Understanding public pension systems at an early age is crucial for life after retirement. However, despite Japan having the fastest ageing population in the world, there is limited research on the actual levels of understanding about public pensions and the determinants of that understanding among Japanese young people. Therefore, this study examines Japanese university students’ public pension knowledge in terms of test reliability and validity; the determinants are then analyzed after controlling for individual-specific effects. This study confirms that there are positive correlations between some independent variables related to higher education and levels of public pension knowledge. This study identified new factors that influence public pension knowledge. However, additional investigation is necessary to explore outstanding questions regarding when and where learning about public pension systems takes place and to determine which learning approaches are most effective.
Tomotaka Hirao (2026) studied this question.