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International Students in Japan 2004 Japanese

117,302 international students in Japan as of May 1, 2004, 7.1% up from last year.

 

Number of international students by institutional type

Graduate school
29,514
(3.4% up)
University (undergraduate)/Junior college/
College of technology
62,311
(7.6% up)
Professional training college
23,833
(12.2% up)
University preparatory course
1,644
(9.8% down)

 

5 major countries/regions of origin

China
77,713
(9.7% up)
Republic of Korea
15,533
(2.1% down)
Taiwan
4,096
(3.3% down)
Malaysia
2,010
(0.4% up)
Thailand
1,665
(1.5% up)

 

Note: An "international student" means a student from a foreign country who is receiving education at any Japanese university, graduate school, junior college, college of technology, professional training college or university preparatory courses and who resides in Japan with "college student" visa status, as defined in Annexed Table 1 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

 

Data

Trends in Number of International Students by

Number of International Students by

 < References >

1.Trends in Number of International Students by Source of Funds (as of each May 1)

Trends in Number of International Students by Source of Funds

*Note: Foreign government sponsored students were sent by the following countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

 

pdf print versionTrends in Number of Int'l Students by Source of Funds (Print Version: PDF 64KB)

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2.Trends in Number of International Students by Institutional Type (as of each May 1)

Trends in Number of International Students by Institutional Type

*Note: "University preparatory courses" are designated by MEXT for students with school education of less than 12 years in foreign countries. Those who completed these courses are qualified to enter Japanese Universities.

 

pdf print versionTrends in Number of Int'l Students by Institutional Type (Print Version: PDF 65KB)

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3. Number of International Students by Region of Origin

(Unit: person)

Region Number of students % of total
Asia 109,520 (102,089) 93.4% (93.2)
Europe 2,974 (2,759) 2.5% (2.5)
North America 1,712 (1,553) 1.5% (1.4)
Central and South America 1,015 (1.019) 0.9% (0.9)
Africa 924 (914) 0.8% (0.8)
Middle and Near East 610 (629) 0.5% (0.6)
Oceania 547 (545) 0.5% (0.5)
Total 117,302 (109,508) 100.0% (100.0)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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4.Number of International Students by Nationality

(Unit: person)

Country/region
Number of students
% of total
Country/region
Number of students
% of total
China 77,713 (70,814) 66.3% (64.7) Australia 348 (340)
0.3%
(0.3)
Republic of Korea 15,533 (15,871) 13.2% (14.5) France 339 (276)
0.3%
(0.3)
Taiwan 4,096 (4,235) 3.5% (3.9) Brazil 330 (353)
0.3%
(0.3)
Malaysia 2,010 (2,002) 1.7% (1.8) India 327 (264)
0.3%
(0.2)
Thailand 1,665 (1,641) 1.4% (1.5) Germany 315 (311)
0.3%
(0.3)
Vietnam 1,570 (1,336) 1.3% (1.2) Cambodia 283 (261)
0.2%
(0.2)
United States 1,456 (1,310) 1.2% (1.2) Laos 263 (236)
0.2%
(0.2)
Indonesia 1,451 (1,479) 1.2% (1.4) Canada 256 (243)
0.2%
(0.2)
Bangladesh 1,126 (974) 1.0% (0.9) Egypt 237 (255)
0.2%
(0.2)
Mongolia 806 (714) 0.7% (0.7) Iran 227 (217)
0.2%
(0.2)
Sri Lanka 764 (608) 0.7% (0.6) Turkey 157 (168)
0.1%
(0.2)
Myanmar 591 (492) 0.5% (0.4) Pakistan 143 (143)
0.1%
(0.1)
Philippines 525 (508) 0.4% (0.5) Mexico 133 (129)
0.1%
(0.1)
Nepal 462 (344) 0.4% (0.3) Bulgaria 128 (123)
0.1%
(0.1)
Russia 366 (360) 0.3% (0.3) Others 3,331 (3,144)
2.8%
(2.9)
United Kingdom 351 (357) 0.3% (0.3) Total 117,302 (109,508)
100.0%
(100.0)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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5.Number of International Students by Sex

(Unit: person)

Sex
Number of students
% of total
Male
59,616
(56,101)
50.8%
(51.2)
Female
57,686
(53,407)
49.2%
(48.8)
Total
117,302
(109,508)
100.0%
(100.0)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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6.Number of International Students by Institutional Type

