The goal of the “Plan to Accept 100,000 International Students” to Japan started from 1983 and achieved in 2003. The data from “International Student in Japan 2003” indicated that of the 109,508 international students, 102,089 students which accounted for 92.8% were from Asia, while 70,814 students which accounted for 64.7% were from China. In an attempt to have a better understanding about how the image changed, this study analyzes the Japan mass media’s image development to Chinese international students during the five-year interval between the “Plan to Accept 100,000 International Students” achieved in 2003 and the “300,000 International Students Plan” launched in 2008. According to the “Public Opinion Survey on Diplomacy”, the percentage of friendly feelings towards China had decreased from 45.6% to 31.8%, which reflected the rapid change in the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Japan mass media’s image development to Chinese international students basically followed the same direction. Through closely analyzing the news coverage of Asahi Shinbun and Yomiuri Shinbun, this paper attempts to identify the crucial cases and influential factors in the mass media’s image development process, and thus to offer a referential perspective to the academic field.