JJapan

Japan’s free high school policy may provoke exodus from public schools

  • July 3, 2025

TL;DR
Japan’s decision to make high school tuition virtually free, including for private institutions, raises concerns about a potential exodus from public schools. Critics argue that the policy, aimed at easing financial burdens, neglects the role of public schools as safety nets for diverse students and fails to provide adequate support for struggling public schools. While some public schools offer unique programs and diverse student bodies, they face challenges in attracting applicants and competing with private schools due to limited resources and funding.

by SkyInJapan

7 comments

  1. this is basically doing what some US states are doing but on a national scale. really bad idea.

  2. I worked at a private school about 15 years ago and they were sending around a petition to support these changes. I refused to sign and told them my reasons. It may be good for their school, but not for society as a whole.

  3. Tokyo reimburses for the tuition. My son attends a private HS in Kanagawa and we still get it. I’ll admit it doesn’t make sense to me but I’m not declining the money. 💴

  4. Of course this happens after my kids have already graduated. Public high schools in my area cost about ¥10,000 a month after the admission fees. Private schools are about double that.

    Admission standards for public schools vary, but the bar isn’t too high. Private high schools are usually for kids who either can’t get into public schools or are exceptional students. I had kids in both, and at both, they only needed to maintain a 30% average, which is wild. My daughter’s high school had a 20% dropout rate.

    The current system was already pretty decent. Households earning less than ¥9.1 million per year qualify for tuition support. Under the new plan, this income cap will be removed, so the support will be available to everyone. Average annual income is ¥5.2 million and as high as ¥8.3 million in co-working households. This is some bullshit.jp

  5. ‘We should entirely deny education to a large group of people in order to… **checks notes** have better education’

    Privilege is really talking loudly in this argument, it’s almost hilariously out of touch.

    The benefits of allowing the underprivileged access to free education outweighs the problems by a huge margin. They also somehow fail to realize that you can solve more than one problem. If the public school education is lacking why not make it better? Yes, it will be difficult and expensive, but people who run from progress at the first sign of challenge are abandoning the people who need them.

  6. I am surprised how many people are “against” the idea? I would like you guys to comment here and explain your reasons. I mean.. education up to the university level in UK is free and there doesn’t seem to be a problem.

    I know education department in Japan is a problem in itself, with limited resources and overwork, but placing the costs on the parents is hardly a solution considering it just adds on to the already high costs of raising kids and low wages.

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