Vietnam ranks second in the number of international students studying in Japan.

Vietnamese students studying at Aomori University

However, Vietnam still ranks second among countries/territories in terms of the number of international students studying in Japan.

Specifically, in May 2020, the number of foreign students in Japan decreased by 10.4% compared to a year earlier, to 279,597 people.

Previously, the number of foreign students enrolled at universities, Japanese language schools and other educational institutions in Japan increased for seven consecutive years, reaching a record high of 312,214 in May 2019.

The main reason is the COVID-19 epidemic, which has forced many foreign students to cancel or postpone their study plans in Japan.

By country/region, the number of Chinese students studying in Japan in early May 2020 was 121,845, down 2.1% year-on-year.

Vietnam ranked second with 62,233, down 15.2%. Nepal followed with 24,002, down 8.8%. The number of students from South Korea fell 13.9% to 15,785, while those from Taiwan (China) fell 26% to 7,088.

Among educational institutions in Japan, Japanese language schools saw the sharpest decline in the number of foreign students (down 27.4%) to 60,814.

The number of foreign students in universities also fell 10.9% to 79,826, and in graduate schools fell 0.1% to 53,056.

However, the number of foreign students in vocational schools increased by 1.0% to 79,598.

According to VNA