Japan’s strict border restrictions are causing foreign scholars and students to shift away from Japanese studies, a survey conducted in August by a Japanese researcher in the United States showed, in what could be an alarming sign of “Japan passing” in the academic world.

According to an online survey of about 300 foreign academics and students of Japanese studies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, 186 respondents said there was less scholarly interest in Japan in their countries, while 162 said there were fewer scholars specializing in Japan because of the border restrictions. Respondents were allowed to choose multiple answers.

“These responses clearly demonstrate how this is leading to the decline of interest in Japan as well as distrust of Japan at large,” said Tomoyuki Sasaki, an associate professor of Japanese studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, who conducted the survey.

In March, Japan opened its borders to foreign students and academics for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that their schools and universities were sponsors.

But Sasaki said that researchers need to come to Japan for fieldwork and archival research — activities that won’t have a sponsor, meaning they are not able to visit. Complex visa procedures are also discouraging them from coming to Japan, he said.

“Academics well-versed in Japan have been influencing their countries’ policies on Japan and contributed to the understanding of Japan in international society,” he said in an email. “The fact that they are losing interest in Japan and fewer researchers are being nurtured is not in line with Japan’s national interests.”

About 97% said Japan’s border restrictions have either “strongly” or “somewhat” affected their current and future research. Among the respondents, 228 said they were unable to conduct archival research in Japan, while 180 said they were unable to conduct fieldwork.

In a multiple-choice question, 80 students and academics said they had to suspend or give up their research topic because of the restrictions, while 190 had to delay finishing their research.

In the open comments section, respondents voiced their concerns about a future decline in the number of researchers and classes on Japanese studies.

“The restrictions are impoverishing the study of Japan,” said one respondent. “The effects will be like dominos. Less travel will result in less interest and an eventual downturn in class enrollment.”

Another respondent — who is referred to as a university professor at an R1 institution, or the top tier in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education — said they would recommend to students that they do not choose Japan as their sole focus of study.

Another commenter said that while their previous research focused exclusively on the U.S.-Japan relationship, “as a result of the border restrictions, I have shifted away from investing heavily in future Japan-specific research.”