Education Tokyo University hikes tuition by 20%

Tuition fees at national universities are determined by each institution, with the upper limit set at 1.2 times the standard rate defined by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Since the 2005 academic year, the standard rate has been JPY 535,800, and the University of Tokyo has maintained this rate for undergraduate tuition for 20 years. By raising tuition to the upper limit, the University of Tokyo expects to increase annual revenue by JPY 1.35bn. This additional income will be used to strengthen systems that support student learning and increase scholarships for studying abroad, the university says. Subsidies from the government, which should be used to finance these kinds of measures to improve and upgrade the educational environment, have been continuously reduced or curbed. On top of that, the rising costs of utilities, inflation, and increased personnel expenses for faculty and staff have worsened the financial situation of national universities. Other national universities are more or less in the same boat. Over the past few years, six universities financed by the government, including the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Hitotsubashi University, have raised tuition fees.

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