By FUMIO MASUTANI/ Staff Writer
September 11, 2024 at 16:05 JST
Yasuda Auditorium of the University of Tokyo in 2021 (Masato Tsuchiya)
Amid growing financial pressure, the University of Tokyo will raise tuition by 20 percent starting next academic year, likely setting a precedent for other national universities to follow suit.
The new annual fee for undergraduate students will be set at 642,960 yen ($4,540), the maximum allowed for state-run universities. That’s an increase of 110,000 yen from the current fee.
The decision comes despite opposition from some students and faculty members, who rallied to protest on campus after the nation’s most prestigious university revealed the plan in May.
“Given the intensifying global academic competition, improving the learning environment for our students is an urgent matter,” said University President Teruo Fujii on Sept. 10. “We made the decision after considering the feedback from students.”
Along with the tuition hike, the university plans to expand its full tuition waiver program for students from low-income households, increasing the eligibility threshold for household annual income from 4 million yen to 6 million yen.
The same fee increase and tuition waiver program will be introduced to master's and professional degree programs starting in fiscal 2029, when the fiscal 2025 freshmen begin their graduate studies.
Tuition for doctoral programs will remain unchanged.
National universities are allowed to set tuition fees up to 1.2 times the standard amount determined by the education ministry.
The University of Tokyo is the seventh university to raise its undergraduate tuition above the standard amount, following Tokyo Institute of Technology, Chiba University and others.
The university has kept its undergraduate tuition fees at the standard rate of 535,800 yen since fiscal 2005, when the amount was established.
However, its financial situation has deteriorated due to a decline in government subsidies of 8 billion yen over the past 20 years.
Rising operational costs, fueled by recent price increases, have also contributed to the decision to raise tuition fees.
By the end of fiscal 2028, the tuition hike is expected to generate an additional 1.35 billion yen annually for the university.
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