Harvard to UTokyo: Tracking China's Academic Infiltration

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The ongoing clash between prestigious Harvard University and United States President Donald Trump has been making headlines daily.

While protecting academic freedom is fundamental, it's also important to acknowledge one of the key reasons cited by the Trump administration for tightening regulations: the China connection. On May 28, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new measures to revoke the visas of Chinese students linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

According to Reuters, one-fifth of Harvard University's international students are from China. Upon hearing this, a professor at another well-known private university remarked, "Only one-fifth?" At that professor's institution, more than 60% of international students are Chinese, far surpassing Harvard's proportion.

What about the University of Tokyo (UTokyo), which has announced that it will temporarily accept international students unable to continue their education at Harvard?

China Factor at UTokyo

UTokyo's online newspaper reports that, as of November 1, 2024, 3,545 Chinese students were studying at the university. This is nearly triple the number in 2014 (1,270). They now comprise approximately 67.8% of the university's 5,231 international students.

In an interview with the school's newspaper, a Chinese student remarked: "Due to the weak yen, studying in Japan has become relatively more affordable. For students who originally planned to study in the US or Europe, Japan, once overlooked, has emerged as a 'suitable alternative'." This shift, the interviewee said, helps explain the growing number of Chinese students in Japan.

Growing Chinese Footprint

Masahisa Sato, a parliamentarian for the Liberal Democratic Party, highlighted the growing number of Chinese individuals involved in university management. He raised this issue at the House of Councillors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in April 2025.

Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology reports that, as of May 2024, twelve vice presidents of national universities and three at public universities are foreign nationals. According to Sato, among them are Chinese national vice presidents who, besides collaborating with researchers linked to the People's Liberation Army, are graduates of the so-called Seven Sons of National Defense. These seven schools are believed to have connections with the PLA.

Sato emphasized that "It is time to implement thorough due diligence [prior risk assessments] on [foreign national] vice presidents and Chinese doctoral students."

One professor at a national university attributes the current problem to the Japanese government and corporations:

"Companies often hesitate to hire students immediately after graduate school, preferring to train employees in-house. Such a trend is particularly strong in the humanities. However, it's also present in the sciences. Chinese students are stepping in to fill this gap. If they study Japanese history, could Japan's historical narratives be reshaped to align with China's interests in the future?"

The Confucius Institutes Controversy

Some universities even promote Sinicization through programs known as Confucius Institutes.

The Sankei Shimbun's long-running "History Wars" series (in Japanese) included a special report on Confucius Institutes. They are non-profit educational centers established by the Chinese government in 2004 to promote the Chinese language and culture abroad through partnerships with foreign universities.

When the special report was released in 2018, Confucius Institutes had been established at 14 private universities in Japan. However, growing concerns about the CCP's expanding influence triggered a wave of closures in countries such as the US and Australia. In Japan, several universities, including Kogakuin University (Shinjuku, Tokyo), Hyogo Medical University (Nishinomiya, Hyogo), and Fukuyama University (Fukuyama, Hiroshima), have since shut down their institutes.

In May 2021, during a session of the House of Councillors Committee on Education, Culture, and Science, Liberal Democratic Party member Haruko Arimura questioned, "Is it healthy that the only cultural centers systematically and strategically established at Japanese universities are operated by a country ruled by a single communist party?"

Despite these concerns, Confucius Institutes still operate at more than 10 universities across Japan.

Though occasionally debated in the Diet, the steady influx of Chinese students shows no signs of slowing. For Japan, challenges faced by Harvard University are far from a distant issue.

Author: Takashi Arimoto

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