TOKYO: The University of Tokyo has begun considering increasing its tuition fees, a move that students have opposed as a threat to the freedom to learn and is being closely watched for possible effects on other national universities.

Tuition fees at national universities have been set by each institution based on a ministerial ordinance since they were turned into national university corporations in fiscal 2004. The standard undergraduate annual tuition is set at 535,800 yen, and universities can set their tuitions at up to 1.2 times that amount, or 642,960 yen.

The University of Tokyo has maintained fees at the standard level, leaving headroom of about 100,000 yen.

Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tokyo University of the Arts raised their tuitions in fiscal 2019, and other national universities such as Hitotsubashi University and Tokyo Medical and Dental University followed suit. Seven out of the 86 national universities in Japan currently set tuition fees higher than the standard.

The University of Tokyo has begun mulling the option of hiking fees to as high as the maximum level permitted, due to challenges faced by university management amid the declining birthrate and the need for funds to promote the internationalization of research and digitalization, people familiar with the matter said.

The university is discussing expanding scholarships and tuition reduction and exemption programs as well, according to the people.

A public relations official from the University of Tokyo acknowledged that a tuition hike is being considered, but declined to give further details.

Students have expressed opposition to the proposed tuition increase. A group of University of Tokyo students staged a protest, including by displaying banners, during a school festival on May 19, claiming that the hike threatens the freedom of financially struggling students to learn and hinders access for aspiring students.

According to a simple survey conducted by an association of freshman and sophomore students at the university, many of the 418 responses collected were against a possible tuition increase. The association plans to conduct a survey of all students.

A 20-year-old board member of the association said that students will be most impacted by the tuition hike, and that the association will seek discussions between the university side and students based on the survey results.

JIJI Press