Japan Hits Record 400,000 International Students Amid Yen Crisis

University of Tokyo campus view./The University of Tokyo

The number of international students in Japan surpassed 400,000 for the first time last year, marking a record high. By contrast, the number of Japanese students studying abroad has not recovered to pre‑pandemic levels, producing a clear dynamic in Japan’s education market: growing inbound enrollment alongside stagnant outbound mobility.

On May 30, the Japan Student Services Organization reported that as of May 1 last year, 408,069 international students were registered in Japan. That figure represents a 21.2% increase from the previous year and is the highest on record since the statistics began.

The international student population first exceeded 310,000 in 2019 but declined as COVID‑19 spread, falling to roughly 230,000 in 2022. After Japan eased entry restrictions and demand for education recovered, enrollments rebounded and surpassed 400,000 last year for the first time.

By type, students enrolled in higher education institutions—universities, graduate schools, and specialized training colleges—totaled 267,895, the largest group. Students attending language schools and other language institutions numbered 140,174.

By country of origin, Chinese students accounted for the largest share at 32.1%, followed by Nepal (24.6%), Vietnam (10.6%), Myanmar (7.2%), and Sri Lanka (4.3%).

Conversely, the flow of Japanese students studying overseas remained relatively weak.

In the 2024 academic year (April 2024–March 2025), 91,054 Japanese students went abroad to study, an increase of only about 2% from the previous year.

While that marks a recovery from the pandemic‑era trough, it remains at roughly 80% of the record high of 115,146 students in the 2018 academic year.

Officials in Japan’s education sector point to the weak yen as a key factor constraining outbound student mobility. A sustained period of yen weakness in recent years has substantially increased the costs of tuition and living expenses overseas, and analysts say more students have canceled or postponed study‑abroad plans as a result.