(Unit: person)

 
National
Local public
Private
Total
Number of students
% of total
Number of students
% of total
Number of students
% of total
Number of students
% of total
University (undergraduate) 9,084 15.6% 1,406 2.4% 47,834 82.0% 58,324 100.0%
(8,344) (15.8) (1,348) (2.5) (43,289) (81.7) (52,981) (100.0)
Graduate school 19,518 66.1% 1,302 4.4% 8,694 29.5% 29,514 100.0%
(19,618) (68.7) (1,262) (4.4) (7,662) (26.9) (28,542) (100.0)
Junior college 12 0.3% 51 1.5% 3,418 98.2% 3,481 100.0%
(18) (0.4) (57) (1.3) (4,404) (98.3) (4,479) (100.0)
College of technology 422 83.4% 0 0.0% 84 16.6% 506 100.0%
(368) (81.6) (0) (0.0) (83) (18.4) (451) (100.0)
Professional training college 0 0.0% 35 0.1% 23,798 99.9% 23,833 100.0%
(2) (0.01) (40) (0.19) (21,191) (99.8) (21,233) (100.0)
University preparatory course 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1,644 100.0% 1,644 100.0%
(0) (0.0) (0) (0.0) (1,822) (100.0) (1,822) (100.0)
Total 29,036 24.8% 2,794 2.4% 85,472 72.9% 117,302 100.0%
(28,350) (25.9) (2,707) (2.5) (78,451) (71.6) (109,508) (100.0)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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7.Number of International Students by Major Field

(Unit: person)

Major field
Number of students
% of total
Social science 40,551 (36,245) 34.6% (33.1)
Humanities 28,106 (26,990) 24.0% (24.6)
Engineering 15,415 (14,472) 13.1% (13.2)
Teacher training 3,508 (3,292) 3.0% (3.0)
Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, etc. 3,010 (3,149) 2.6% (2.9)
Arts 3,000 (2,821) 2.6% (2.6)
Home economics 2,904 (2,485) 2.5% (2.3)
Agriculture 2,700 (2,583) 2.3% (2.4)
Science 1,384 (1,433) 1.2% (1.3)
Others 16,724 (16,038) 14.3% (14.6)
Total 117,302 (109,508) 100.0% (100.0)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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8.Number of International Students by Region and Prefecture of Japan

(Unit: person)

Region
Number of students
Prefecture
Number of students
Region
Number of students
Prefecture
Number of students
Hokkaido
1,957
[1.7%]

(1,960)
([1.8%])
 Hokkaido
1,957
(1,960)
 Kinki
20,375
[17.4%]

(19,118)
([17.4%])
 Mie 812 (739)
Shiga 339 (281)
Kyoto 4,734 (4,532)
Osaka 9,728 (9,033)
Hyogo 3,752 (3,522)
Nara 835 (876)
Tohoku
3,168
[2.7%]
(3,165)
([2.9%])
 Aomori
424
(390)
 Wakayama 175 (135)
Iwate
261
(259)
 Chugoku
5,010
[4.3%]

(4,912)
([4.5%])
 Tottori 211 (218)
Miyagi
1,805
(1,809)
 Shimane 175 (166)
Akita
125
(131)
 Okayama 1,727 (1,595)
Yamagata
223
(251)
 Hiroshima 1,991 (1,968)
Fukushima
330
(325)
 Yamaguchi 906 (965)
Kanto
59,585
[50.8%]

(54,293)
([49.6%])
 Ibaraki
2,872
(2,648)
 Shikoku
1,699
[1.4%]
(1,895)
([1.7%])
 Tokushima 336 (352)
Tochigi
1,401
(1,182)
 Kagawa 512 (512)
Gunma
1,457
(1,361)
 Ehime 628 (797)
Saitama
5,353
(4,824)
 Kochi 223 (234)
Chiba
5,828
(5,260)
 Kyushu
11,632
[9.9%]

(10,912)
([10.0%])
 Fukuoka 5,466 (5,136)
Tokyo
38,041
(34,625)
 Saga 299 (308)
Kanagawa
4,633
(4,393)
 Nagasaki 1,182 (1,162)
Chubu
13,876
[11.8%]

