What memories do you have of the school you attended in your own country?
Talking happily with friends.
Studying together.
Playing during recess.
And tests that were a little tough.
You probably have your own memories of the days you spent at school.
In Japan, the 6 years of elementary school and 3 years of junior high school are compulsory education. After finishing junior high school, many students go on to high school.
Today, the number of schools in Japan is decreasing.
This time, using data from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s “School Basic Survey,” we made a map that lets you compare the number of elementary, junior high, and high schools at 3 points in time: 1965, 1990, and 2024.
Why don’t you take a look, together with me, at how the number of schools in Japan has changed, using the map?
Japan’s School Count Change Map
Japan has 47 administrative divisions called prefectures. On this map, you can see the number of schools in each prefecture.
Use the buttons at the top of the map to switch between elementary, junior high, and high schools, and between 1965, 1990, and 2024.
The size of each circle on the map represents the number of schools. The color shows how the number of schools has changed compared to 1965.
Select the circle for a prefecture you’re curious about to see the total number of schools, the number of main and branch schools, and the breakdown by national, public, and private.
Try looking for a city you know, or a place you’ve visited.
About the map data
This map was compiled and mapped by Visible World by Data, based on data from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s “School Basic Survey.”
School counts include both main schools and branch schools.
For high schools, this map shows full-time and part-time schools. Schools that are correspondence-only are not included.
Okinawa Prefecture was not included in the 1965 survey. For that reason, Okinawa in 1965 is not shown as “0 schools,” but as outside the survey scope.
1965 covers 46 prefectures, excluding Okinawa; 1990 and 2024 cover all 47 prefectures.
Comparing school counts across Japan and its 9 regions
The data card lets you compare the number of schools across Japan as a whole and its 9 regions at 3 points in time: 1965, 1990, and 2024.
Use the buttons at the top to switch between elementary, junior high, and high schools.
The number of elementary schools nationwide went from 25,977 in 1965, to 24,827 in 1990, to 18,822 in 2024.
Junior high schools went from 12,079 in 1965, to 11,275 in 1990, to 9,882 in 2024.
High schools increased from 4,849 in 1965 to 5,506 in 1990, then decreased to 4,774 in 2024.
After checking the nationwide numbers, going back to the map also reveals differences in how each region has changed.
What I noticed while making this map
Nationwide, both elementary and junior high schools have declined over the 3 years compared here. High schools, on the other hand, increased until 1990, then began to decline.
By region, elementary and junior high schools increased and then decreased in Kanto, Kinki, and Kyushu & Okinawa; high schools followed the same pattern in Hokkaido, Kanto, Chubu & Hokuriku, Kinki, and Kyushu & Okinawa.
What stood out to me was how the pattern of change differs by school type and by region.
You may be curious about how the number of schools has changed in your own country, too.
Why not use the map to compare those trends with changes in Japan?
Let’s look at school counts in regions you’re curious about
In the regional articles, you can look more closely at the change in school numbers using an enlarged map and data card for each region.
Source: Compiled from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s “School Basic Survey” (e-Stat)
※ School counts include both main schools and branch schools.
※ The high school counts include full-time and part-time schools.
※ 1965 covers 46 prefectures, excluding Okinawa; 1990 and 2024 cover all 47 prefectures.
※ Okinawa in 1965 is not “0 schools” — it was outside the survey scope.