A panel at Hitotsubashi University is considering a five-month lag between student enrollment in spring and the start of classes in fall to avoid changing the academic year from April and fall in line with the international norm, officials said Wednesday.
The idea may have an impact on other universities that are thinking of switching the start of their academic year from April to fall to facilitate the acceptance of international students.
In January, the University of Tokyo sparked a national debate when it proposed completely shifting to autumn admission by abolishing the April enrollment in an interim report, although Japan's school and business years are generally from April to March.