EN-ICHI Opens Up the Future of Family and Community
[Info. File] University Enrollment and the Number of Universities Keep Rising
Based on MEXT’s FY2022 “School Basic Survey”
Japan’s population of 18-year-olds peaked at 2.07 million in 1991 and has since declined, falling to 1.121 million last year—roughly half over three decades. Despite this continued drop in the 18-year-old cohort, both university enrollment and the number of universities have continued to grow.
Source: Compiled by the author based on NISTEP, “Science and Technology Indicators 2022,” Data No. 318.(文部科学省科学技術･学術政策研究所｢科学技術指導2022｣調査資料‐318.)
According to MEXT’s School Basic Survey, total university enrollment, including graduate schools, reached an all-time high of 2.931 million in FY2022. By sector, the breakdown is 600,000 at national universities, 160,000 at public universities, and 2.17 million at private universities.
A key driver has been the rising university attendance rate among women. The overall university attendance rate hovered around 25% until roughly 1990, but began climbing as the 18-year-old population started to fall; the number of new entrants has continued to increase. Last year the attendance rate reached 56.6%—about double in thirty years.
By contrast, master’s program entrants (men and women combined) have been trending downward since a 2010 peak, remaining around 70,000 in recent years. Doctoral entrants have also declined since peaking in 2003, hovering in the mid-15,000 range.
The number of universities has risen in step with higher attendance, particularly among private institutions. In FY2022 there were a record 807 universities nationwide: 86 national, 101 public, and 620 private. Since 1990, the number of public universities has roughly tripled over forty years, while private universities—having expanded mainly from the late 1980s to the early 2000s—have doubled over the same period. Since 2000, however, under-enrollment has become increasingly common, especially at private schools.
In March 2023, the distinguished private Keisen University (Tama City, Tokyo) decided to halt new admissions, and since 2000 a total of 16 universities had either stopped recruiting or been closed (as of May 2023). Since then, closures and consolidations have continued: in 2025 Kyoto Notre Dame University decided to stop taking new students from the next academic year, and Gakushuin Women’s College will be integrated into Gakushuin University starting in AY2026.
According to the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, the under-enrollment rate among private universities hit a record 47.5% in FY2022. From 2023 onward, Japan is entering an era in which the number of available seats exceeds the number of applicants—effectively “universal admission.”
In Japan, the vast majority of university entrants are teenagers; the proportion of adult learners is very low. To boost productivity, the government is moving to promote recurrent (lifelong) education at universities and other higher-education institutions. In early April 2023, MEXT announced stricter screening for the establishment of new private universities and a policy of containing overall university scale. With the 18-year-old population projected to drop to about 790,000 by 2040, universities will likely place greater emphasis on enrolling working adults.
(Published with additions and revisions in the May 2023 issue of "EN-ICHI FORUM")
