Photo/Illutration Officials from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, meet with Nippon Ishin at the Diet to discuss a free tuition program for high school students on Jan. 27. (Takeshi Iwashita)

The ruling parties have proposed a plan to Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) to eliminate income restrictions on government subsidies for high school tuition as the minority coalition seeks Ishin’s support for its budget bill.

The proposal, presented on Feb. 5 by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, would provide free education for all students attending public high schools.

However, Ishin continues to push for its key policy of a full tuition waiver for all high schools, including private ones, starting in April.

Currently, the government provides financial assistance of up to 118,800 yen ($780) annually for students from households earning less than 9.1 million yen per year.

This amount covers the standard annual tuition of a public high school.

For students attending private high schools, the amount increases to 396,000 yen if they are from households with an annual income below 5.9 million yen.

The new proposal would abolish the 9.1 million yen income threshold starting this April, providing free tuition for all public high school students regardless of their household's income.

However, this falls short of providing universal free tuition to students attending private high schools, as Ishin demands.

The LDP and Komeito suggest they will continue negotiating the issue with Ishin, with plans to roll out additional subsidies in April next year.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has also expressed a willingness to advance the debate.

“We need to narrow the points of discussion, I will play my part as the president of the LDP,” Ishiba said on Feb. 3.

Some local governments have already implemented their own tuition support programs in addition to the state subsidy.

For example, students attending private high schools in the capital are offered up to 484,000 yen from the Tokyo metropolitan government. Private school students in Osaka Prefecture, meanwhile, are provided with up to 630,000 yen.

While these programs are helpful, they result in unequal access to tuition benefits depending on the region.

Ishin estimates that 600 billion yen in funding is needed to launch a nationwide universally free tuition program similar to the one in Osaka Prefecture, the party’s political stronghold.

(This article was written by Haruka Suzuki and Ryohei Miyawaki.)

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