Japan expands nursing education to combat regional shortages

The Public University of Hakodate has announced plans to establish a new faculty of nursing, aiming for an opening in the 2030 academic year. This move follows requests from Hakodate City to address the lack of local nursing higher education, which currently results in dozens of students leaving the Donan region annually to study elsewhere.

The university intends to use a phased approach, beginning with the establishment of a preparatory organization in 2026 and seeking Ministry of Education approval by 2028. Challenges noted include securing faculty and students, as well as managing the workload of existing staff.

In a broader national effort to combat nursing shortages in rural areas, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology plans to support the creation of “regional quotas” at 41 universities starting in fiscal 2027. Under this system, students would receive subsidies or scholarship exemptions in exchange for a commitment to work in their local prefectures after graduation. The government aims to provide 100 million yen in subsidies per university to help develop curricula and clinical training programs, addressing the trend where approximately 40% of nursing graduates migrate to urban centers.