121,812 international students in Japan as of May 1, 2005, 3.8% up from last year.

Number of international students by institutional type
Graduate school
30,278
(2.6% up)
University (undergraduate)/Junior college/
College of technology
64,774
(4.0% up)
Professional training college
25,197
(5.7% up)
University preparatory course
1,563
(4.9% down)
5 major countries/regions of origin
China
80,592
(3.7% up)
Republic of Korea
15,606
(0.5% up)
Taiwan
4,134
(0.9% up)
Malaysia
2,114
(5.2% up)
Vietnam
1,745
(11.1% 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.

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.

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.

3. Number of International Students by Region of Origin

(Unit: person)
Region Number of students % of total
Asia 113,644 (109,520) 93.3% (93.4)
Europe 3,106 (2,974) 2.5% (2.5)
North America 1,925 (1,712) 1.6% (1.5)
Central and South America 1,024 (1,015) 0.8% (0.9)
Africa 957 (924) 0.8% (0.8)
Middle and Near East 656 (610) 0.5% (0.5)
Oceania 500 (547) 0.4% (0.5)
Total 121,812 (117,302) 100.0% (100.0)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

4.Number of International Students by Nationality

(Unit: person)
Country/region
Number of students
% of total
Country/region
Number of students
% of total
China
80,592
(77,713)
66.2%
(66.3)
 Russia
346
(366)
0.3%
(0.3)
Republic of Korea
15,606
(15,533)
12.8%
(13.2)
 Brazil
338
(330)
0.3%
(0.3)
Taiwan
4,134
(4,096)
3.4%
(3.5)
 Germany
336
(315)
0.3%
(0.3)
Malaysia
2,114
(2,010)
1.7%
(1.7)
 United Kingdom
326
(351)
0.3%
(0.3)
Vietnam
1,745
(1,570)
1.4%
(1.3)
 Australia
300
(348)
0.2%
(0.3)
Thailand
1,734
(1,665)
1.4%
(1.4)
 Cambodia
298
(283)
0.2%
(0.2)
United States
1,646
(1,456)
1.4%
(1.2)
 Canada
279
(256)
0.2%
(0.2)
Indonesia
1,488
(1,451)
1.2%
(1.2)
 Laos
266
(263)
0.2%
(0.2)
Bangladesh
1,331
(1,126)
1.1%
(1.0)
 Iran
235
(227)
0.2%
(0.2)
Mongolia
924
(806)
0.8%
(0.7)
 Egypt
219
(237)
0.2%
(0.2)
Sri Lanka
907
(764)
0.7%
(0.7)
 Turkey
164
(157)
0.1%
(0.1)
Myanmar
651
(591)
0.5%
(0.5)
 Bulgaria
145
(128)
0.1%
(0.1)
Nepal
617
(462)
0.5%
(0.4)
 Uzbekistan
139
(127)
0.1%
(0.1)
Philippines
544
(525)
0.4%
(0.4)
 Mexico
137
(133)
0.1%
(0.1)
India
410
(327)
0.3%
(0.3)
 Others
3,461
(3,347)
2.8%
(2.9)
France
380
(339)
0.3%
(0.3)
 Total
121,812
(117,302)
100.0%
(100.0)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

5.Number of International Students by Sex

(Unit: person)
Sex
Number of students
% of total
Male
61,793
(59,616)
50.7%
(50.8)
Female
60,019
(57,686)
49.3%
(49.2)
Total
121,812
(117,302)
100.0%
(100.0)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

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)
9,574
15.7%
1,384
2.3%
50,194
82.1%
61,152
100.0%
(9,084)
(15.6)
(1,406)
(2.4)
(47,834)
(82.0)
(58,324)
(100.0)
Graduate school
19,333
63.9%
1,312
4.3%
9,633
31.8%
30,278
100.0%
(19,518)
(66.1)
(1,302)
(4.4)
(8,694)
(29.5)
(29,514)
(100.0)
Junior college
10
0.3%
26
0.8%
3,055
98.8%
3,091
100.0%
(12)
(0.3)
(51)
(1.5)
(3,418)
(98.2)
(3,481)
(100.0)
College of technology
450
84.7%
0
0.0%
81
15.3%
531
100.0%
(422)
(83.4)
(0)
(0.0)
(84)
(16.6)
(506)
(100.0)
Professional training college
0
0.0%
26
0.1%
25,171
99.9%
25,197
100.0%
(0)
(0.0)
(35)
(0.1)
(23,798)
(99.9)
(23,833)
(100.0)
University preparatory course
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
1,563
100.0%
1,563
100.0%
(0)
(0.0)
(0)
(0.0)
(1,644)
(100.0)
(1,644)
(100.0)
Total
29,367
24.1%
2,748
2.3%
89,697
73.6%
121,812
100.0%
(29,036)
(24.8)
(2,794)
(2.4)
(85,472)
(72.9)
(117,302)
(100.0)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