(13,253)
([12.1%])
 Niigata
1,596
(1,599)
 Kumamoto 608 (579)
Toyama
487
(473)
 Oita 2,726 (2,336)
Ishikawa
1,138
(1,023)
 Miyazaki 241 (289)
Fukui
285
(287)
 Kagoshima 562 (573)
Yamanashi
670
(668)
 Okinawa 548 (529)
Nagano
663
(609)
Total
117,302 [100.0%]
(109,508 [100.0%])
Gifu
1,625
(1,699)
Shizuoka
1,440
(1,252)
Aichi
5,972
(5,643)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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9.Number of International Students by Housing (as of May 1, 2004)

A. International student housing set up by schools

National universities 86 schools
6,155 students
Local public universities 17 schools
165 students
Private universities 311 schools
8,422 students

 

B. International student housing set up by public corporations, etc.

JASSO-sponsored housing
1,956 students
Public corporation-sponsored housing
901 students
Local government-sponsored housing
1,002 students
Public housing
2,501 students
Private company housing
1,208 students

 

C. General student housing set up by schools

National universities 112 schools
2,564 students
Local public universities 22 schools
94 students
Private universities 214 schools
2,655 students

 

International student housing

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Ref1. Shift in Number and Percentage of International Students

Year
Number of students
Annual increase
Annual % change
1978 5,849 94 1.6%
1979 5,933 84 1.4%
1980 6,572 639 10.8%
1981 7,179 607 9.2%
1982 8,116 937 13.1%
1983 10,428 2,312 28.5%
1984 12,410 1,982 19.0%
1985 15,009 2,599 20.9%
1986 18,631 3,622 24.1%
1987 22,154 3,523 18.9%
1988 25,643 3,489 15.7%
1989 31,251 5,608 21.9%
1990 41,347 10,096 32.3%
1991 45,066 3,719 9.0%
1992 48,561 3,495 7.8%
1993 52,405 3,844 7.9%
1994 53,787 1,382 2.6%
1995 53,847 60 0.1%
1996 52,921 -926 -1.7%
1997 51,047 -1,874 -3.5%
1998 51,298 251 0.5%
1999 55,755 4,457 8.7%
2000 64,011 8,256 14.8%
2001 78,812 14,801 23.1%
2002 95,550 16,738 21.2%
2003 109,508 13,958 14.6%
2004 117,302 7,794 7.1%

(as of May 1 each year)

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Ref2. Top 30 Universities in Terms of Number of International Students (as of May 1, 2004)

(Unit: person)

Rank University name Number of students
1 The University of Tokyo
(National)
 2,056 (2,070)
2 Waseda University
(Private)
 1,769 (1,593)
3 Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
(Private)
 1,734 (1,396)
4 Kyoto University
(National)
 1,240 (1,224)
5 Nagoya University
(National)
 1,194 (1,187)
6 Josai International University
(Private)
 1,189 (1,300)
7 Osaka Sangyo University
(Private)
 1,168 (932)
8 University of Tsukuba
(National)
 1,161 (1,139)
9 Tohoku University
(National)
 1,124 (1,054)
10 Kyushu University
(National)
 1,117 (998)
11 Takushoku University
(Private)
 1,097 (1,077)
12 Nihon University
(Private)
 1,082 (1,031)
13 Ryutsu Keizai University
(Private)
 1,068 (928)
14 Osaka University
(National)
 1,048 (1,044)
15 Tokyo Institute of Technology
(National)
 958 (901)
16 Kobe University
(National)
 950 (868)
17 Kokushikan University
(Private)
 894 (713)
18 Tokyo International University
(Private)
 873 (801)
19 Yokohama National University
(National)
 865 (852)
20 Chiba University
(National)
 772 (746)
21 Hiroshima University
(National)
 768 (762)
22 Hokkaido University
(National)
 765 (772)
23 Meikai University
(Private)
 733 (718)
24 Ritsumeikan University
(Private)
 706 (606)
25 Jobu University
(Private)
 706 (657)
26 Chuo University
(Private)
 665 (673)
27 Keio University
(Private)
 636 (522)
28 Shumei University
(Private)
 615 (553)
29 Teikyo University
(Private)
 580 (441)
30 Toyo University
(Private)
 574 (509)

(  ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2003

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