Tuition hike for foreigners at famed Tokyo art university draws backlash

"There is a need for our university to establish a system for accepting large numbers of international students now and in the future," the university's public relations team said via an email.

This move makes it much harder to reach this goal, by saying foreign students will have to pay more numbers will drop.

Taking into account the PR disaster maybe even national students will choose other universities as well, even scrapping the tuition hike at this point would not restore the reputation of the university.

In an age where Japan is not only struggling, but BEGGING for foreign students and investment in its schools, so much so that they are changing their names (no more "kinki university", but now "Kindai") because they're worried about impression, and asking that the domestic school year change to fit foreign nations' schedules, it'll only hurt this school in reputation and budget. Well done. TIJ

Get ready for more of the students who would have gone to this school choosing instead to go to growing economies like South Korea or India.

A Chinese student complains about not being consulted and "dictorial ways". Very funny. There is absolutely no problem that foreign students should pay more. They have the privilage to study there, even their parents didn't pay taxes in Japan and they themselves most probably won't pay taxes in Japan the future. It's like in most clubs: members pay less than non-members..

Musashino Art University said in July that it will charge foreign students an extra levy of 363,000 yen, the equivalent of around 20 percent of existing tuition fees, per year from next April, while keeping charges for domestic students unchanged.

363,000 yen is peanuts but not to a student.

In-state tuition and fees at a public US university $15,891.

Out of state tuition and fees at the same university $48,465

Difference is $32,574 (146 yen) = 4,755,804 yen

4,755,804 yen more compared to 363,000 yen more.

So to the Musashino international students, it could be worse; some have it 4,392,804 yen worse

High fee paying foreign students are the life-support system of Australian Universities. At least 25% of universities funding comes directly from these OS students representing a $30 billion / year industry. This places it as the 4th largest industry in the country.

While obviously supplying a world class education is of utmost importance, one would be naive to believe it isn't a mega-business.

Currently about 750,000 students are enrolled although there was announcement this week by the govt to cap numbers at 50,000 less with infrastructure problems listed.

To the articles story about raising fees for OS students. It will be inevitable. Tokyo university will introduce full courses in English from 2027 in order to attract OS students as well as cater for local students.

I think the main reasoning is they want a piece of the predominantly Asian foreign student pie which is currently dominated by Australia. If high level courses are offered in English then there will be no shortage of willing high fee paying applicants.

Universities fighting for scraps from the ever dwindling govt fund heap, will be relying on this source from abroad to survive.

Most nations' universities charge higher fees for international students.

This is a bit of a non-story.

Unlike schools in English-speaking countries like the United States, Britain and Singapore that are among the most popular destinations to study

The reputation of Japanese universities is not so good in China. Japan is cheap and the classes are a joke. Get copies of previous tests at the end of the semester and make home made gyoza from scratch and cook up a storm of the ethnic food of your country at your professor’s house and you will be sure to graduate.

I guess many students will first have to study Japanese which will be at least a year given up and have to be paid for. Not so advantageous compared to studying in an English speaking country when many will have spent time studying English already in their own country.

Then there is the Japanese yen.... a few years ago very strong but now weak. They will see there is demand as courses are now cheaper for foreigners. Why not overcharge them :-P

If countries consider youth as an investment, it shall be free for locals especially in Japan, and some fees for foreigners which have not paid taxes to the country yet.

I am already finding what I pay per year for my son expensive (3500€, or about 560,000¥) for its uni school, because if he had been working better, it should have cost 600€, or 100,000¥.

sign says "education is not a business". wonder where they got that idea.

TUJ is the only university in Japan that is growing, so that says a lot about the state of Japanese higher education. I didn’t go to TUJ but when I came to Japan in 2005, my university did the opposite and charged Japanese students much more and they also reduced prices even further for anyone from an occidental country because 90% of their international students at the time were from China and Vietnam and I guess they thought the non-Asians made the campus look more international.

Correction: TUJ is the fastest growing university in Japan*

This sounds okay to me. They are not raising fees for existing students, only future ones who can choose somewhere else if they don't like the new fees. They've been given months of warning too.

I would rather universities do something to raise rates than pay their cleaners and gardeners 900 yen an hour.

@Gaijinjland

And TUJ doeesn't have an awfully good reputation in Japan or the States.

The quality of university education has been in steady decline for decades across the board: Probably why "Musabi" feel justied discriminatorily increasing fees, safe in the knowledge that there are few better alternatives on offer.

Boneheaded opportunism will reap it's own reward once the number of foreign enrollments drops off 'mysteriously'. Why would you enroll there when you know they are just exploiting you?

Most nations' universities charge higher fees for international students. 

This is a bit of a non-story.

In the U.S., higher fees are charged for international students if the university or college receives public funding.

Harvard and Yale universities, Williams and Amherst colleges, and the like — basically all the elite private universities and colleges in the U.S. — do not charge higher fees for international students.

—

Musashino Art University (MAU) is a private school. However, private universities in Japan do receive public subsidies to fund their capital development. Therefore, an argument can be made that international students at MAU should pay more because public subsidies are being used to support the school.

