The education ministry will allow undergraduate faculties and academic clusters at three national universities to expand their enrollment capacity for international students from fiscal 2026, as the government steps up efforts to compete for global talent.

The ministry said it has certified 11 departments at Tohoku University, University of Tsukuba and Hiroshima University under a newly created framework that permits selected faculties to exceed standard enrollment caps by up to 5%.

Universities in Japan typically face penalties if they exceed officially approved enrollment limits for international students, a system that has made some institutions cautious about expanding foreign admissions.

However, under the new framework, certified departments will be allowed to raise their enrollment ceilings beyond the usual cap from April 1 of the fiscal year following their certification.

To qualify, faculties are required to maintain enrollment rates above 90% and demonstrate sound financial management, among other factors.

Tohoku University and the University of Tsukuba have said that they are aiming to raise the proportion of international students in their undergraduate programs into the 20% range, while Hiroshima University plans to increase the number of foreign students by about 10 percentage points from current levels, according to reports from NHK.

Japan hosted a record 336,708 international students in 2024 and is targeting 400,000 by 2033, according to the ministry.

However, it continues to lag behind other developed economies on international student admissions. A 2023 survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development found that such students accounted for 31.1% of students in the European Union, 17.1% in the United States and 13.4% in the United Kingdom, compared with just 3.3% in Japan.

The ministry said the initiative is intended not only to attract high-achieving students from overseas, but also to promote the internationalization of learning environments at universities, foster Japanese students¡¯ willingness to engage globally, and cultivate diverse perspectives. It says it hopes the new certification system will contribute to the development of globally minded human resources in Japan.

Tohoku University is planning to raise annual tuition fees for international students to ?900,000 from the 2027 academic year, an increase of ?364,200, while the University of Tsukuba will raise its annual fees to ?608,800, an increase of ?73,000.