Japan Running Out of 18-Year-Olds, Universities Going Bankrupt

Following up on my post yesterday about the declining population in Japan -- one of the ramifications of a shrinking population is the bankruptcy of many of their universities:

The United States is not the only country plagued with problems in higher education; Japan has challenges of its own to overcome, albeit of a different variety. Lack of enrollment for private universities is threatening bankruptcy or mergers. The Chronicle reports that

“According to the ministry of education, 47 percent of Japan's roughly 550 private four-year universities are falling below their government-set recruitment targets, the highest ever figure. Over 40 percent are reportedly in debt, and many are a bank loan away from the fate of St. Thomas, one of five Japanese colleges to stop accepting students this year.”

Why?

“Japan is running out of 18-year-olds.”

Read the whole thing.

Japan is quickly becoming a land of disappearing children and declining marriage. The financial issues their universities are facing is only the tip of the iceberg of what these trends mean for the future of Japan.