High School Tuition and Subsidies in Japan
High school tuition in Japan runs on national subsidies that, from FY2026, cover tuition for virtually all households: the new Tuition Support Fund grants up to 118,800 JPY per year for public full-time students and up to 457,200 JPY for private full-time students with no income restriction on the base grant (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MEXT).1 Legal residents qualify regardless of nationality, prefectures layer supplements on top, and families file annually at the school between April and June.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the MEXT tuition-support pages or with your school's office, since caps and thresholds move on government schedules.
Overview
The 高等学校等就学支援金 (kōtōgakkō-tō shūgaku shienkin, "High School Tuition Support Fund") is the national grant that offsets high-school tuition and never needs repaying.1 From FY2026 it operates as a new program with no income restriction on the base grant, while transitional measures replicate the former income-scaled system for students outside the new program's scope.12 Separate scholarship grants cover non-tuition costs for lower-income households, prefectures add their own supplements, and the application runs through the school each spring.34
All figures below carry as-of dates because subsidy amounts change on government schedules. The national base is uniform nationwide; prefectural supplements vary by prefecture.
The National Tuition Support Fund (FY2026 New System)
The new program's headline change is the removal of the income cap on the base grant: households at any income receive the base tuition grant for eligible enrollments starting FY2026 (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MEXT).1 The grant offsets tuition up to the annual cap for the school type, and the school receives it directly against the tuition bill. Families never handle the grant as cash.
Annual caps by school type
| School type (full-time) | Annual cap | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National high school | 115,200 JPY | 2026-061 | Full-time course or equivalent |
| Public high school | 118,800 JPY | 2026-061 | Full-time course or equivalent |
| Private high school | 457,200 JPY | 2026-061 | Full-time and part-time courses |
| Private correspondence course | 337,200 JPY | 2026-061 | Correspondence only; lower cap |
The table's caps already carry the currency signal for every row: each figure is dated 2026-06 to the MEXT new-program leaflet.1 Amounts vary by course type beyond the rows shown, so families in part-time, correspondence, or specialized courses should confirm their exact cap with the school. Where tuition sits below the cap, the grant covers tuition only up to the billed amount.
Transitional measures for pre-April-2026 enrollees
Students enrolled before 2026-03-31 who fall outside the new program receive transitional support replicating the former income-scaled system.2 Under that measure, private students from households below about 9.1 million JPY estimated annual income receive up to 396,000 JPY per year scaled by household income, with the former full-support line near 5.9 million JPY (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MEXT).2
New entrants from April 2026 at or below about 9.1 million JPY who would have qualified under the former fund receive new-program support up to 396,000 JPY per year scaled by income, excluding holders of Student status (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MEXT).2 These layered lines look complex because they bridge two systems at once; the school office applies the correct line automatically once the family files.
The new no-cap program and the former-system transitional measure overlap for several cohorts. Families do not choose between them; eligibility dates and enrollment timing select the applicable line.
Non-Tuition Grants: Shogakukyufukin
The 高校生等奨学給付金 (kōkōsei-tō shōgaku kyūfukin, "scholarship grant for high school students") covers non-tuition education costs such as textbooks and supplies for lower-income households, and it never needs repaying.3 FY2026 annual amounts for full-time students run 32,300 JPY (national or public) and 52,600 JPY (private) for households on public assistance, and 143,700 JPY (national or public) and 152,000 JPY (private) for resident-tax-exempt households (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MEXT).3
Households in the income bands between roughly 2.7 million and 4.9 million JPY estimated annual income receive fractional grants of about one third to one quarter of the full amount depending on course type (as of 2026-06; confirm current figures with MEXT).5 New entrants can in some cases apply for partial early disbursement covering April to June. Households whose finances changed suddenly to tax-exempt-equivalent levels also qualify, so a mid-year income shock does not lock the family out.3
Prefectural and Municipal Supplements
Prefectures and municipalities layer supplementary grants atop the national fund, each with its own application route and contact point.4 Tokyo's private-school tuition program is the largest documented example: secondary reporting describes combined national-plus-metropolitan support reaching about 501,000 JPY for private students, with the metropolitan portion filed separately through the metropolitan private-school foundation rather than automatically with the national grant.
The practical rule is to verify locally. Prefectural leaflets (Ibaraki's English FY2026 leaflet illustrates the format) restate national figures alongside local contact points, and amounts and top-up structures differ by prefecture.2 Ask the school office which supplements exist for the family's address, then file each one through its own channel.
Foreign-Resident Eligibility
Legal residents are eligible for tuition support regardless of nationality; the Ibaraki and Tokyo leaflets address enrolled students including international students without a nationality bar.24 That explicit eligibility matters because some families assume subsidies are citizens-only. They are not: residence and enrollment decide, not passport.
One nuance concerns Student status. Transitional-measure materials include Student-status holders in the pre-2026 transitional group while excluding them from the new-entrant top-up line, so exchange students and language-school-route entrants should confirm their line with the school office.2 Standard dependent and work-visa households face no such distinction.
How to Apply: April to June at the School
Families file annually, typically between April and June, through the enrolled school; Tokyo private schools additionally offer online filing, and the school receives the grant against tuition once approved.14 The school office distributes forms and deadlines each spring, so the filing habit is to watch for the school's notice rather than a government mailing. Missing the window delays or forfeits that year's support.
Where a school collects tuition before the grant decision issues, the equivalent amount is refunded afterward; households in financial difficulty can ask about tuition-payment deferral measures.1 Contact the school office early in that situation rather than silently missing a payment, since deferral exists precisely for the gap between billing and grant approval.
Good to know
Support offsets tuition only, not total cost
Tuition grants cover the tuition line, while uniforms, devices, commuting passes, materials, and activity fees remain family costs at both public and private schools.13 The non-tuition scholarship grant absorbs part of that load for eligible households but leaves gaps at most income levels. Budget from each school's published all-in cost table, not from the tuition cap alone.
Tuition may be collected first and refunded later
MEXT leaflets warn that schools may collect tuition before the grant decision and refund the equivalent amount afterward.1 Families should keep spring cash flow ready for the billed tuition even when the grant will eventually cover it. Where that strains the budget, ask the school about payment deferral before the due date passes.
The 36-month enrollment clock limits repeat years
Full-time students enrolled beyond 36 months (48 months for part-time or correspondence) lose grant eligibility, so repeated years eventually run full-fee.2 Students who drop out and re-enter use a separate relearning grant rather than the standard line. Families facing a possible repeat year should ask the school office how the clock applies to their case.
See also
- Public, Private, and National High Schools in Japan
- Compulsory Education Completion and the Path Forward
- Public, Private, and National Schools: Japan's School Types
- Student Visa Process Through a Language School
- Child Benefit (Jidō Teate)
- Medical Subsidies for Children