An advisory panel to the Japanese education minister Friday proposed tightening screening procedures for establishing universities, as the number of students is expected to drop sharply because of an aging society.

The number of people going to university in the country is estimated to fall to some 460,000 in 2040 from about 630,000 last year as the population of 18-year-olds has been declining after peaking in 1966, according to the Central Council for Education.

Noting that the country's birthrate is declining at a pace that reduces the number of midsize universities by about 90 per year, the council underlined the need for reviewing the overall number of universities in the country through realignments, mergers and downsizing.

Specifically, the council proposed stricter screening requirements for establishing new universities, such as financial conditions.

It also proposed providing assistance to universities that will close due to a fall in the number of students, including helping to protect existing students until they graduate.

The council called for support for local governments in areas that lose their universities.

It said that while reducing undergraduate capacity, graduate education should be strengthened to raise the number of doctorate degree holders per million people in Japan to the world's top level.

Based on the proposal, the education ministry will compile a road map by summer to outline measures to be taken over the next 10 years.

"We will vigorously promote those measures," education minister Toshiko Abe said after receiving the proposals from the council.