
AI-generated summary
Although China-Japan relations have recently shown signs of strain, China is still the country that sends the largest number of international students to Japan. Gaokao, China's university entrance exam, is extremely competitive, and the number of applicants for the 2026 school year is 12.9 million, which is more than 26 times the number of applicants for Japan's university entrance exam, which is 490,000.
(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Seong-mi = Even amid the strained relations between China and Japan, the number of Chinese students seeking admission to prestigious Japanese universities is increasing due to the historically low yen and the relatively low competition rate for Japanese university entrance exams, the Nippon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported on the 14th.
A Japanese university entrance examination academy for Chinese students studying abroad in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, covered by this media, produced 55 students who passed the 2026 entrance exam to the University of Tokyo, which is considered the most prestigious university in Japan.
The current number of students reaches 3,000, including online students.
This academy attracts top students by providing Japanese language classes to prestigious middle and high schools in areas where overseas study abroad is active in China and holding study abroad seminars in Japan.
Since last year, we have even introduced employment support services such as filling out job applications and preparing for interviews that Chinese students from the academy can use when they graduate from Japanese universities and enter the local job market.
The number of Chinese students coming to Japan has decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is on the rise again after hitting a low of 103,882 in 2022.
Although relations between the two countries have cooled since the end of last year, China is still the country that sends the largest number of international students to Japan.
The fierce competition for entrance exams in their own country is cited as the reason why Chinese people aim to enter Japanese universities.
The number of applicants for China's college entrance exam 'Gaokao' (高考, Chinese CSAT) for the 2026 school year reached 12.9 million.
This is more than 26 times the number of people taking the common test for university admission in Japan at the same time, which was 490,000. Even considering the population ratio of China and Japan, which is 11.5 times, competition in Chinese entrance exams is much fiercer.
The academy industry, which is expanding the base of the Japanese entrance exam-related industry with a focus on Chinese people, has recently been actively trying to attract international students from countries such as Southeast Asia and Mongolia.
The economic burden of studying in Japan has decreased due to the historically low yen, and the number of Japanese universities giving preferential treatment to foreign students has increased due to the low birth rate, leading to the introduction of English degree acquisition programs one after another.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as of 2023, the proportion of international and international students attending Japanese higher education institutions was 5%, which is different from Anglo-American countries where many international students visit, such as the UK (23%), Australia (31%), and Canada (22%).
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The number of Chinese students studying in Japan will continue to increase for the time being.
Likely · Within months
Efforts by Japanese entrance exam institutes to attract international students from Southeast Asia and Mongolia will expand.
Possible · Within months

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