THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

A widening gap in incomes in urban and rural areas is primarily to blame for a growing chasm in university admissions.
 
Calculations by The Asahi Shimbun based on an education ministry survey show a difference of about 40 percentage points between the prefecture with the highest rate of admissions and the one with the lowest rate. That is double the figure of 20 years ago.

 
High school graduates in rural areas have less choice because universities are concentrated in big cities, where high rentals are another factor in determining places to study.
 
For this reason, some experts are calling for more financial assistance to students living in rural areas.
 
The Asahi Shimbun based its calculations on preliminary figures given in the education ministry’s School Basic Survey, which noted that 1,101,543 students graduated from high schools throughout Japan this spring. A total of 593,596 students entered universities. It includes those who studied at preparatory schools after graduating from high schools but excludes returnees from overseas. The admission rate stood at 53.9 percent.
 
Tokyo had the highest rate at 72.5 percent, followed by Kyoto Prefecture at 65.4 percent and Kanagawa Prefecture at 64.3 percent. In contrast, Kagoshima Prefecture had the lowest rate at 32.1 percent, followed by Iwate Prefecture at 38.4 percent and Aomori Prefecture at 38.6 percent. Of all 47 prefectures, five had a rate of under 40 percent.
 
Overall, the rate of admission rose in every prefecture compared with 20 years ago. The national average jumped by 21.1 percentage points from 32.8 percent to 53.9 percent.
 
However, the gap between the prefecture with the highest rate and the one with the lowest rate widened to 40.4 percentage points from 19.4 percentage points during the same period. (In 1994, Tokyo had the highest rate at 40.8 percent, while Okinawa Prefecture had the lowest rate at 21.4 percent.)
 
During the 20-year period, the rate of admissions rose 32 percentage points in Tokyo, 27 percentage points in Kyoto Prefecture and 25 percentage points in Kanagawa Prefecture.
 
The rise in big cities was in marked contrast to the situation in rural areas. Kagoshima Prefecture had an increase of just eight percentage points, while Iwate and Aomori prefectures recorded increases of 16 percentage points and 17 percentage points, respectively.
 
Many of the prefectures with small increases were those where household income levels are low. Some students in those prefectures would face severe financial hardship if they had to pay rent in big cities.
 
Masayuki Kobayashi, a professor of educational sociology at the University of Tokyo, said, “There is a social loss when the futures of young people who are both capable and motivated are limited due to where they live.”
 
Kobayashi said the government has relied on the private sector to expand the structure of higher education, which is why many private universities are in big cities.
 
“More scholarships that do not have to be paid back will help lower the financial burdens (of students in rural areas),” he said, adding, “It would also be a good idea to make better use of junior colleges and vocational schools in rural areas.”