Relations between the Netherlands and Japan were extremely close, however, and hefty government scholarships were up for grabs, so with only a handful of Japanese majors in all Holland, the budding sinologist earned the chance to study in Japan on a government scholarship.
當時荷日關係非常好，每年有豐厚的政府獎學金，但全荷蘭學日文的學生大概不過二、三人，於是他這個漢學生，也得到了公費留學日本的機會。