TOKYO — The campus of International Christian University was an oasis of quiet in the final week of the winter term, with a handful of undergraduates studying beneath the newly sprouting plum trees that bloom a few weeks before Japan’s familiar cherry blossoms.
The colors of nature are abundant in this nation in the spring. But after decades of a falling birthrate, it has far too few of another important resource: college students like these.
The number of 18-year-olds here has dropped by nearly half in just three decades, from more than 2 million in 1990 to 1.1 million now. It’s projected to further decline to 880,000 by 2040, according to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
That’s taken a dramatic toll on colleges and universities, with severe consequences for society and economic growth — a situation now also being faced by the United States, where the number of 18-year-olds has begun to drop in some states and soon will fall nationwide.
What’s happening in Japan can offer “clues and implications” for U.S. policymakers and […]
Since the 1970’s employers have increasingly demanded college degrees for jobs where it is not necessary. The parallel trend is that State and Federal aid to colleges has decreased forcing institutions to be more tuition driven. Student loan debt has soared while the return on investment for many degrees has fallen. The young are reexamining career choices and trade schools as an option. This may be a long needed corrective to an unsustainable trend.