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As for private universities and other private institutions of higher education, in accordance with the spirit of the Private School Promotion Subsidy Law, projects are being carried out to maintain and improve education and research conditions, and to reduce the economic burden on students with respect to their studies and so on. These initiatives include subsidy projects centered on providing subsidies for current expenditures, and financing projects through the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan that offer long-term low-interest loans of the capital necessary for the provision of facilities and equipment.

Subsidies concerning the current expenditures of private institutions of higher education commenced in FY1970. The amount of the subsidies increased steadily until 1982, with the percentage that covered the current expenditures of private institutions of higher education increasing to 29.5 percent in FY1980. In contrast, from FY1982 onwards, under a trend towards restraining total subsidy amounts brought about by such factors as the recommendations contained in the report of the Ad Hoc Commission on Administrative Reform and the difficult financial circumstances of the national government, efforts have been made to strengthen weighting of subsidies based on the state of preparation of education and research conditions and to expand special subsidies directed at education and research projects for which social demand is strong. At the same time, the number of students and the number of educators has increased substantially, and the percentage of subsidies in FY2002 was 12.2 percent. In addition, concerning the provision of facilities and equipment, subsidy projects that provide subsidies and other support for large-sized education and research equipment and research facilities are being conducted.

In the future too, based on the role played by private universities and other private institutions in higher education in Japan, MEXT is making efforts to enhance the support necessary to make it possible to maintain and improve education and research conditions at private universities and other private institutions of higher education, and to reduce the economic burden on university students and others, by providing subsidies placing the priority on private universities that are rich in motivation and potential.