The education ministry conducted a survey in 2014 of institutes of higher learning and found that the average yearly tuition for private universities was ¥864,384. In addition, the average "entry fee" (nyūgakukin) was ¥261,089. Adding other expenses, the ministry estimated it cost a student ¥1.43 million to attend a private university during his or her freshman year, and that doesn't include living costs. For junior colleges, the amount wasn't much less, about ¥1.26 million. Graduate students paid about ¥1.09 million during their first year of study.

Tuition continues to rise while the number of students falls. Forty years ago, average tuition for a year of private university was ¥180,000. It broke the ¥500,000 ceiling in 1987, and went over ¥800,000 in 2002. However, entry fees have been dropping since 1999, reflecting greater competition for fewer bodies.

These tendencies have produced a problem that is not unusual in the developed world but which is pronounced in Japan due to the way education is paid for: student loan debt. According to the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), the "independent administrative institution" affiliated with the education ministry that administers "scholarship loan programs," ¥1.1 trillion was available in fiscal 2015 for loans to post-high school students, of whom 1.34 million availed themselves of the funds. That means 1 out of 2.6 people attending universities, colleges and vocational schools borrowed money from the government.