Chain of Chinese 'migration for education' thrives in Japan

The presence of Chinese migrants in Japan is more prominent than ever before. With the relaxation of visa requirements, migration from China has expanded, offering opportunities not only to the wealthy but also to the middle class. By 2026, the number of Chinese residents in Japan is expected to exceed 1 million.

This increase in Chinese migration is transforming the landscapes, lifestyles, education systems, and cultural traditions of many Japanese cities. It is serving as a catalyst for change, bringing new energy and dynamism to a traditionally static Japan. This series of reports delves into this trend, which has significant implications for the nation's future. It explores the balance of benefits and challenges while providing a nuanced understanding of its impact.

TOKYO -- A growing number of Chinese parents want their children to get educations in Japan, and as a result help them and their families migrate to Japan.

Messages posted on RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, a social media platform accessed by 300 million people per month in China, highlight the growth of this "migration for education" trend.

"Hi, everyone. Do you know that Tokyo's Bunkyo ward has prestigious elementary schools collectively called '3S+1K'? Families that sell their homes and relocate to Bunkyo to let their kids enroll at 3S+1K are not small in number," reads one message. 

"The University of Tokyo is in Bunkyo. Parents wishing to have their children study there in the future live in the ward," reads another.

Bunkyo is one of Tokyo's 23 wards. It is known as a center for academics due to the presence of numerous prestigious educational institutions.

"3S+1K" refers to the first letters of four public elementary schools -- Seishi, Sendagi, Showa and Kubomachi.

The number of foreign families moving into Bunkyo with the goal of getting their children into one of the four schools has grown in recent years. In 2024, the ward had 467 foreign grade school children, many of them Chinese, a 2.4-fold increase from 2019. The number of Chinese residents there also increased 1.5 times to 8,169 over the same period.

The perceived importance of 3S+1K has become "bigger than reality" due to the schools being so frequently mentioned on social media in China, says Takuya Takahashi, a supervisor at the Bunkyo Board of Education.

"The four schools are public, and everything used there, such as textbooks and desks, is the same as at all other schools in the ward," Takahashi said, wondering why they were drawing so much attention despite the same educational conditions.

Nevertheless, the popularity of the four schools on Chinese social media shows no signs of waning.

An increase in the number of Chinese students who do not fully understand Japanese has prompted the schools to adopt measures such as the use of translation machines and the introduction of assistants to act as interpreters.

But the availability of the machines and assistants is limited. "To be honest, I don't know how to treat them," one teacher said about Chinese students. Other teachers expressed similar concerns.

This state of affairs is no longer limited to Bunkyo, as the number of Chinese nationals moving into Tokyo rises.

On social media in China, prestigious elementary schools in various wards are explained, including through the use of a map of Tokyo's school districts. Migration-related information, linked to real estate information, is also very popular.

"Chinese people are extremely education-obsessed. The trend is unlikely to subside for some time," said a migration consultant for Chinese in Saitama prefecture, which borders Tokyo to the north.

Information about preparatory schools is also rampant on RedNote. "We plan to go to Japan when our kid becomes a second-grader and let him study Japanese for one year before joining Sapix. Can he become prepared enough in time (for junior high school entrance exams)?" says one note.

"Following are past exams for joining Sapix. Please download them," says another.

Sapix Shogakubu, a Tokyo-based preparatory school, specializes in helping elementary-aged children prepare for entrance examinations to elite junior high schools. 

At both the Sapix Myogadani school in Bunkyo and Sapix Toyosu in Koto ward, one out of every 10 students is Chinese. "The number of [Chinese] students is increasing, but it doesn't affect the management of the schools," said Masaaki Hirono, head of Sapix's education information center department.

As of last November, 3,545 Chinese were studying at the University of Tokyo, accounting for some 70% of foreign students and more than 10% of the entire student body.

"While entry into universities in China isn't determined by test scores alone because applicants' birthplaces are taken into account, there is no unfairness against foreign applicants at the University of Tokyo. Also, the university is definitely easier to enter than Peking University and Tsinghua University," said a 27-year-old Chinese University of Tokyo graduate student.

Another Chinese student, 27, at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Engineering -- who has also studied at a graduate school in the U.K. -- said: "Living costs and tuition were high in the U.K. In Japan, the cost of studying is low, and life is comfortable and adaptable."

The chain of migration for education appears unstoppable.

"I want to receive a working visa quickly and bring over my husband and fifth-grade son from China," said Fu Jiayin, a 42-year-old Chinese woman studying at a Japanese language school in Shinjuku ward's Takadanobaba. She came to Japan alone last April wholly for the education of her son.

Born in Shenyang, Liaoning province, in northern China, Fu questioned China's education system, which evaluates children entirely on academic achievements. Wishing to raise her son in a better educational environment, Fu, who has had a long career as a high school and cram school teacher, decided to migrate to Japan "where prices are low among advanced countries and there is a cultural and geographical proximity with China."

Though already in her forties, Fu decided to become a student again and enrolled at the language school.

Fu hopes to find a job this spring and change her student visa status to that issued for engineers and specialists in humanities and international services. This would allow her to bring her husband and son to Japan under dependent visas, which would allow her son to receive an education in Japan.

In fact, "a considerable number of Chinese families are seeking to migrate to Japan in such a manner," according to a migration agent for Chinese clients.

In Kamogawa, Chiba prefecture, located a two-hour express train ride from Tokyo Station, Chinese students account for about half of all students at Kamogawa Reitoku High School, a private senior high school. As of last April, there were more than 50 Chinese students at the school. 

In 2012, the school -- facing a financial crisis caused by low enrollment due to population declines -- decided to accept a large number of students from abroad. This hastily adopted measure proved successful. Despite a relatively high annual tuition of some 2 million yen ($13,400 at current rates), Kamogawa Reitoku received a flood of applications when it opened admission to students in China.

"I didn't want to take an entrance exam in China because of the extremely tough competition at whichever university you want to go to," said a second-year female Chinese student at the school.

"We wanted to be a more internationally oriented school. But China is the sole source of so many students joining us. We are thankful (to China) for our continued management," Hirohito Wada, head of the school, said.

Other schools in places facing depopulation are also working to lure Chinese students.

Higashikawa Japanese Language School in Higashikawa, a town southeast of Asahikawa, Hokkaido's second-largest city, opened in 2015 as the first public Japanese language school in the country. 

Today, about 30% of the student body is Chinese. A major cause of this influx of foreign students is due to the town office covering about 900,000 yen, roughly half of the tuition and dormitory fees, per student per year.

"We offer generous support for foreign students to make up for the decreased number of young people in the town as a result of the falling birthrate," said Masamichi Koyama, the school's principal.

In Osaki, Miyagi prefecture, a Japanese language school founded by the city office will open this April, while the government of Ishinomaki, another city in the northern prefecture, plans to follow suit.

Behind this chain of migration for education lies this country's reality. Regional communities in Japan may have to spend public funds to attract and support students from China and other countries.