7.Number of International Students by Major Field

(Unit: person)
Major field
Number of students
% of total
Social science
44,422
(40,551)
36.5%
(34.6)
Humanities
27,670
(28,106)
22.7%
(24.0)
Engineering
17,763
(15,415)
14.6%
(13.1)
Teacher training
3,565
(3,508)
2.9%
(3.0)
Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, etc.
3,023
(3,010)
2.5%
(2.6)
Arts
3,569
(3,000)
2.9%
(2.6)
Home economics
3,052
(2,904)
2.5%
(2.5)
Agriculture
2,858
(2,700)
2.3%
(2.3)
Science
1,564
(1,384)
1.3%
(1.2)
Others
14,326
(16,724)
11.8%
(14.3)
Total
121,812
(117,302)
100.0%
(100.0)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

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
1,903
[1.6%]

(1,957)
([1.7%])
 Hokkaido
1,903
(1,957)
 Kinki
21,611
[17.7%]

(20,375)
([17.4%])
 Mie
842
(812)
Shiga
366
(339)
Kyoto
4,890
(4,734)
Osaka
10,496
(9,728)
Hyogo
3,967
(3,752)
Nara
869
(835)
Tohoku
3,382
[2.8%]

(3,168)
([2.7%])
 Aomori
401
(424)
 Wakayama
181
(175)
Iwate
330
(261)
 Chugoku
4,881
[4.0%]

(5,010)
([4.3%])
 Tottori
211
(211)
Miyagi
2,018
(1,805)
 Shimane
171
(175)
Akita
136
(125)
 Okayama
1,663
(1,727)
Yamagata
208
(223)
 Hiroshima
2,001
(1,991)
Fukushima
289
(330)
 Yamaguchi
835
(906)
Kanto
62,263
[51.1%]

(59,585)
([50.8%])
 Ibaraki
2,828
(2,872)
 Shikoku
1,439
[1.2%]
(1,699)
([1.4%])
 Tokushima
345
(336)
Tochigi
1,506
(1,401)
 Kagawa
339
(512)
Gunma
1,421
(1,457)
 Ehime
542
(628)
Saitama
5,932
(5,353)
 Kochi
213
(223)
Chiba
5,832
(5,828)
 Kyushu
12,096
[9.9%]

(11,632)
([9.9%])
 Fukuoka
5,731
(5,466)
Tokyo
40,396
(38,041)
 Saga
316
(299)
Kanagawa
4,348
(4,633)
 Nagasaki
1,238
(1,182)
Chubu
14,237
[11.7%]

(13,876)
([11.8%])
 Niigata
1,452
(1,596)
 Kumamoto
627
(608)
Toyama
513
(487)
 Oita
2,867
(2,726)
Ishikawa
1,271
(1,138)
 Miyazaki
218
(241)
Fukui
277
(285)
 Kagoshima
549
(562)
Yamanashi
695
(670)
 Okinawa
550
(548)
Nagano
823
(663)
Total
121,812 [100.0%]
(117,302 [100.0%])
Gifu
1,609
(1,625)
Shizuoka
1,583
(1,440)
Aichi
6,014
(5,972)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

9.Number of International Students by Housing (as of May 1, 2005)

A. International student housing set up by schools
National universities 87 schools
6,426 students
Local public universities 15 schools
219 students
Private universities 294 schools
8,084 students

B. International student housing set up by public corporations, etc.
JASSO-sponsored housing
2,352 students
Public corporation-sponsored housing
797 students
Local government-sponsored housing
1,337 students
Public housing
1,771 students
Private company housing
795 students

C. General student housing set up by schools
National universities 105 schools
2,574 students
Local public universities 25 schools
126 students
Private universities 232 schools
2,292 students

International Student Housing

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%
2005 121,812 4,510 3.8%
(as of May 1 each year)

Ref2. Top 30 Universities in Terms of Number of International Students (as of May 1, 2005)

(Unit: person)
Rank University name Number of students
1 The University of Tokyo
(National)
 2,111 (2,056)
2 Waseda University
(Private)
 1,949 (1,769)
3 Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
(Private)
 1,884 (1,734)
4 Osaka Sangyo University
(Private)
 1,259 (1,168)
5 Kyoto University
(National)
 1,227 (1,240)
6 Tohoku University
(National)
 1,173 (1,124)
7 University of Tsukuba
(National)
 1,163 (1,161)
8 Nagoya University
(National)
 1,150 (1,194)
9 Kyushu University
(National)
 1,103 (1,117)
10 Nihon University
(Private)
 1,100 (1,082)
11 Takushoku University
(Private)
 1,084 (1,097)
12 Kokushikan University
(Private)
 1,071 (894)
13 Osaka University
(National)
 1,029 (1,048)
14 Ryutsu Keizai University
(Private)
 1,026 (1,068)
15 Tokyo Institute of Technology
(National)
 982 (958)
16 Kobe University
(National)
 963 (950)
17 Tokyo International University
(Private)
 883 (873)
18 Ritsumeikan University
(Private)
 836 (706)
19 Chiba University
(National)
 818 (772)
20 Teikyo University
(Private)
 808 (580)
21 Yokohama National University
(National)
 792 (865)
22 Hokkaido University
(National)
 769 (765)
23 Hiroshima University
(National)
 746 (768)
24 Meikai University
(Private)
 736 (733)
25 Keio University
(Private)
 724 (636)
26 Josai International University
(Private)
 640 (1,189)
27 Shumei University
(Private)
 625 (615)
28 Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
(National)
 622 (560)
29 Chuo University
(Private)
 617 (665)
30 Jobu University
(Private)
 612 (706)
( ) indicates figures as of May 1, 2004

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