Japan Press Weekly

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2024 November 13 - 19 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP Horikawa demands gov’t measures to prevent rise in academic fees

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Horikawa Akiko on November 11 submitted to the government a written inquiry to ask if the government intends to take action to put a stop to the rise in college tuition and make tertiary education free of charge.

In the inquiry, Horikawa noted that along with the University of Tokyo which recently announced its decision to raise tuition fees in 2025, more and more private universities are moving toward a tuition increase. She pointed out that this move goes counter to the International Covenants on Human Rights calling for the “progressive implementation of free higher education”.

Furthermore, Horikawa cited the fact that Prime Minister Ishiba, when running in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, promised to provide free higher education to all students and that the LDP during the general election campaign vowed to act boldly to make higher education free of charge. She asked, “Does the Ishiba Cabinet plan to swiftly implement measures to eliminate tuition fees at national universities and technical colleges?”

Pointing out that the provision of free higher education is now called for by the general public and was included in many political parties’ general election campaign manifestos, Horikawa urged the government to increase the budget to provide subsidies to national universities in order to prevent tuition hikes.

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A video of JCP Policy Commission Chair Yamazoe Taku calling for the lowering of college tuition fees in an NHK political debate program has captured much attention on social media. As of November 12, the video, shared on X by a user, got more than two million views.

Yamazoe on the NHK “Sunday Debate” program aired on November 10 made a remark regarding a revision of the current income tax exemption threshold: 1.03 million yen, known as the “1.03 million yen income barrier”. This became a topic of discussions in the general election as a measure to guarantee higher take-home pay for workers, including students, working part-time jobs.

Yamazoe stressed the need to remove the 1.03-million yen income barrier, and added, “The current situation in which students have to earn 1.03 million yen to cover their academic cost and necessary expenses is unusual. The lowering of college tuition and the improvement of a grant-type scholarship program are urgently needed.”