June 6, 2023
Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Tamura Tomoko on June 5 held a press conference in the Diet building and outlined a policy proposal calling for slashing tuition fees and student loan payments in half. The JCP proposal stressed the need to make higher education free of charge.
JCP member of the House of Councilors Kira Yoshiko who heads the JCP Youth and Students Policy Commission attended the press conference.
Tamura pointed out that Japan is a nation of excessively high tuition fees as evidenced by the fact that national university students are required to pay 817,800 yen in their first year and the payment for average private university students is 1,357,000 yen in the first year. She said that in addition, as many tertiary students have no choice but to depend on student loans, one in three students have to repay a student loan of three million yen on average after graduation.
Tamura said that while seeking to realize free higher education, the JCP as immediate measures proposes to:
- increase government financial support to halve tuition fees for universities, colleges, and vocational schools, and abolish admission fees;
- reform the existing loan-type scholarship programs to grant-type ones which cover 750,000 students, nearly half of those who are now taking student loans; and
- cut student loan payments in half.
Tamura said that in order to realize the lowering of tuition fees, the abolition of admission fees, and the student loan “scholarship program” reform, a budget of two trillion yen a year is necessary. She added that this budget can be secured through terminating the preferential tax treatment for large corporations and the rich as well as through cuts in unnecessary and wasteful spending. She also said that the proposed cuts in student loan payments will cost five trillion yen which will be covered by the issuance of government bonds.
Tamura said, “To reduce the financial burden of tertiary education costs meets the demand of a large majority of the general public and is the most effective way to support childrearing families.” She went on to say, “On top of this, the JCP proposal is important to promote the constitutional principle of equal educational opportunity.” She expressed her determination to work hard together with young people to realize the JCP proposal.
Past related articles:
> JCP Tamura: Lowering education costs is key to putting stop to declining birthrate [March 29, 2023]
> JCP Miyamoto demands tuition-free education through university [February 2, 2023]
JCP member of the House of Councilors Kira Yoshiko who heads the JCP Youth and Students Policy Commission attended the press conference.
Tamura pointed out that Japan is a nation of excessively high tuition fees as evidenced by the fact that national university students are required to pay 817,800 yen in their first year and the payment for average private university students is 1,357,000 yen in the first year. She said that in addition, as many tertiary students have no choice but to depend on student loans, one in three students have to repay a student loan of three million yen on average after graduation.
Tamura said that while seeking to realize free higher education, the JCP as immediate measures proposes to:
- increase government financial support to halve tuition fees for universities, colleges, and vocational schools, and abolish admission fees;
- reform the existing loan-type scholarship programs to grant-type ones which cover 750,000 students, nearly half of those who are now taking student loans; and
- cut student loan payments in half.
Tamura said that in order to realize the lowering of tuition fees, the abolition of admission fees, and the student loan “scholarship program” reform, a budget of two trillion yen a year is necessary. She added that this budget can be secured through terminating the preferential tax treatment for large corporations and the rich as well as through cuts in unnecessary and wasteful spending. She also said that the proposed cuts in student loan payments will cost five trillion yen which will be covered by the issuance of government bonds.
Tamura said, “To reduce the financial burden of tertiary education costs meets the demand of a large majority of the general public and is the most effective way to support childrearing families.” She went on to say, “On top of this, the JCP proposal is important to promote the constitutional principle of equal educational opportunity.” She expressed her determination to work hard together with young people to realize the JCP proposal.
Past related articles:
> JCP Tamura: Lowering education costs is key to putting stop to declining birthrate [March 29, 2023]
> JCP Miyamoto demands tuition-free education through university [February 2, 2023]
