Japan's free high school policy may provoke exodus from public schools
By Junko Horiuchi
Japan's decision to make high school tuition virtually free, even for private institutions, is raising alarm among educators and policy experts, who warn it could accelerate an exodus from public schools and deepen inequalities.
While aimed at easing households' financial burdens amid inflation, the policy -- rushed through as part of a political deal -- also risks undermining the role that public high schools have long played as "safety nets" for students with diverse needs.
Critics say the government has failed to pair the tuition measure with adequate support for struggling public schools, many of which are already facing shrinking enrollment and budget shortfalls, putting their very survival in question.
So far, public schools have adapted to various social changes, but they have also grappled with challenges such as excessive teacher workloads and more frequent cases requiring individualized responses such as bullying and truancy.
In one English lesson at a public high school in a mountainous town in the suburbs of Tokyo, 11 first-year students took turns interviewing each other about daily activities. The 40-minute class was mostly spent with students standing and practicing conversation.
Teacher Shunsuke Nakamura walked around the classroom, encouraging them to make eye contact, checking their grammar and applauding correct responses. His hands-on approach was designed to boost student confidence and foster a more engaging environment.
"Although it increases the workload for teachers, I focus on offering care and education tailored to their individual needs and on motivating them to learn," Nakamura said, stressing the importance of being inspired by classmates to lift the overall level of the class.
He said the school's roughly 260 students include individuals with developmental disabilities, some of whom struggle to attend regularly, and others living in poverty, with a portion enrolled in evening classes at Tokyo Metropolitan Itsukaichi High School.
While praising Nakamura's efforts, Principal Mariko Matsuzaki said she feels that the school's shortcoming lies in its promotional strategy, even as unique courses are being introduced utilizing the abundant natural resources of the nearby valley.
"Our school carries out educational activities in collaboration with community entities, but its unique features are not even fully recognized by local residents," Matsuzaki said, as it joins other Tokyo-run facilities in failing to fill seats.
Another public institution, Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School, near the capital's Shibuya district, said its strength is accepting teenagers from a range of backgrounds, with a third of its about 715 students being either Japanese children returning from living abroad with their families or foreign nationals.
At the school's annual highlight occasion, students confidently delivered speeches in English on topics of their choice -- such as overcoming nervousness, passion for movies and feminism -- before an audience of around 700 in the gym.
Participants also gave presentations in fluent Chinese, French, German, Korean and Spanish -- languages taught at the school as part of its curriculum -- showcasing the linguistic diversity and global outlook of the student body.
An official at the institution said the move to make tuition effectively free at public and private high schools, which began earlier in Tokyo in 2024, has contributed to a drop in applicants and enrollment, even though the entrance exam remains competitive.
Asked what the school offers compared with private counterparts that also promote global education, Haruki Honma, a teacher in charge of English, said, "Here, every day -- whether inside or outside class -- is international exchange, thanks to the makeup of our students."
"I doubt other Japanese private schools have this much diversity in their student makeup. Students naturally learn from each other's different cultures and backgrounds, both inside and outside class," Honma said.
Momentum to reform Japan's high school tuition exemption program picked up late last year as the minority ruling coalition, led by Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party, and the opposition Japan Innovation Party drew closer.
The ruling camp agreed to adopt the JIP's signature policy of tuition-free high schools to secure its support for passing the fiscal 2025 draft budget in parliament.
From the 2026 academic year, income limits for aid to families with children in private high schools will be scrapped and the maximum subsidy raised to about 457,000 yen ($3,150), near average tuition levels. The cap was removed in fiscal 2025 for public schools.
At this juncture, families earning under 9.1 million yen annually receive 118,800 yen in tuition support for both public and private high schools. For private schools, those earning less than 5.9 million yen may receive up to 396,000 yen in aid.
In the Osaka prefectural and Tokyo metropolitan governments, which have already implemented their own free high school education programs, a shift away from public high schools has been observed.
Analysts say debate by policymakers has centered only on addressing household financial burdens, with little discussion on how tuition subsidies could affect the overall education system, including the role of public schools as safety nets.
The state-led policy "pressures public schools" to attract more applicants but lacks funding or extra teachers, leaving them unable to "compete with private schools" on an equal footing, said Hideyuki Konyuba, a professor of education policy at Teikyo University.
"It is necessary that the state provide resources -- money and teachers -- for public" institutions, he said, adding it must also craft a vision for Japan's high school system, which while not legally compulsory is effectively viewed that way with nearly 99 percent of junior high students enrolled.
