Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 12 (Xinhua) A latest survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan shows that the number of enrollment places for Japanese universities in the 2024 academic year exceeds the total enrollment by more than 10,000 people. For the first time since records began, the number of enrollment places and the number of enrollments has ” Upside down” situation. According to the Japanese media, Japan has thus entered the “era of all people going to college.”
This is the main entrance of the Waseda Campus of Waseda University taken on March 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Xiaoyi
According to the survey, in the 2024 academic year, the total number of admissions for all public and private universities in Japan is 625,200, and the actual enrollment number is 613,500. The difference between the two is more than 10,000. The ratio of enrollment to the number of enrollment places is 98%, which is the first time since the 2010 academic year that it has fallen below 100%.
The number of enrolled students in all private universities in Japan for the 2024 academic year is 479,200, which is about 16,500 less than the enrollment quota. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of private universities in Japan that are unable to recruit enough students. According to a survey by the Japan Private School Promotion and Mutual Aid Group, about 60% of private universities will not be able to recruit enough students for the 2024 academic year.
This is a young man and woman preparing to participate in a coming-of-age ceremony photographed in Yokohama, Japan on January 8, 2024. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu
In contrast, Japanese public universities completed their enrollment plan with an enrollment of 134,200, about 4,700 more than the enrollment quota. According to Japanese media, these universities have over-enrolled some students because students usually give up their enrollment.
According to Japanese media analysis, the main reason why Japan has entered the “era of all college students” is that the fertility rate continues to be low and the number of candidates has decreased. In 1992, Japan’s 18-year-old population was approximately 2.05 million. According to population projections from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, as of January this year, the population aged 18 has dropped to approximately 1.09 million. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology predicts that by 2050, the number of university enrollments will decrease by about 30% from today, to about 430,000.
Industry insiders analyze that the “polarization” situation in Japanese universities is intensifying. On the one hand, competition for candidates to enter top universities will continue; on the other hand, some universities may become unsustainable due to a lack of students.
[Editor in charge: Nisna]
