So a colleague of mine sent me a link to a series of newspaper articles about university enrollment on the Nikkei Business website. The link is [https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/plus/00050/](https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/plus/00050/) They are in Japanese, but you can easily use a translation program.
A couple of interesting things stand out to me. In the first article on the list \[[定員割れで募集停止の恵泉女学園大「御三家」も厳しい女子大](https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/plus/00050/041200007/)\]. Which discusses Keisen Jogakuen University’s announcement that they will no longer be accepting students after this year (and presumably close in 2026). There have been very few actual university closings, mostly just mergers, but closures are likely to become more and more common as there are fewer and fewer places to merge. It also notes that women’s universities are really bearing the brunt of declining enrollment.
The next article on the list \[[私立大学の志願者数は4年連続減少へ増えている大学は？](https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/plus/00050/022800006/)\] discusses the application rate at private universities over the last four years. They have an interesting chart in the article ([https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/plus/00050/022800006/?SS=imgview&FD=-1041774028](https://business.nikkei.com/atcl/plus/00050/022800006/?SS=imgview&FD=-1041774028)) that list the application rates for the top 20 universities (by application rate, not university level).
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|Rank|University|No. of Applicants|Change from last year|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|1|Kinki University |136,807|\-25,663|
|2|Meiji University |107,519|**5093**|
|3|Hosei University |99,035\*|\-9245|
|4|Nihon University |91,345|\-2425|
|5|Waseda University |90,878\*|\-2964|
|6|Ritsumeikan University |82,926|\-5409|
|7|Toyo University |77,707|\-20,554|
|8|Kansai University |79,385|\-3011|
|9|Chuo University |66,757|**1962**|
|10|Rikkyo University |58,208\*|\-4438|
|11|Ryukoku University |56,913|**1033**|
|12|Tokyo University of Science|50,138|\-3613|
|13|Doshisha University |49,972\*|**4188**|
|14|Aoyama Gakuin University |49,972|\-3891|
|15|Senshu University |42,615|\-3932|
|16|Kansai Gakuin University|42,595|**3858**|
|17|Fukuoka University |40,845|\-3874|
|18|Meishiro University |38,102|\-1394|
|19|Keio University |37,411\*|\-483|
|20|Tokai University|37,091|\-8723|
Notes:
Data as of February 20. Includes general entrance exam and additional exams.
\* indicates application numbers that have been finalized. (Universities with out an \* may still have been accepting application as of February 20 and the number may have gone higher)
Of course the number of applicants does not equal the number of students who enroll. It is likely that all of these universities filled all of their slots. But fewer applicants, means less choice and usually means universities have to lower their standards to meet their quota.
5 comments
Thanks for posting this. Its surprising to see how drastic the annual decline is at some (Kinki, Toyo) which far outpaces the rate of demographic decline. At others apps are increasing, suggesting applicants are shifting their preferences quite a bit.
It might also be good to know if those uni have had their numbers adjusted at all (定員数)–probably not, but a possibility. Or, if any departments within them have been ‘combined’ or reorganized in any way, such that that might account for fewer applicants. Still, all those listed schools will almost certainly get the number of matriculations they expect.
And national uni are not on the list? (too embarrassing!?!)
Excellent info, dear OP! 🙂
Have you considered the reduction of foreign applications? Tokyo based universities such has Toyo and Waseda, among others have, up until recently, had a large number of foreign students. During the SOEs lectures were online for 18 months, up until MEXT allowed in person attendance again. This is effectively two years of applications all things considered.
With China having its borders closed until this year and the hiatus in attendance I am sure the varied countries’ overlapping policies simple made visa application, or the general chance of attending as a freshman.
As we have seen, things have not gone ‘back to normal’ politically China has become more isolated and Japan is more or less bringing in a behind the doors economic austerity. I don’t think this is a genuinely reflection of demographic problems.
Also families hit hard by vivid may be looking at alternatives to Univeristy, or individually are choosing to remain closer to home and find more entrepreneurial ways of working remotely or online.
Why do you think kinki is so popular?