© KYODO
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
In Photos: Okinawa island locals accused of 'spying' for US military at end of war killed
Image 1 of 8 Eef Beach, where the U.S. military landed on June 26, 1945, in the final phase of World War II, is seen in the town of Kumejima, Okinawa Prefecture, in this photo taken on Aug. 4, 2025. The Japanese military's Kayama unit began to kill local residents after the U.S. military's landing, and the atrocities continued until late August that year. (Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan)
7 hours ago
80 Years On: Hibakusha Gives Account in English, Urging Dialogue for Peace
Hiroshima, Aug. 19 (Jiji Press)--Teruko Yahata, 88, who survived the August 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, began studying English five years ago so she could share her experiences with a wider audience and convey the horrors of nuclear weapons. Yahata, a hibakusha atomic bombing survivor recognized by the Hiroshima city government as an official witness, says she believes that "creating openings for dialogue and resolving (differences) is the path to peace." Eighty years after the nuclear attack, and amid rising international tensions, she continues to bear witness to the human toll of nuclear war and to voice her hopes for the abolition of nuclear weapons. On Aug. 6, 1945, Yahata was 8 years old, standing in the backyard of her home about 2.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, when the atomic bomb exploded. "The entire sky flashed a pale blue, like a huge fluorescent light," she recalls. When she attempted to drop to the ground, she blacked out. Coming to, she found herself at the front entrance, hurled 5 or 6 meters, with blood running from a cut on her forehead, a scar that remains to this day. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
19 hours ago
Lagging in Language Skills: Foreign Children Being Left Behind in Education
According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the number of foreign nationals living in the country as of the end of 2024 was 3,769,000. This represents an increase of 358,000 from the end of 2023 and is 1.8 times higher than a decade ago. A particularly fast-growing category is foreigners with the 'engineer/specialist in humanities/international services' visa, which includes a wide range of occupations such as technicians, interpreters, designers, language instructors, and more. Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare data shows that the number of foreign workers in this ESHIS category reached 411,000, a 3.9-fold increase in the 10 years leading up to 2024. ESHIS visa holders are permitted to bring their families to Japan, just like those with visas for work such as university teaching, legal services, and accounting. Naturally, this has led to a rise in the number of foreign children living in Japan. It's within the context of these structural changes that the urgent need for Japanese language education for foreign children has arisen. The number of foreign children enrolled in public elementary and junior high schools reached some 129,000 in fiscal 2024, a 9.0% increase from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). The problem is that many schools lack the staff needed to teach JFL, or Japanese as a foreign language, to these children. As a result, more and more children are growing up without sufficient Japanese language skills. Without a shared base in language, which is crucial for communication, their academic and career prospects will be adversely affected and they will tend to be isolated in their communities. 70,000 Children in Need of Japanese Instruction In MEXT's statistics for fiscal 2023, there were almost 70,000 students that require JFL instruction in public schools, double the number from a decade earlier. In Matsudo, a city in Chiba Prefecture adjacent to Tokyo, 23,000 of its approximately 500,000 residents as of the end of 2024 were foreign nationals. To address their needs, the city's Board of Education set a policy to establish JFL classrooms in elementary schools with at least 18 students requiring instruction in fiscal 2022. As of fiscal 2025, 15 out of the city's 45 public schools had established these classrooms. From fiscal 2024, a school readiness program was established, where foreign children receive 20 days of intensive instruction before entering school, covering Japanese language essentials for school life such as greetings and reporting health issues. The Board of Education has assigned 33 staff members for this language education and has also secured 37 paid volunteers. Matsudo's efforts are relatively comprehensive. In urban parts of Japan, such as the Tokyo metropolitan area and Aichi Prefecture, where there are many students requiring this instruction, it is easier for schools to provide adequate support. Growing Crisis at Regional Schools On the other hand, the situation is particularly serious in more rural areas, where foreign children are more thinly dispersed. In terms of the rate of increase of foreign children requiring JFL instruction from 2021 to 2023, Tottori Prefecture was the highest, seeing growth of 2.4 times, from 18 to 44 students. It was followed by Ōita (2.3 times, from 50 to 114), Kōchi (2.3 times, from 12 to 27), Kagoshima (1.9 times, from 28 to 53), and Saga (1.9 times, from 40 to 74). Because the number of foreign children in these areas is much smaller than in urban areas and securing teaching staff is more of a challenge, local governments tend not to have sufficient systems in place. In fiscal 2023, roughly 30% of public elementary and middle schools across Japan (9,241 schools) had students who needed JFL instruction. According to Wakabayashi Hideki, a visiting associate professor at Utsunomiya University's School of International Studies who has been involved with the education of foreign children, 70% of these schools had four or fewer foreign children, demonstrating the situation of foreign children being thinly dispersed. Looking at the breakdown of children requiring JFL instruction by their native tongue, the highest is Portuguese-speaking children, many of whom are of Japanese-Brazilian descent. The number of children native in Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese languages is also rising quickly, and some regions are seeing an increase in those with Nepali and Burmese backgrounds. 'The problem is more likely to go unrecognized when only a few students need support, and municipalities often can't secure budgets and staff,' says Wakabayashi. 'Homeroom teachers and other staff are often left to handle the situation alone. And when students come from multiple linguistic backgrounds, that can make the challenge even greater.' Many children are unable to keep up with classes taught in Japanese through school instruction alone. That's why, in urban areas, an increasing number of Japanese language classes are being offered outside of schools by public organizations, NPOs, and local governments to support their learning. By contrast, such programs are often lacking in certain regional areas. MEXT has issued a Guide for Accepting Foreign Children , and included Japanese instruction in the national curriculum guidelines starting in fiscal 2018. While the government sets staffing standards, it leaves decisions about actual staffing levels and local JFL programs to municipalities, offering mainly subsidies. The Limits of Keeping It Local There is also the more fundamental issue of children not attending school. In fiscal 2023, a record 970 foreign children of school age were not enrolled, a 24.6% increase from the previous year. Adding also children whose enrollment status could not be confirmed, MEXT puts the number of such children who may not be attending school at 8,601. The Constitution of Japan guarantees children the right to receive an education and stipulates that guardians must ensure their children are educated. Legally speaking, this applies only to children with Japanese citizenship, but based on the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, foreign children are guaranteed the opportunity, if desired, to receive the same education as Japanese children. Japan's foreign population is expected to hit 9.39 million in 2070, making up 10% of the nation's total, according to 2023 projections by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. However, the inflow of foreign nationals is already outpacing these projections, making it likely that the 10% mark will be reached as early as 2050. 'In Japan, there is little awareness of the need to build social infrastructure with the settlement of foreign residents in mind,' says Menju Toshihiro, visiting professor at Kansai University of International Studies. 'As a result, the education system for foreign children has largely been left to local governments and individual schools, leading to significant regional disparities. To ensure that foreign children, who will help support Japan's future, can acquire the same academic abilities as Japanese children, the national government must establish a clear policy and restructure the education system.' (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
