Universities in Japan

The population aged 18 is decreasing, from its peak 2.05 million in 1992 to 1.33 million in 2006, and is projected to fall to more or less 1.2 million after 2008. In 2006, the percentage of students going on to university or junior college was 49%, and it rises to 72.9%, inclusive of other institutions of higher education, such as technical colleges.

Presently, there are 1,726 higher education institutions in Japan, 64 colleges of technology, 468 junior colleges, and 744 universities.

The following is a breakdown of universities based on their main source of funding: 87 national universities, 89 local universities, and 568 private universities, with a total student body of 2.86 million. There are 630,000 students attending national universities, 130,000 attending local universities, and 2.1 million attending private universities. There are 2.51 million undergraduate students, 260,000 graduate students, and 90,000 students classified as “other”.

The number of international students accepted into Japanese institutions of higher education increases every year. While there were only 10,000 in 1983, there are now approximately 120,000 in Japan. About 93% of them come from Asian countries.

Most of the University Co-operatives are established in four-year universities. The University Co-operatives are found in approximately 90% of national universities, however, only in 40% of local universities and in less than 20% of private universities.