Japan's public high schools dropped to 3,438 in 2024 from a peak of 4,191 in 1987, an 18% decline that tracks the country's shrinking youth population

Portal Site of Official Statistics of Japan website (https://www.e-stat.go.jp/).

from Japan Japan counted 3,438 public upper secondary schools in 2024, the fewest since records began in 1975, as the nation's demographic crunch forces a steady cull of campuses.

The figure, released by the Statistics Bureau of Japan, represents an 18 percent retreat from the all-time high of 4,191 schools set in 1987.

The long descent Government data show that in 1975, Japan counted 3,701 public upper secondary schools.

The number climbed steadily, passing 3,900 by 1980 and peaking at 4,191 in 1987 — the tail end of the country's second postwar baby boom. From there, the trajectory changed.

The count plateaued near 4,160 through the 1990s, then began a persistent slide in 2002. By 2010 it had fallen below 3,800, and closures accelerated after 2015.

The 2024 figure of 3,438 erases five decades of expansion, landing where Japan was in the mid-1970s.

Over the full 50-year record, the average number of public high schools stood at roughly 3,917 , well above current levels. Where the pressure comes from The slide closely tracks Japan's long-running fertility decline.

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