KEY POINTSVideo Research finds 64.2% of preschoolers attend extracurricular lessons in 2025, up 9.7 points from 2021Lesson costs rise across all age groups, with preschoolers and older elementary students up more than 50,000 yen annually from 2017Swimming stays the leading activity, while dance reaches 19.8% among lower-grade elementary school girls
Survey data comparing 2017, 2021 and 2025 show higher participation and rising fees, while dance gains momentum among elementary school girls. Photo by Greg Schneider on Unsplash
Greg Schneider
Video Research released survey findings on August 7 showing that more than 60% of preschool children in Japan attended extracurricular lessons or cram schools in 2025, with participation and fees both rising from earlier surveys.
The share of preschoolers attending lessons reached 64.2% in 2025, up 9.7 percentage points from 2021 and above the 50% range recorded in both 2017 and 2021. Among elementary school children, participation remained in the 80% range for lower grades and around 90% for upper grades.
Average monthly spending increased across all age groups covered by the survey. For preschoolers and upper-grade elementary school students, monthly costs rose by more than 4,000 yen from 2017 to 2025, equivalent to an increase of more than 50,000 yen annually. Spending by upper-grade elementary students exceeded 23,000 yen a month in 2025, the company said.
The survey compared data from 2017, 2021 and 2025 using Video Research’s Kids/ex marketing database for children aged 3 to 12. Swimming remained the most popular activity for boys, ranking first among preschoolers and lower-grade elementary students and second among upper-grade students in both 2017 and 2025. In 2025, correspondence education ranked in the top three for boys across all age groups.
For girls, swimming and piano both remained in the top five across all age groups in 2017 and 2025. Dance gained ground in 2025, ranking fourth among lower-grade elementary school girls at 19.8%. The share of lower-grade girls taking dance lessons increased from 6.6% in 2017 to 19.8% in 2025, while the figure for upper-grade girls rose from 11.1% to 18.0%. Video Research said roughly one in five elementary school girls was taking dance lessons in 2025.
Among preschool girls, the share saying they liked dance rose to 40.4% in 2025 from 23.9% in 2017, according to the release.
The survey covered boys and girls aged 3 to 12 in the Tokyo metropolitan area within a 50-kilometer radius of central Tokyo. It was conducted once a year in October, with sample sizes of 593 in 2017, 626 in 2021 and 584 in 2025.
In Japan, “juku,” or cram schools, are private after-school education services commonly used for academic support and entrance exam preparation, alongside sports and cultural lessons.