Desperate to keep enrollment from declining further at its only academically competitive high school, a small city in Kagoshima Prefecture is trying to cajole 15-year-olds into attending, promising cash handouts of up to ¥1 million if they study hard enough to be accepted by a prestigious university.

The municipal assembly in Isa, population 20,000, approved a ¥50 million fund to boost the ever-shrinking enrollment at Okuchi High School, the only high school in the city that actively encourages students to enter higher education.

According to local officials, students at the school will be rewarded with ¥1 million if they gain admission to one of an approved list of top-flight universities at the end of their three years at Okuchi. The top schools include the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, as well as prestigious private universities such as Tokyo's Waseda and Keio.