Japan Reinstates Free Public High School Education

Japan’s parliament, the Diet, has voted to make public high school education free for all students, reversing a previous decision that reinstated tuition fees in 2013 after their abolition in 2010, HRW reported. This new measure, included in the latest budget, aims to enhance equal educational opportunities, particularly benefiting children from families with unstable incomes and marginalized backgrounds.

Previously, Japan subsidized public high school tuition up to ¥118,800 (approximately US$800) for households earning less than ¥9.1 million (US$60,000). The new policy removes this income threshold, ensuring free education for all students.

Japan has faced criticism for being the wealthiest nation without guaranteed free public secondary education for every child, and it ranks low among OECD countries in education spending relative to GDP. While the initiative marks progress toward fulfilling international obligations under the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, inequities remain, particularly in subsidy levels between public and private schools. The Diet is urged to amend the Fundamental Law on Education to secure these gains for future generations.