Incessant aftershocks and the fear of radiation leaking from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant are dissuading foreign students from starting their new academic year in Japan.
"We only have maybe a dozen exchange students from overseas returning to the area every day" although classes begin in less than a month, a spokesman from Tohoku University, located in Sendai, told The Japan Times Tuesday.
Miyagi Prefecture was hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Approximately 1,500 students from overseas are enrolled in the prestigious state-run university, including about 700 from China and 200 from South Korea.