Discussions start on tuition waiver for private high schoolers

November 20, 2017

Tokyo- The Japanese government and ruling coalition started discussions on a proposal to make private high schools tuition-free on Monday, aiming to include the measure in an envisaged policy package for human resources development.

The move comes in line with a pledge by Komeito, the coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in the Oct. 22 general election. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who calls for a "human development revolution," has expressed intention to examine the idea.

The government and the parties plan to hammer out the policy package early next month, after working out details, such as a household income limit, of the tuition-free program for private high school students, informed sources said.

Currently, the government basically provides 118,800 yen a year to families with full-time high school students that annually earn less than about 9.1 million yen.

The base amount is enough to cover public high school tuition but far short of the levels required by private highs. In fiscal 2016 that ended in March, the average private high school tuition stood at 393,524 yen.

Therefore, students at private high schools can receive government assistance 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 times the base amount if their families have annual income of less than 5.9 million yen, 3.5 million yen and 2.5 million yen, respectively.

According to a Komeito estimate, more than 800 billion yen will be needed if the government shoulders the average amount of fees for private highs paid by households with annual income of less than 5.9 million yen. Jiji Press