Kyoto Women's University bucks coeducational trend
On July 1, the university publicly released a statement titled the 'Declaration of Women's University' on its website, affirming its continued dedication to single-gender education after more than 75 years.
'We hereby declare our commitment to remain a women's university,' university President Hideko Takeyasu said in the statement.
'A women's university offers an environment where students can learn in equal relationships, unbounded by traditional gender norms,' Takeyasu wrote. 'We will continue to foster individuals who challenge societal norms and drive transformation.'
This declaration comes at a time when women's universities in Japan face increasing financial pressures due to demographic shifts and declining birthrates.
Once numbering 98 at their peak in 1998, four-year women's colleges in Japan have now declined to around 70. Many have opted to become coeducational or close altogether amid struggles to maintain student enrollment.
Takeyasu said the declaration was intended to reaffirm the value and necessity of women's universities both within the school community and to the broader public.
She highlighted Japan's poor performance in the latest Global Gender Gap Report, in which the country ranked 118th out of 148 nations.
'While legal systems now promote gender equality, unconscious gender biases remain in our society and culture,' Takeyasu said. 'Education at a women's university, where students are not constrained by narrow ideas of femininity, plays a crucial role in addressing these deeply rooted disparities.'
Founded in 1949 with an educational philosophy rooted in Buddhist values, Kyoto Women's University became the first women's university in Japan to establish a faculty of law in 2011 and added a faculty of data science in 2023.
Despite nationwide enrollment challenges, the university currently boasts a healthy admissions rate of 106 percent, with 1,527 new students enrolling in April.
The prospects aren't as bright for the future of other women's universities.
In June, Mukogawa Women's University in Hyogo Prefecture announced plans to go coeducational starting in April 2027.
Other institutions, such as Kyoto Notre Dame University and Keisen University in Tokyo, have decided to terminate student recruitment.
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