‘Missing’ Chinese scholar back in Japan after unexplained absence

A Chinese professor at a Japanese university who went missing during a trip home more than a year ago is now back in Japan, according to his university.

Hu Shiyun, who taught Chinese literature and linguistics at Kobe Gakuin University, had not been heard from by the university or his family since he returned for a temporary visit to China in 2023, sparking fears he had been detained by authorities.

According to Jiji press, Hu’s university have now said the professor returned to Japan in January 2025, but has not given any explanation for his disappearance. Hu is reportedly not experiencing health problems and the institution is yet to decide whether he will resume teaching classes when the new term starts in April.

Hu is one of several Chinese professors working abroad to have gone missing in recent years.

Fan Yuntao, who taught international law and political science at Japan’s Asia university, is another who disappeared during a visit to China in February 2023. The professor has been unaccounted for since, despite the Japanese government confirming that it was monitoring the situation in 2024.

China is known for drip-feeding information about the fate of academics it has detained for national security reasons.

Yuan Keqin, a former professor at Japan’s Hokkaido University and a Chinese national, was arrested in 2019 on a visit to China – a fact Chinese authorities only made public the following year. Since then, it has been revealed that the professor has been sentenced to six years in prison on espionage charges.

These cases have sparked fear among Chinese academics working abroad about returning to China.

In a statement released while Hu was still unaccounted for, Scholars at Risk, which advocates for the safety of academics globally, said, “While state security forces have a responsibility to maintain security and safety, they must also respect international human rights standards and are obligated to comply with internationally recognised standards of due process and fair trial.”

The group continued, “State officials also have a responsibility not to interfere with the right to free expression, so long as it is exercised peacefully and responsibly. Intimidation, detention or prosecution aimed at limiting free expression undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.”

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com