“Left neglected,” “following precedent”, Japan’s education ministry apologizes for excluding disabled

Extract from The Mainichi Shimbun

December 26 2025

TOKYO – “Left neglected without due consideration,” “an awareness of simply following precedent was apparent.” In announcing the results of its review, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) lined up words of remorse over the long-standing exclusion of graduates of special needs schools from the School Basic Survey. As part of the review, the ministry conducted interviews with officials in charge during the 1980s, but the exclusion dates back at least to the 1970s. While the historical context suggests that discriminatory attitudes existed at the time, the review did not clarify how the inappropriate calculation method came to be adopted.

“I sincerely apologize,” Education Minister Yohei Matsumoto said, bowing his head before cameras. Behind the swift review of the School Basic Survey, completed in less than a month after the issue came to light, lay the anger of those directly affected.

After the problem was revealed, responses poured in from people involved with special needs education and from disability advocacy groups. Writer Hirotada Ototake posted on X (formerly Twitter), “People with disabilities were treated as if they ‘did not exist.’ … Don’t make a fool of us.”

In carrying out the review, MEXT examined past documents. The oldest material found was the 1971 edition of the Outline of Education Statistics, which listed a higher education enrollment rate calculated by excluding special needs schools from the denominator. The same calculation method appeared in the Centennial History of the School System, published the following year in 1972, showing university and junior college advancement rates.

However, the circumstances under which these calculation methods were adopted remained unclear. Alongside the document review, the ministry interviewed former officials in charge, but was unable to trace accounts back to staff from the 1970s.

In the interviews, comments included: “Because the number of special needs school graduates was smaller than it is today, I think they were not included when calculating a rough estimate of university enrollment rates,” and “There was an understanding that it was important to capture statistical trends.”