In a recent article titled "US academics pen letter to Japan PM Kishida calling for border reopening to international students," the Mainichi Shimbun, a prominent newspaper in Japan, discusses the efforts of Prof. Susan J. Pharr (Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics Emerita and Senior Advisor of the WCFIA Program on U.S.-Japan Relations) and several other scholars in urging Japan to allow students to continue their studies and conduct research in Japan. On January 21, prior to a virtual meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, Prof. Pharr chaired a press conference hosted by the Japan Society in New York, in which scholars exchanged opinions on the current situation.

The full Mainichi article can be found here.

More information about the petition can also be found here and here.