International dormitories at universities serve as a place for Japanese and foreign students to live together and learn about a diverse range of lifestyles and cultures. However, life at these dormitories has been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The International Residence Chuo is Chuo University's international dormitory that opened in Hachioji, Tokyo, this April. Six students -- three Japanese and three foreign -- were to live together, just like in a shared house.
However, no new exchange students are allowed to enter Japan at this time because of entry restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of infections. Some Japanese students have also gone back to their hometowns as the university is only offering classes online.
At present, two or three students live in a space originally designed for six. Despite the capacity for 300 students, only about 60 currently live in the dormitory, with foreign students accounting for about 40%.
Chuo University has another International Residence dormitory in the neighboring city of Hino that is scheduled to be closed down next year. At the newly opened dormitory, the university has increased the number of students living in a unit to six, while having each six-student unit decide on such daily life-related rules as the disposal of garbage, at their weekly meetings.
"By increasing opportunities to interact with each other, we aim to deepen their understanding of different cultures and by getting them involved with dormitory management, we aim to foster their leadership abilities," an official of the university said. Because of the impact of the coronavirus, however, such objectives have not progressed as expected, leaving officials scrambling to find other ways through trial and error.
"I came to this dormitory hoping there'd be more opportunities for me to showcase the appeal of Japan to foreign students," said Rina Matsumoto, a 20-year-old junior who serves as the dorm leader.
Although opportunities for interaction are limited, Matsumoto and others have been holding online parties since June in a bid to deepen their friendships as much as possible. The parties were attended by both the Japanese and foreign students originally scheduled to be admitted into the dormitory.
They have future plans to organize and hold events to teach students about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocated by the United Nations and to promote the need to reduce waste.
In recent years, there has been a conspicuous trend among universities of establishing student dormitories where Japanese and foreign students can live together.
The universities are making themselves more globalized, in accordance with a government plan to increase the number of foreign students studying in Japan to 300,000 by 2020, a target that has already been met. Universities, however, have been forced to rack their brains over how to manage their dormitories amid the pandemic.
At Akita International University in Akita, more than 80% of Japanese and foreign students planned to live in dormitories. Because of the impact of the virus, however, the dormitories were closed this spring. The university has also decided to provide students with online classes for the second semester, citing the difficulty of reopening the dormitories this academic year.
Kanagawa University in Yokohama saw foreign students return home and new foreign students unable to enter Japan, leaving its dormitory inhabited only by Japanese students from this month. Despite this, the university plans to continue programs held at its dormitory for students to learn about SDGs online, with even foreign students who have returned to their home countries in attendance.
"Although troubles can arise in dormitories shared by people from different countries, such as with regards to garbage disposal and kitchen use, universities have placed high hopes on these dormitories that students would improve their problem-solving abilities by working through such difficulties with dialogue," said Chiharu Yoshida, an assistant professor at Chuo University and a scholar of cross-cultural education.
"However, as it has become difficult for Japanese students to live together with foreign students, we'd like them to devise other ways to learn about diversity."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
