Regional disparities in university educational opportunities by urban employment area

Focus on disciplines

Abstract

This study reexamines regional disparities in university educational opportunities in Japan, focusing on the perspective of academic disciplines. Specifically, the study analyzes the distribution of university education opportunities across different academic fields in relation to urban employment areas. The findings highlight that students in urban employment areas without prefectural capitals are more likely to leave their home regions for university education. I argue that it is essential to adopt a more qualitative approach to evaluating university educational opportunities, as previous studies have predominantly concentrated on quantitative measures such as institutional capacity.