Japan survey shows shift from public to private high schools after tuition-free policy

On August 26, Japan's education ministry released new statistics revealing a shift in high school enrollment from public to private institutions after the latter became tuition-free for all students, regardless of income, in April of the previous year. Mainichi Shimbun compared the 2026 School Basic Survey results with those from 2025 and discovered that first-year enrollment in public high schools decreased in 43 of the country's 47 prefectures, while enrollment in private high schools rose in 44.

Only Tokushima, Kochi, Oita, and Okinawa prefectures did not experience a decline in first-year enrollment in public high schools. Tottori Prefecture had the largest rate of decrease, at 7.01%, followed by Toyama Prefecture at 6.52% and Kagoshima Prefecture at 6.18%. The declining birth rate may have contributed to this trend, but its impact alone could not explain the drop in enrollment in all 23 prefectures where the third-year stage of junior high school populations fell from the previous year.

Local boards of education expressed concerns over the situation. An official in Toyama Prefecture suggested that students might be enrolling in private high schools outside their prefectures, while a Kagoshima Prefecture official noted that the diversification of learning needs and the tuition-free private high school policy could have influenced the numbers.

Kazuhiro Takada, a professor of educational sociology at the University of Osaka Graduate School, attributed the trend to the tuition-free policy without income limits and predicted that it could lead to the consolidation and closure of public high schools in the medium-to-long term.

The decline in enrollment in public high schools could increase the variety of options for students to attend high school, including private institutions in regional hub cities such as prefectural capitals. However, this shift could have long-term consequences for public high schools, including consolidation and closure. Takada emphasized the need to enhance the quality of education in public high schools, regardless of students' residence or household financial circumstances.

He also called for support to improve remote education and to strengthen assistance for high schools in depopulated areas facing regional challenges. Takada urged the education ministry to improve measures to promote the appeal of public high schools.