No.3846
School and Educational Services Addressing Diversified Learning Needs in Japan: Key Research Findings 2025
The Domestic Market for Schools & Educational Services Addressing Diversified Learning Needs in FY2024 Sized at 42,320 Million Yen
Yano Research Institute (the President, Takashi Mizukoshi) has conducted a survey on the market for schools and educational services for diversified learning needs in Japan, and found out the market trends by field, the trends of market players, and future perspective.
Market Overview
The market size for schools and educational services addressing diversified learning needs in FY2024 (as a total of three segments: "correspondence school with integrated support programs and distance-learning school providing vocational education," "digital learning materials for students missing school," and "alternative school") grew by 5.0% from the previous fiscal year to 42,320 million yen, based on the sales of businesses.
All three segments are trending upward due to the persistent increase of students missing schools, the diversification in values regarding education and career among parents (legal guardian) and children, and the increase in the number of market players in these segments.
While over ninety percent of the market is represented by "correspondence school with integrated support programs and distance-learning school providing vocational education," other two segments are both showing significant growth rates.
Noteworthy Topics
Demand for Enhanced Educational System to Adapt to Evolving Needs
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the total number of elementary and junior high school students missing school has exceeded 300 thousand. To tackle this issue, MEXT increased the number of schools specifically addressing absenteeism*1, while also introducing "quasi-attendance" *2 system for students missing schools persistently. However, the system is not thoroughly recognized, and challenges remain in its operation.
Meanwhile, amidst the rise of respect for diversity, schooling options are very limited for the mandatory education in Japan*3. As a result, alternative school is garnering attention. Nevertheless, there are also systemic issues for alternative school. *4
*1: Schools specifically addressing absenteeism have special programs for students not attending schools regularly.
*2: Quasi-attendance refers to the system that acknowledge students as "attending" regular mandatory school by learning and participating in activities at free school, home school, or online education. Seven requirements must be met to qualify for the system, and the decision is left to the discretion of individual principal of a school where a student with absenteeism would be otherwise attending.
*3: According to the "2024 (Reiwa 6) School Basic Survey" by the MEXT, more than 90 percent of the children in Japan are attending public school during their compulsory education period (elementary school and junior high school).
*4: One of the major challenges facing alternative schools in Japan is the recognition of compulsory education graduation. Since alternative schools are not officially authorized under the School Education Act, students must rely on the principal of the public school in their district (the school they would otherwise be attending) to certify their enrollment at the alternative school as official attendance. However, there is currently no nationally standardized criterion for such authorization, leaving decisions to the discretion of individual principals.
Future Outlook
The market size for schools and educational services addressing Diversified learning needs in FY2025 is forecasted to reach 43,990 million yen, up by 3.9% from the preceding fiscal year. Factors driving the growth include:
- Persistent increase in the number of students with absenteeism
- Call for diversity and the diversification of values regarding education and career among parents (legal guardian) and children
- Increase in the number of parents (legal guardians) with a belief that conventional uniform education may not be enough to develop children’s capability to survive in society that is becoming increasingly challenging to understand, predict, and navigate
- Digital and online education allowing learning without time and place constraints gained ground during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational services utilizing new technology including generative AI are on the rise and influencing government-mandated national curriculum.
- While many private universities are falling below quota (not reaching capacity), a steady shift toward diversified admission methods such as recommendation-based selection is observed
- Orientation for education vary by geography: While reduced competition in school admission tests is seen in regions with considerable decline in birthrate, competition is increasingly heated up in admission tests for junior high school (private and public ‘comprehensive’ junior and senior high schools) in metropolitan areas
Research Outline
2.Research Object： Correspondence school with integrated support programs, distance-learning school providing vocational education, digital learning materials for students missing school, and alternative school
3.Research Methogology： Face-to-face interviews by our expert researchers (including online interviews), survey by telephone and email, and literature research
In this survey, "school and educational services addressing diversified learning needs" encompasses 1) distance-learning high school that also provides emotional support to students enrolled ("correspondence school with integrated support programs"), 2) correspondence high school that work toward a regular high school diploma while also helping students acquire vocational skills ("distance-learning school providing vocational education"), 3) online educational resources designed to support children and students who are unable to or unwilling to attend regular school ("digital learning materials for students missing school"), and 4) school that offer educational programs based on their philosophy instead of the government-mandated national curriculum ("alternative school"). The alternative school is often referred to as "the third type of school," because in conventional sense it neither falls under the category of public school or private school.
The market size of "schools and educational services addressing diversified learning needs" is estimated by totaling sales of businesses in three segments: "correspondence school with integrated support programs and distance-learning school providing vocational education," "digital learning materials for students missing school," and "alternative school."
＜Products and Services in the Market＞
Correspondence school with integrated support programs and distance-learning school providing vocational education, digital learning materials for students missing school, alternative school
Published Report
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