Suffering for the Truth? Japanese Principal Resigns Over ‘Elite Refugees’ Jab at Ukrainian Students

Japan has received more than 2,000 Ukrainian refugees since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

Masumi Shimizu, president of a Japanese language school in Gunma Prefecture, has resigned after facing a backlash for reportedly calling Ukrainian migrants-turned-students "elite refugees."

According to a Japanese newspaper, Shimizu also described the Ukrainian students as "aristocratic refugees" and "a privileged class of asylum seekers," who enjoy free rent and tax exemptions while Asian students live on their own.

The newspaper reported that Shimizu refused to apologize for his remarks, arguing that the "prefectural government is doing far more than it should" to support the Ukrainian migrants.

The row purportedly came after some of the Ukrainian students protested when the administration of the school - Nippon Academy in Maebashi - demanded they pay tuition, despite the fact that the school initially pledged them free education.

Shimizu insisted that the promise was temporary and was only in force until the students became financially independent, and not for six months or a year, as the students maintain.

Following a public uproar over Shimizu's comments, the prefecture ordered the school to take steps "to prevent a recurrence and improve its corporate governance."

The launch of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine was followed by a stream of refugees fleeing from the conflict zone - most of them to Russia, while others went to Europe and beyond. Since the start of the op, Japan, in turn, took in 2,302 Ukrainians, according to the government’s estimates.

The Nippon Academy has received 38 Ukrainian students since May 2022.