Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike expressed the city¡¯s intention to make high school tuition in the area free of charge for all students, regardless of their family income, during a meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Monday.

¡°Within the current environment, child-rearing families face many worries, including feeling anxious about the future,¡± Koike said. ¡°By doing something drastic, such as making high school tuition effectively free of charge or reducing the burden of school lunches, we are aiming to fully support child-rearing families in a swift manner.¡±

Under the current system, for families who reside in Tokyo with an annual income of less than ?9.1 million, a national fund offers a subsidy of up to ?118,800 for students in public schools and, combined with the aid from the city, offers up to ?475,000 for students in private schools ¡ª essentially making high school tuition free for low income households.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the average cost of tuition at private high schools in Tokyo stands at ?483,311 this fiscal year. But when combined with other expenses, such as one-off enrollment fees, the average amount of money needed for the first school year is ?956,918.

Koike expressed her intention to abolish the income limit for the tuition aid, meaning that all households in Tokyo, regardless of income, would be able to send their children to both public and private high schools.

Although details of the plan are yet to be hashed out, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed that they intend to carry out discussions toward expanding the aid system to cover more students. Details of whether or not this aid would cover students in vocational or international schools remains unclear.

Koike stated that she aims to have the plan in place by the 2024 fiscal year, noting that she is looking to make a move ahead of the national government.

¡°I will also work to have the national government, with their responsibility, offer better support toward child-rearing families,¡± she said.

Earlier this year, the Osaka Prefectural Government decided on a plan ¡ª a first of its kind in the nation ¡ª that would offer free high school tuition regardless of household income, which they plan to begin from the 2026 fiscal year. Most prefectures currently have income limits in place to determine which households can receive financial assistance.

Regarding Tokyo¡¯s declaration, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in a news conference on Tuesday that the government is working to offer more comprehensive support to child-rearing households.

¡°It¡¯s important that baseline aid from the national government is coupled with support from local municipalities,¡± said Matsuno. ¡°As a country, we will continue to work with various prefectures to reduce the financial burden of high school level education.¡±