According to a survey conducted by the Japan Association of Overseas Studies (JAOS; Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo), some 64,988 Japanese studied abroad in fiscal 2014 using the services of 36 private businesses [that promote study abroad]. JAOS says the figure for the number of Japanese nationals studying overseas released annually by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology mainly consists of university and graduate school students, and the JAOS figure is the first that includes working holidays as well as study at language schools and elementary and junior high schools overseas. Centered on the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), JAOS is composed mainly of companies that offer study abroad services. To calculate the figure, JAOS tallied the responses of its 36 member companies. “Language school study for less than three months” accounted for about half of the instances of studying abroad, making it the most popular form of overseas education.