Foreign students’ spending in Japan reaches record ¥684.7bn

Foreign students spent a record ¥684.7 billion in Japan on tuition and living costs in fiscal 2025.

The figure was up 25% from the previous fiscal year, according to Japan’s balance of payments statistics.

It was the highest since records began in fiscal 2014.

Their spending was 3.8 times what Japanese students spent abroad, as fewer Japanese students studied overseas.

The figures show a widening gap between rising numbers of foreign students in Japan and sluggish overseas study by Japanese students.

The weaker yen is part of the contrast, though the figures do not explain how much it affected spending.

The figures cover fiscal 2025, and no further developments are stated.