“Seeking trouble”: The reasons Japanese scholars are avoiding China

NEW DELHI: Following the mysterious disappearance of Fan Yuntao, a 61-year-old specialist in international law and politics located at Tokyo’s Asia University, Japanese academics are becoming less inclined to attend gatherings in China.

According to Kyodo News, Fan, who last spoke with his family in April of last year, informed them that he was being questioned by Chinese government representatives.
The disturbing event fits into an alarming trend involving a number of Chinese professors who are stationed in Japan; Hu Shiyun and Zhu Jianrong are two others who have mysteriously disappeared.

There has been a decrease in academic events in China as a result of the academic community’s anxieties stoked by these incidents, according to a South China Morning Post story.
Fan’s institution has acknowledged that he is on leave, but in order to safeguard personal information, they have not disclosed any more information. The Japanese government’s inaction in response to his abduction has drawn harsh criticism from both academics and social media users.
Fukui Prefectural University professor of international affairs Yoichi Shimada said that he was reluctant to visit China since there were no guarantees that he would return safely. “These arrests don’t appear to have a clear motive. I cannot go there right now, and neither can any other academic,” Shimada said.

Japanese businessmen and Chinese diaspora residents who have been detained after returning to China are also impacted by this problem. While acknowledging the hazards, Jeff Kingston, an American director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Tokyo campus, pointed out that his modest profile may protect him from such attacks.
Japan’s reaction to these events has been criticized for being weak, especially in light of Beijing’s recent anti-espionage regulations that have increased concerns about unjust imprisonment. “I have no faith that the Japanese government would do much to get me home if I was accused of something; they are weak-kneed when it comes to China,” Shimada said, going on to criticize the incompetence of the Japanese government.
This circumstance demonstrates how, in the midst of intensifying geopolitical tensions, Japanese researchers are becoming more concerned for their safety and academic freedom while interacting with Chinese universities.