Japan’s program to effectively eliminate high school tuition from fiscal 2026 is heightening concerns among public high schools about a greater shift toward private education.

Under the government’s draft budget for the fiscal year starting in April, subsidies of up to ¥457,200 will be provided per student at full-time private high schools per year.

With the cost gap between public and private high schools set to narrow substantially, public school educators worry the popularity of private schools will only grow, possibly leading to fewer junior high school students selecting public high schools.

They are also concerned such a development, coupled with there being fewer children in the nation, could accelerate the consolidations of public high schools.

In line with the introduction of the free education program, the education ministry plans a major expansion of support to bolster the attraction of public high schools.

It will ask prefectures to draw up plans aligned with a “grand design” for high school reform, which is set to be compiled within fiscal 2025, and will back those efforts through a new subsidy program to be launched in fiscal 2027.

Under the government’s fiscal 2025 supplementary budget, the ministry secured funds to offer financial support even before prefectural plans are drawn up.

The ministry hopes the new subsidies will be used to strengthen education programs at specialized public high schools, including agricultural and industrial schools. The approach envisions, for example, revising curricula with support from related industries and providing more advanced instruction to develop human resources who can play major roles in regional economies and industries.

At the same time, an outline of the grand design includes the “optimization of school size and placement,” fueling concerns among local officials that the ministry may be aiming for school consolidation.

Education minister Yohei Matsumoto tried to brush aside such fears in an interview last month, saying, “We don’t expect to set a direction for school consolidation in the grand design.”

Many public high schools are already struggling with fewer applicants as the number of children falls in the country. A further shift toward private schools could deepen the challenge.

A senior official at one prefectural board of education said the tuition elimination program will “certainly lead moves for school consolidations to go up a notch.”