However, an argument could also be made that private U.S. universities and colleges receive public support/benefit in the form of government student aid and research grants and exemption from taxation, but international students at those schools are still not burdened with additional fees.

Only raise fees by 360. 000 yen! That's nothing.! In the U.K. foreign students pay 3 times what locals do! If you can't afford to study abroad then study in your own country! If you don't have freedom of speech in your own country, then do something to change it!

Harvard and Yale universities, Williams and Amherst colleges, and the like — basically all the elite private universities and colleges in the U.S. — do not charge higher fees for international students.

I should clearly indicate that no private university or college in the U.S. charges higher fees for international students — regardless of whether the school is considered to be “elite.”

@Asiaman7 But those private elite universities are already charging exorbitant prices! (As of the 2024-2025 academic year, the tuition for undergraduate students at Harvard is approximately $59,000, excluding room and board, fees, and other expenses. When you factor in room, board, student fees, and other miscellaneous expenses, the total estimated cost of attendance is around $84,000 per year.)

Musashino art university's fees are pittance in comparison!

mountainpearToday 07:43 pm JST

Only raise fees by 360. 000 yen! That's nothing.! In the U.K. foreign students pay 3 times what locals do! If you can't afford to study abroad then study in your own country! If you don't have freedom of speech in your own country, then do something to change it!

That's not entirely true.

The UK charges 'Home' fees and 'Oveseas' fees, so even British citizens can get charged overseas fees if they aren't resident and don't pay taxes- I would if I wanted to study in the UK.

As Asiaman7 stated for US private universities, the same applies to UK private universities- a flat fee for all.

"Overseas..."

Can't afford tuition, seek greener pastures!

Musashino art university's fees are pittance in comparison!

And so is its international reputation, part of the reason why universities can get away with much higher tuition is because graduating from them weights much more.

Can't afford tuition, seek greener pastures!

Which means the one losing something is the university, that is supposedly trying to recruit foreign students. And with the scandal it may lose other kinds of students that can't afford having their degrees coming from a place with a bad name.

It is a little remiss of "Musashino" to not take into account the increasing importance of market value apparent in today's education system.

They could well be pricing themselves out of the target international student market and students' budget.

mountainpear

*@Asiaman7 But those private elite universities are already charging exorbitant prices! (As of the 2024-2025 academic year, the tuition for undergraduate students at Harvard is approximately $59,000, excluding room and board, fees, and other expenses. When you factor in room, board, student fees, and other miscellaneous expenses, the total estimated cost of attendance is around $84,000 per year.)*

Musashino art university's fees are pittance in comparison!

This article is not about the fees at MAU vs. Harvard.

However, since you bring it up, at Harvard, for families (including internationals) with annual incomes below $85,000 (12.4 million yen) the expected contribution is zero. That includes room and board, books, and other expenses.

Families with annual incomes between $85,000 and $150,000 contribute between 0 and 10 percent of their income.

Those with incomes above $150,000 are asked to pay proportionately more than 10 percent based on their circumstances. 

—

Tuition and other expenses at MAU are about 1.65 million yen per year. So for families making less than 16.5 million yen ($113,000) a year, Harvard would be cheaper than MAU.

mountainpear

@Asiaman7 But those private elite universities are already charging exorbitant prices! (As of the 2024-2025 academic year, the tuition for undergraduate students at Harvard is **approximately $59,000***, 

An MAU comparison school better than Harvard would be SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Its average annual cost is $45k, its graduation rate is only 70%, and the median earnings of graduates is only 46k.

many saying they are attracted by the lack of rules on free expression compared with universities back home

The usual biased reporting. The fact is, most of those here come because they weren't good enough to enter universities back in China where there is now stiff competition.

He said that while he had chosen to attend the university for its "liberal academic environment," it had acted in a "dictatorial" way.

Well there's your mistake. Liberal = dictatorial.

they said the decision to implement what they view as an effective tuition fee hike was made without consulting them and was "arbitrary" and "unconvincing."

Oh, did an autonomous organization forget to ask your permission to do something? If you don't like it, take your money elsewhere.

In my country, university is free.

The fee for foreign students is too low. They should charge more. If they don't like like it the students can vote with teir feet and go somewhere else. Or study in their own country.

PS Art degree..... Money to waste anyway...

Musashino Art University is a private university. It is literally a business. The student in the middle needs to go back to school.

mountainpear: "If you can't afford to study abroad then study in your own country!"

Easy to say, but then why constantly seek foreign students and foreign investment in your schools? Is it "welcome" to that and "go elsewhere" if there's criticism?

Only time will tell

If students continue to come in spite of the higher prices then the rise is justified

If they don't then the university will have to reduce prices

Remember private universities are businesses

@Asiaman7 You are talking like everyone who applies at Harvard can enter! But only 3,59% of applicants are accepted! So, basically low-income families can get a scholarship!

