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Japan is confidently strengthening its position as one of the most attractive destinations for international education in Asia. In 2025, the country reached a historic high in the number of foreign students: 408,069 people from other countries were studying at Japanese educational institutions! This is 21.2% more than the year before.
The result turned out to be so high that Japan met its national goal of attracting 400,000 foreign students 8 years ahead of schedule, and compared to figures from a decade ago, the number of international students in the country has nearly doubled.
Language schools and vocational education programs became one of the main drivers of growth. The number of students studying Japanese at specialized institutions reached a record 140,174 people, while another 106,829 foreigners chose vocational colleges and applied studying programs — almost a third more than the previous year.
At the same time, universities remain the largest segment of Japan's international education: 60,000+ foreign students are enrolled in master's and doctoral programs, and 92,000+ in undergraduate programs. Growth is observed at virtually all levels of higher education.
The majority of international students traditionally come from Asian countries — they account for 92%+ of all foreign students in Japanese universities. China remains the leader, with 131,000+ students. However, the most notable growth came from Nepal: the number of students from that country increased by 35%+ and has already exceeded 100,000 people. The number of students from other South and Southeast Asian countries is also growing rapidly: Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh showed particularly high rates (the latter increased its presence in Japanese educational institutions by as much as 50% in one year).
In terms of university studying directions, foreign students most often choose social sciences — they account for more than a third of all students. Humanities and engineering programs are also popular.
Among universities leading in the number of international students, first place is held by Waseda University, where 5,500+ foreign nationals study, followed by University of Tokyo, Ritsumeikan University, Japan University of Economics, and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
Experts believe that the growth of international education in Japan will continue. Migration service data also points to this: by the end of 2025, the country had nearly 465,000 active student visas — in the coming years, Japan will likely set new records for the number of foreign students.
