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Julian Ryall

The discovery of a subtle yet incendiary digital message buried deep within the source code of a University of Tokyo website has prompted an investigation into whether hackers sought to block access from China – or send a pointed political message.
At the heart of the controversy is a block of text that reads “six four Tiananmen”, an unmistakable nod to the crackdown on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
The hidden characters, written in kanji, were found embedded in the pages of the university’s Graduate School of Frontier Science website, including its English-language entry page and an admissions information section.
University officials are now digging into the hackers’ motives, with one professor suggesting resentment towards the growing number of Chinese students at Japan’s most prestigious university could be a factor.
“Inserting these characters in the code is being seen as creating a barrier to Chinese students accessing the pages,” the professor told This Week in Asia, speaking on condition of anonymity. “That is just speculative at the moment, but the university is looking into that possibility.”
According to a report on Saturday by Japanese newspaper the Mainichi Shimbun, the website was launched for the 2023 academic year, and the contentious lines of code were discovered in November.

The controversial characters have since been removed and the university has taken action to improve its web security in an effort to prevent any future attempts by hackers to insert data or keywords. An investigation is also under way to uncover how the breach occurred in the first place.
According to experts quoted by the Mainichi Shimbun, embedding sensitive phrases in a website’s source code can significantly increase the likelihood of those pages appearing in search results. Given that terms associated with Tiananmen trigger China’s stringent system of automatic censorship, this tactic could effectively restrict access for users within the country.
This Week in Asia sought comment from the university officials, but did not receive an immediate response. However, in a statement to the Mainichi, the university reaffirmed its commitment to fostering a diverse community of students and faculty members from around the globe.
“If the keyword was mixed in with the aim of inhibiting access from a specific country, it is an inappropriate act and is very regrettable,” the statement read.
The influx of international students at the university has been notable, with enrolment figures reaching 5,104 as of May. Among the foreign students, 60.5 per cent were Chinese nationals, who also make up nearly 70 per cent of the graduate school population.


Online commenters have expressed concern about the growing presence of Chinese students at the University of Tokyo. One, responding to the Mainichi story, said the rise in Chinese students “is nothing less than a threat to Japan, but there is no sign of any movement to correct it”.
“I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to praise the actions of the person who [hacked and] set this up,” the commenter added.
Another comment questioned the appropriateness of recruiting international students and giving them “preferential treatment” at the university.
“The first priority should be to nurture excellent students in Japan for the development of this country,” it said. “National universities should not take the initiative in doing things that benefit foreign countries, especially those that are hostile to Japan.”


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Did ‘Tiananmen’ hack at Japan’s Tokyo University aim to block access from China?

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Officials are investigating if resentment towards the growing number of Chinese students at Japan’s most prestigious university was a factor


Officials are investigating if resentment towards the growing number of Chinese students at Japan’s most prestigious university was a factor.


Tiananmen Square crackdown

Education

Did ‘Tiananmen’ hack at Japan’s Tokyo University aim to block access from China?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Officials are investigating if resentment towards the growing number of Chinese students at Japan’s most prestigious university was a factor

Officials are investigating if resentment towards the growing number of Chinese students at Japan’s most prestigious university was a factor