Number of University Students in Japan Tops 3 M. for 1st Time

Tokyo, Aug. 26 (Jiji Press)–The number of university students in Japan exceeded 3 million for the first time as of May 1, according to a preliminary fiscal 2026 school basic survey released by the education ministry on Wednesday. The figure stood at 3,000,542, up 28,130 from the previous year. The number of undergraduates rose by 18,357 to a record 2,664,194 and that of graduate students grew by 7,670 to 284,802, also a record high. The number of female undergraduates hit a record high of 1,237,086, up 16,757. Female students accounted for more than 90 pct of the increase in the total number of undergraduates in the country. The number of female university faculty members also reached a record high of 55,342, up 921. Their share of the total number of university faculty members rose by 0.5 percentage point to 28.7 pct, marking a record high. Meanwhile, the number of elementary school students fell by 157,914 to 5,654,461, hitting a record low for the 37th consecutive year. The number of junior high school students declined by 45,266 to 3,060,031, rewriting the record low for the fifth straight year. Senior high school students totaled 3,156,909, down by 21,907. The trend is generally the same as last year and seems to be affected by the declining birthrate and resulting population decrease, women’s participation in society and the rising university enrollment rate, an education ministry official said. Final figures are due in December. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]