The following article may be useful to those investing in student-oriented accommodation.

The average living allowance of a private university or college student living away from home and starting university in 2012 was 89,500 Yen/month (USD 917). This is the twelfth year of continuous decline.

The survey was conducted by the Tokyo Private University Teachers Union. A total of 5,349 students from 17 universities across Tokyo were surveyed between May and July in 2012. Of those students, 2,128 students were living away from home.

After deducting rental expenses, the average student had just 923 Yen per day (USD 9.46) to spend on food and other expenses.

The union suggested that the drop in allowances was likely to be caused by a drop in the income levels of the students’ parents and is urging the government to introduce relief measures to provide living assistance for private students.

The average total household income of the parents of students living away from home was 8.6 million Yen/year (USD 88,000) in 2012, down 400,000 Yen from 2011.

Allowances are now 30% lower than their peak in 1994 of 124,900 Yen/month. Meanwhile, the average rent spent by a student had increased slightly to 61,800 Yen/month. The proportion of allowance spent on rent increased by 2.3 points from 2011 to 69.1%. After deducting rent, 27,700 Yen was left over for food and other expenses, which amounts to 923 Yen per day – a record low.  

Source: The Mainichi Shimbun, April 5, 2013.

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