or some time now, schools in Japan have been feeling the crunch¹ of their aging society, and the plummeting² number of potential students that come with it.

日本的学校感受到老龄化社会危机以及随之而来的潜在学生数量的急剧下降已经有一段时间了。

One such place is Hanazono University in Kyoto City, a modest school offering various courses in the humanities and boasting a student body of between one and two thousand.

其中一所院校就是京都的花园大学，这是一所中等规模的学校，提供各种各样的人文课程，学生人数在1000到2000人之间。

However, in recent years they have been struggling to get more than ten people at a time to take their entrance exams. It's a scene that paints a bleak³ future of possible extinction⁴ for the higher learning institute.

但是近年来，该校每年参加入学考试的人数还不足10人。如此下去，这所高等学校有可能面临日益消亡的惨淡前景。

日本一高校设奖学金吸引高龄人群

Hanazono has taken the bull by the horns and established the "100 Years of Learning Scholarship" program, aimed at wooing in the rapidly growing population of people over 50 to fill the gap left by the dwindling⁵ number of young students.

花园大学迎难而上，设置“百年学习奖学金”项目，旨在吸引迅速壮大的50岁以上人群，以填补年轻学生数量减少留下的缺口。

The way the scholarship works is simple: the decade of your age corresponds to the amount deducted⁶ from your tuition.

奖学金的运作方式很简单：你的年龄是几十岁，就能抵扣百分之几十的学费。

For example, if you're 62 years old, a four-year undergraduate course in literature that would cost a regular student 3,184,000 yen⁷ in tuition would only set you back 1,273,600 yen which amounts to 60% off.

比如，普通学生4年文学本科课程的学费是318.4万日元，如果你是62岁，则只需花费127.36万日元，即打4折。

Likewise, people in their 50s get 50% off, 70s get 70%, and so on. In the end, anyone over the age of 100 will be eligible⁸ for four years of post secondary education absolutely free of tuition.

同理，50多岁的人打5折，70多岁的人打3折，依此类推。最后，100岁以上的学生4年大学期间学费可全免