@Virusrex Maybe if you graduate from Harvard in Law. It's not going to help you much if want to be a fine artist/mangaka/graphic designer etc! That is more a matter of talent and the ability to promote your work! Can you name one famous visual artist who went to Harvard!!

none of it matters.

all software developer and graphic artist jobs are going away.

ai is the new messiah that’ll free humans from the drudgery of having a roof over your head and food.

@Peter Neil Sadly, you might be right!

It's impressive that they were not charging foreigners more before this. Most places do.

UK unis treat foreign students as ATMs charging them an absolute fortune. The cash is used to subsidise the cost for domestic students. When the Tories drastically limited foreign students, it broke this economic model and UK unis are now sacking people, closing down courses and flogging off parts of their estate. The UK university system will shrink quite a bit as a result, and UK unis will slide down the league table.

Japan has a lot of unis and a dwindling population. It needs foreign students. Annoying them is not a good idea, but the right wingers will approve. After migrants and tourists, foreign students will be next in line for the anti-foreigner hate.

Do something useful from 9 to 5, then you have a stable income and can do whatever art you want to do during your leisure time.

One issue is that the Ministry puts strict limits on tuition fees and enrollment numbers at national universities. Musashino isn’t a national university, but it still has to compete against them for domestic students so it can’t drastically raise its tuition fees across the board without harming its intake of domestic students who have other options.

If you compare tuition between private and national universities here, the former is always higher than the latter but not exorbitantly so. The difference between going to Meiji or Keio on the one hand versus Todai or Kyodai on the other is like 300 or 400 thousand per year.

Due to the decreasing number ofJapanese 18 year olds every year, all the big universities are starting to rely more and more on international students as a strategy for survival. For a niche university like Musashino they aren’t competing with other Japanese universities for such students but rather with universities in the US, Europe, Australia, Canada, etc where the cost of study is in some cases an order of magnitude higher, so they have a lot more leeway to raise tuition like this than they do with domestic fees. Plus over the long term they probably foresee a need to earn more revenue from foreign students since even private unis recieve taxpayer money from the government. Its politically easier to justify such outlays when they are spent on educating Japanese students, but the greater the proportion of international students, the harder that becomes (“why is taxpayer money being spent educating kids from other countries who immediately leave Japan after graduating?” is an easier question to answer if those students are paying more).

"Can you name one famous visual artist who went to Harvard!!"

Not exactly an 'famous visual artist' (he is a well-known comedian and TV talent) but Patrick Harlan 'Pakkun' went to Harvard College, and graduated with a degree in Comparative Religion; (in his own words) — "I didn’t know this at the time — but there are no professional religion comparers out there."

mountainpear

@Asiaman7 You are talking like everyone who applies at Harvard can enter! 

YOU chose to compare MAU’s tuition with Harvard’s, not me! I suggested the Savannah College of Art and Design as a better comparison school.

No student should waste their time applying to Harvard unless they have a demonstrated history of excellent in a certain field.

mountainpear

Can you name one famous visual artist who went to Harvard!!

Why do you continue to search for visual artists at Harvard?

Those students go to schools like the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Parsons School of Design, and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

@Virusrex Maybe if you graduate from Harvard in Law. It's not going to help you much if want to be a fine artist/mangaka/graphic designer etc! 

You were the one that brought Harvard, meaning that you recognize that a university name do bring benefits. So what place do Musashino have in the world rankings for graphic design? 20th? 100th? Would an international student justify paying as much tuition as in Harvard because of the recognition he would get from this university? because if not then the comparison is still invalid and the tuition in Musashino would be low because the value it offers is also low.

Most schools are supported by taxes, so I think foreign students should pay more than local students. Here in America foreign students are charged more than local students. And at private schools, tuition is the same, but local students often get financial aid. That is fair I think.

@Virusrex I was not the one to bring up Harvard! That was Asiaman7! Please read through all the comments before posting a comment!!!

In the U.S., higher fees are charged for international students if the university or college receives public funding.

Harvard and Yale universities, Williams and Amherst colleges, and the like — basically all the elite private universities and colleges in the U.S. — do not charge higher fees for international students.

@Asiaman7 I was not the one to bring up Harvard initially. it was you who first brought it up!

Harvard and Yale universities, Williams and Amherst colleges, and the like — basically all the elite private universities and colleges in the U.S. — do not charge higher fees for international students.

And yes, I know Harvard is not a desired institution to study art, but Virusrex seems to think it is!

@Virusrex I was not the one to bring up Harvard! That was Asiaman7! Please read through all the comments before posting a comment!!!

You were the one that brought Harvard comparison about tuition, you could have chosen any university to make that comparison and still choose making this one, you made no distinction about field when you compared them.

Why pay Harvard tuition to compare religions? You can read on your own. It was interesting to discuss religion at a bar in your 20's.

MIT and many universities have free online courses. Many Japanese work a full time job and study at school of continuing education 通信教育 and pick up their degree. Admissions isn't competitive at all and by then you should have saved up a bit to be able to afford tuition and tuition increases.