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By The Yomiuri Shimbun / The Japan News / ANN
TOKYO – In an attempt to strengthen national economic security, the government has formulated a stricter screening policy for visa applications from foreign students and researchers seeking to study or conduct research at universities in Japan.
Behind the move, which will begin next academic year, is fears that advanced technologies and information related to national security have been flowing to countries like China through students and researchers studying abroad in Japan.
The government will build a system under which the Ministry of National Security and ministries, including those of Foreign Relations, Justice, Economy and Defense, will share information on questionable individuals. This information will also be used by the Japanese embassies and other diplomatic establishments in charge of issuing visas. If these people apply for visas, the government can refuse to issue them.
The Foreign Ministry has included 220 million yen in its budget request for fiscal year 2021, as necessary expenses for activities related to the implementation of a more rigorous review of visa applications.
In recent years, Washington and Canberra have been on heightened alert for China’s attempts to source foreign technologies systematically and strategically through the use of students studying abroad in the United States and Australia.
The US Justice Department announced in July that it had arrested four Chinese scientists conducting research at US universities on charges of visa fraud for allegedly lying about their affiliation with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
In the United States, there has been an increase in the rejection of visa applications, as intelligence agencies thoroughly investigate the backgrounds and private information of foreign students.
In Japan, there is no such strict control as the one carried out by the United States at the visa issuance stage. This has led to such a situation that, as one expert with knowledge of economic security put it, “Chinese students whose visa applications had been rejected by the United States have come to Japan, changing their focus.”
As things stand now, fear has spread within the government that it might be impossible for Japanese universities or research institutes to conduct joint research with their American counterparts.
In addition to stricter controls on visa applications, the government will strengthen its efforts to address problems in the area of economic security starting next fiscal year.
The Ministry of Defense is considering establishing a new position of Senior Planning Officer for Economic Security Information in the Office of Defense Policy. Faced with the reality that countries around the world are competing to obtain new technologies such as artificial intelligence and lasers to apply them for military purposes, the officer will have the task of analyzing the movements made by other countries and considering protection measures.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will investigate international trends to prevent the departure of cutting-edge technologies that are owned by universities and other entities and can be converted for military use. In addition to such an effort, the ministry plans to hold an explanatory meeting to urge companies and universities to take comprehensive measures to manage and control their technologies. To that end, the ministry has requested ¥ 1.87 billion as related expenses for fiscal year 2021.
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