An average of 14 students per private high school are falling behind on tuition payments due to financial difficulties, which is 1.9, or nearly 16 percent, higher than last year, according to a recent survey by an association of private school teachers' unions.
The association surveyed 269,952 students at 328 private schools in 32 prefectures from April through September and found that 4,587 students, or 1.7 percent, were at least three months behind paying tuition, the survey said.
It also found that 149 students dropped out during the survey period, up 46 from a year before.
"The arrears are more prevalent in localities that face severer economic hardships," an official at the association, known as Zenkoku Shikyoren, said.
"We need to come up with effective measures to prevent dropouts."