Tohoku University to Raise Tuition Fees for International Students; 1st National University to Reveal Such Plan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:46 JST, November 30, 2025

Tohoku University has decided to raise tuition for international students to 1.7 times the amount that Japanese students pay starting in fiscal 2027, according to informed sources.

It is the first time a national university has revealed a tuition hike plan for international students.

Multiple universities are considering revising tuition for international students, including Hiroshima University, which decided in November that it will implement a hike at some point in the future.

Tuition at national universities, which have long adhered to a uniform fee policy for all students, are reaching a major turning point.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has set the standard annual tuition for national universities at ¥535,800. Individual universities are free to raise that amount by up to 1.2 times.

Tuition for international students had been kept the same as Japanese students’ tuition, but the education ministry abolished the upper limit for international students in fiscal 2024, making it possible for universities to increase the amount further.

High-performing international students are expected to improve a university’s research ability, deepen the learning of its Japanese students and become human resources that contribute to the growth of Japan.

At the same time, accepting a larger number of international students comes with additional costs, including those associated with offering English-language classes and Japanese language education as well as establishing a consultation system for their learning and daily lives.

The planned increase in tuition is aimed at getting international students to share the costs of the measures, which they will receive.

Tohoku University plans to implement the tuition hike for international students in undergraduate and master’s programs starting in fiscal 2027, according to the sources.

The university also plans to establish a new scholarship for outstanding international students.

The school’s target is to raise the percentage of international students in undergraduate programs from the 2% in fiscal 2022 to 20% in the future, and those in master’s programs from 17% to 40%.

Meanwhile, a senior official from Hiroshima University said the school is considering how much to hike the fees and when to introduce the new amount.

This fall, the education ministry launched an exceptional measure to allow universities that plan to accept a large number of international students to apply for permission to relax their overall student quotas. The ministry said that one of the criteria for screening the applications would be the school’s system for financing operations related to international students, including tuition hikes for international students.

Both Tohoku University and Hiroshima University plan to apply.

At many universities overseas, it is typical for tuition to differ between international and domestic students. According to a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, international students in the United States pay about 1.5 times higher tuition than domestic students, while in Australia and Canada they pay about double. In France, international students pay about 15 times more than domestic students.

Some point out that Japan’s relatively low tuition at its national universities give it a competitive edge on the world stage for attracting international students. Some national universities are therefore cautious about raising their fees.