Cost of Education in Japan Calculator — Kindergarten to university in Japan, public or private, per child

What the figures include

Kindergarten through high school uses the "total learning cost" from the Ministry of Education's Survey of Children's Learning Expenses: tuition and school fees, school lunches, and out-of-school costs such as cram schools (juku) and lessons.

University uses tuition and facility fees plus the entrance fee spread over four years, for a national university and for the average private humanities program.

Daily living costs are not included. All-in figures are commonly put at 1.5 to 2 times the education-only amount.

The Japanese school system in brief

Compulsory education is elementary school (6 years, from age 6) and junior high school (3 years). Public schools at these stages charge no tuition, so the cost is lunches, materials, uniforms and out-of-school activities. High school (3 years) is not compulsory but nearly universal, and university is usually 4 years.

Kindergarten (yochien) covers ages 3 to 5. Daycare (hoikuen) is the alternative for working parents; its fees depend on income and are not modelled here.

International schools are a separate category not covered by these figures. Tuition at international schools in Tokyo typically runs from about ¥2 million to over ¥3 million a year, far above even private Japanese schools.

How much public versus private changes the total

The biggest driver of total cost is where you choose private. Going public all the way costs a fraction of going private all the way.

University matters most because it lasts four years and the public-private gap is large. Private elementary school also has a big effect because it lasts six years, although most families choose public at that stage.

Toggle individual stages to see the effect of the one decision you are unsure about.

Private university costs vary by faculty

The private university figure is the average for humanities programs. Science and engineering cost more, roughly ¥1.5 to 1.8 million a year, and medicine and dentistry far more.

Living away from home adds rent and living costs that are not included here.

Support programs reduce the real cost

Preschool for ages 3 to 5 is free, high-school tuition is subsidised (with income limits that are being relaxed), and university students from lower-income households can get fee reductions and grants. Foreign residents qualify on the same terms as Japanese families in most programs.

None of this is reflected in the figures, so what you actually pay is usually less. Conditions change, so check the current rules with your city office and school.