Gov’t to Support Poor Students Entering University

December 12, 2017

Tokyo- Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to offer a lump-sum allowance for students entering higher education who come from households receiving public welfare benefits, Jiji Press has learned.

The ministry plans to provide 300,000 yen per student for those living apart from their parents and 100,000 yen for those who live with their parents.

The measure, expected to be implemented from April 2018, is designed to prevent young people from giving up pursuing higher education, such as at university and vocational school, due to financial difficulties, and to stop the cycle of poverty being handed down from parent to child, ministry officials said.

The ministry plans to include expenses related to the measure in the draft budget for fiscal 2018 and submit a bill to next year's ordinary parliamentary session to revise the Public Assistance Act.

At present, people living on welfare are, in principle, not allowed to go to university or other institutions of higher education.

People on welfare who receive higher education will be treated as belonging to a separate household from their parents' even if they are living with the parents. Then the amount of welfare payments for the parents' household will be reduced.

Around 30 pct of students from households on welfare go to university or other higher educational institutions, far below the approximately 70 pct for all households, largely because many students give up higher education due to financial concerns.

The ministry thus hopes to ease their financial burdens by offering a lump-sum payment to those moving on to higher education, the officials said.

The allowance is expected to be used to purchase computers, educational materials and various supplies necessary for starting higher education.

The ministry plans to keep in place the existing rule that treats students moving on to higher education as a separate household, to ensure fairness of the welfare benefit system to young people who start working instead of pursuing higher education, according to the officials.

However, the housing assistance portion of the welfare, which covers the rent, will not be reduced for households that include students living with their parents while receiving higher education, the officials said. Jiji Press