Japanese universities are scrambling to raise funds for Ukrainian students taking refuge in Japan following Russia's protracted invasion of their country, providing financial assistance through crowdfunding and setting them up with support from various companies and groups.
Since many Ukrainian students in Japan struggle to make ends meet, those auditing classes or earning credits face the prospect of being unable to obtain their diplomas due to insufficient funds, despite the assistance they are receiving to cover some of their expenses.
At Meiji University's Nakano campus in Tokyo, Dana Boieva, 21, and Mariia Chemerys, 20, both earning credits in the School of Global Japanese Studies, listened intently to a lecture in English for their Japanese Social Systems course in July.