Photo/Illutration Protesters gather in front of education ministry building to oppose a planned revision to the SPRING program in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on July 30. (Amane Shimazaki)

An expert panel gave broad approval to the education ministry’s move to exclude international doctoral students from a program to help with their living expenses.

If the revision to the Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation (SPRING) program takes effect, as now seems likely, annual support of up to 2.4 million yen ($16,000) per student from a possible 2.9 million yen will become a thing of the past from fiscal 2027.

The proposal triggered an outcry among university officials and foreign students already here as well as those who plan to pursue doctorial studies in Japan in the future.

In fiscal 2024, there were 10,564 students at 80 universities across Japan receiving assistance under the program. Sixty percent of them were Japanese. The remaining 40 percent were from overseas, and Chinese students accounted for 3,151 of the total.

When the program started in fiscal 2021, there was no nationality requirement for receiving assistance for living expenses. However, the education ministry abruptly announced plans in June to scrap the system as it applies to foreign students.

Although alternative policy ideas were proposed at the expert panel meeting on July 30, the lack of strong opposition to the planned SPRING program change was seen as a vote of approval.

Details will be discussed within the ministry and a formal announcement will be made by the end of December.

An education ministry official explained that the purpose of the SPRING program is to enable Japanese students to proceed to doctoral programs.

Among leading economies, Japan is the only country where the number of doctorate degree holders is dropping off.

Economic insecurity during the doctoral study period, which typically lasts at least three years, is thought to be a factor. The SPRING program was established to alleviate that concern. In fiscal 2023, the number of students who went on to doctoral programs started to increase.

International students have voiced alarm about the policy change. Immediately before the panel meeting on July 30, an online protest petition with more than 19,000 signatures was submitted to the education ministry officials overseeing the change in the program.

A 31-year-old Chinese student who joined the protest in front of the education ministry building said the SPRING program had allowed him to focus on his studies.

“We don’t want this change. It would be a loss if talented people quit because of this,” he said.

Teruo Fujii, who serves as president of both the Japan Association of National Universities and the University of Tokyo, said, “It is important to create an environment where doctoral students can focus on their research by financially supporting them.”

He noted that doctoral students in the West are paid to carry out research.

“So, the change in the SPRING program is regrettable. We want the ministry to consider other ways to support the research efforts of international students.”

An education ministry official noted the concerns expressed by foreign students at the expert panel meeting on July 30.

“Obtaining excellent foreign researchers is important for our country’s scientific and technological innovation, and the government intends to strengthen support,” the official said.

Among new measures being weighed, he said the ministry planned to include foreign nationals with special permanent residency status in Japan in the SPRING program, even after fiscal 2027.

(This story was written by Takahiro Takenouchi, Kayoko Sekiguchi and Fumio Masutani.)

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