According to a research by the Japan Association of Overseas Studies (JAOS), the Covid-19 epidemic resulted in an “unprecedented” decline in the number of Japanese students interested in studying abroad. In 2020, the number of students participating in study abroad fell by 76 percent across 43 JAOS members — private-sector study abroad firms – who replied to a March 2021 poll.

JAOS elaborated in a statement that in 2020, the overall number of Japanese students who travelled overseas through these membership organisations was 18,374, a stunning but somewhat predicted 76 percent decline from 2019.

However, even in the middle of the Covid-19 epidemic, JAOS study-abroad organisations continue to get daily requests from people interested in studying abroad once the pandemic has passed. In the student exchange sector, several nations have begun receiving overseas students, which is a positive indication.

Some locations performed better than others in terms of how many students they lost, whether owing to border restrictions or student perceptions of risk.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and neighbouring Asian nations had the greatest declines in student enrolment in 2020 compared to 2019. China witnessed a 94 percent decline, the US an 85% drop, Taiwan and South Korea an 83 percent drop, and the United Kingdom an 82 percent drop.

Singapore, Spain, and France saw demographic drops of less than half, while Germany witnessed only a 15% reduction. In 2019, there were 37 Japanese students in Italy compared to 33 the previous year, an increase over the previous year.