The number of foreigners who were enrolled in Japanese high schools for at least three months in fiscal 2011 fell 30 percent from fiscal 2008 to 1,283, according to the education ministry.
The ministry said Wednesday that the drop may have been caused by two factors: the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters and the strong yen.
New fiscal years begin in April. The yen's most recent uptrend lasted roughly from October 2008 to October 2012.
Chinese accounted for the bulk of the students, at 464, followed by Americans and Australians at 112 each, South Koreans at 97 and Thais at 94. Foreign enrollment peaked at 1,884 in fiscal 2006 but has been declining ever since.