HOKKAIDO - Hokkaido saw a marked shift toward private high schools among students entering in fiscal 2026 after tuition at private institutions became effectively free from April, according to an analysis by the Hokkaido Board of Education. An analysis by the Hokkaido Board of Education found that the number of first-year students at public high schools fell by 951 from fiscal 2025, while enrollment at private high schools increased by 936. Japan's national high school tuition support program provides subsidies that are applied directly to tuition fees. The expansion built on reforms introduced in April 2020, when the government increased assistance for private high school students from households earning below a specified income level. It also found that more students from other school districts were entering private high schools in the Ishikari district, which includes the Sapporo area.