara, 45, a resident of Nanae, a town near  Hakodate, has been participating in the school’s Russian language instruction for about three years.

“I started studying Russian because I wanted to help cultural exchanges between Japan and Russia when peaceful days return and communications between the countries start again in the future," Tomihara said. "I want the school to continue the Russian language lectures because it is difficult to learn on my own.”

Related News