Nippon Ishin to Accept FY '26 Income Cap Abolition for Tuition Aid

   Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)--Opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) co-leader Seiji Maehara suggested Sunday that his party would accept the ruling camp's proposal to postpone to fiscal 2026 the abolition of the income cap on financial aid for households with students attending private high schools.
   For such households with an annual income of less than 5.9 million yen, the aid scheme currently provides up to 396,000 yen a year to help cover tuition fees.
   While Nippon Ishin has not changed its stance of calling for the income cap to be abolished from fiscal 2025, which starts next April, Maehara said in a television program: "I think it is better to take steps to prepare (for the abolition), and I understand the idea of starting (a scheme without an income limit) in fiscal 2026. I want to discuss this within our party."
   Making education free is one of Nippon Ishin's conditions for supporting the fiscal 2025 state budget bill. The ruling camp and Nippon Ishin remain apart over when to abolish the income limit for aid to households with students attending private high schools and how much to increase the amount of aid.
   Maehara said in the TV program, "We want to respond flexibly" without sticking to the increase of the amount of aid to 630,000 yen a year that Nippon Ishin has been insisting on.

(2025/02/17-00:09)

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