Photo/Illutration The University of Tokyo in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The University of Tokyo is considering raising its annual tuition for undergraduate and graduate courses by 110,000 yen ($690) from students enrolled in the next fiscal year.

The stated reason for the hike is to further internationalize and digitalize education and research, but the university has also been experiencing financial difficulties of late.

With the shrinking of government subsidies on personnel hiring and research expenses, national universities have been striving to cut costs and acquire funding from nongovernmental sources, but the financial deterioration does not stop due to the rising prices of goods and bigger utility bills.

Should the University of Tokyo proceed with the tuition hike, other national universities may follow suit.

And if more people give up on attending a university as a result, that will not only be a loss for each of those people, but also for society at large.

By international standards, the Japanese government's spending on higher education is paltry. Society-wide discussions are urgently needed to get the public and private sectors to invest more in the nation's higher education.

Each national university decides its own tuition fee, keeping it under 1.2 times the standard amount set by the education ministry.

The standard amount has remained at 535,800 yen since fiscal 2005. Until fiscal 2018, all national universities charged the same tuition for undergraduate courses.

Since then, the Tokyo Institute of Technology and five other universities have raised their fees by around 20 percent, citing higher levels of education and research.

While the revenues of individual universities have gone up thanks to increased donations and joint research projects with private corporations, expenditures have also grown because of various needs such as facility repairs and remodeling costs.

To balance the budget, some universities are simply postponing the repairs and remodeling work, or increasing the number of personnel on payroll whose employment is time limited.

However, matters continued to deteriorate to the point where the Japan Association of National Universities had to issue a statement to the effect, "We have reached our limit."

The situation could shake the nation's very future, and the government must take urgent action such as giving more generous subsidies to national universities.

The main mission of national universities is to provide quality education at a relatively inexpensive tuition.

However, according to the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), at least 35 percent of undergraduate students are on scholarships. Universities need to heed the voices of a broad segment of society, including students, before moving ahead with raising tuition.

As for universities that have decided on fee hikes, we hope they will at least provide economic aid to struggling students. The government must also swiftly come up with a policy that will extend aid, such as grant-type scholarships, even to students who are neither affluent nor financially strapped.

From the standpoint of individual students, however, there are cases where they cannot be sure if they qualify for a scholarship or reduced tuition. Even in the presence of student support measures, tuition should never be raised without careful consideration.

Keio University President Kohei Ito recently proposed that national universities should raise their tuition to 1.5 million yen a year in fiscal 2040.

His reasoning was to urge the government to spend more on universities so that they will provide a world-class education.

To make that happen, national, public and private universities must join forces and strive harder to make their importance known to society.

Ideally, the universities should start a movement to persuade the government by publicizing the activities and research achievements of their alumni and the contributions they have made to society.

By doing so, local communities and the parents of current students will be more inclined to support the universities.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 26