Japanese professor of Chinese who went missing in China returns

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – A professor of Chinese at a Japanese university returned to Japan in January after going missing during a temporary stay in China, university officials said Friday.

The professor, Hu Shiyun, from Kobe Gakuin University in Hyogo, western Japan, went missing after entering China in summer 2023, Jiji Press reported.

The university said that the professor’s family couldn’t contact him after he temporarily returned to China, but he arrived back in Japan on Jan. 24.

It is not known whether Hu Shiyun had been detained by Chinese authorities.

He has not provided the university with any explanation for his disappearance, but there are apparently no issues with his health.

The university has not yet decided whether he will continue to give lectures in the term starting in April.

Born in Jiangsu, eastern China, Hu Shiyun began working at the university in 2015, where he taught classical Chinese literature.

In July 2023, China enacted a revised anti-espionage law that broadened the definition of espionage, raising concerns about the potential for arbitrary interpretations and enforcement due to its vague provisions.