In the wake of the consumption tax hike, Fukuoka-based financial planner Seiki Kawazoe has developed a software program to help parents calculate the cost of education from kindergarten through college. Existing programs generate more expensive estimates based on tuition figures from the Tokyo area, so Kawazoe researched education costs at Kyushu’s elementary, junior high and high schools to make a product more in tune with the local reality. It is generally thought that it costs more to go to private schools, but this is not always the case in Kyushu. Kawazoe’s program estimates that is costs ¥13,560,000 to send a child to a public junior high, high school and college (including six years of cram school fees), which is slightly more than the estimate for a private education track, not including cram school fees. “I think a lot of people are worried about the cost of education. It is important to get a grasp on the numbers. Once you identify your concerns, you can take effective steps to deal with them,” explained Kawazoe. Nishinippon Shimbun 5/23
