Women accounted for a record 45.5 percent of students enrolled in university courses in Japan as of May 1, the provisional results of a recent government study showed Tuesday.

The annual education ministry survey showed the number of students had increased by 14,752 from a year earlier to 2.62 million, marking an all-time high for the sixth year in a row.

Female university students totaled a record 1.19 million, maintaining a rising trend since 1981.

"The need for higher education has increased among both men and women," an official of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said.

But those in the "others" category, including working adults who were nonregular students or completing designated courses, fell by 16,350 to 32,996.

The drop was likely due to universities suspending classes and downsizing their acceptance of such students due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The response deadline for the study, which tallies educational institutions and enrolled students, was extended by around a month this year due to the pandemic.