Foreign Primary and Secondary Schools

Author: Edutraveller
Date written: 04/18/2003 11:29:30 AM
Last edited: 2003/05/04 12:44:04
Keywords: Foreign schools, Secondary schools, Japanese schools, Japanese education, Education system in Japan

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Foreign schools

There is a large expatriate community in Japan, largely located in Tokyo but also in other major metropolitan centres around the country such as Osaka, Fukuoka, Hiroshima and so on. Children of expatriate families often attend schools that teach in English, German and other languages rather than in Japanese; sometimes local Japanese families also send their children to such schools creating a unique and international environment.

Naturally, students and parents have the greatest choice in Tokyo, where the largest concentration of demand has led to the greatest concentration of international schools. Some of these institutions were founded many years ago, the oldest in 1902, and standards are generally very high.

The educational system followed varies from school to school, depending on the provenance of each. Most were founded to provide education for the children of a particular expatriate group, hence the British School, the American School, and so on. These days, however, students tend to be from many different nationalities, although the basic educational ethos is usually still based on that of the parent country.

Other schools

It is also possible for foreign children to enter Japanese State schools free of charge. Education will be in Japanese, and children will be allocated to a school by catchment area. Costs are the same that Japanese parents pay (uniform, materials, etc.) and class is decided by age, not ability or language level. Some schools may provide language assistance, but generally the local city council or "shiyakusho" ("kuyakusho" in Tokyo) will provide very cheap or free language lessons for foreigners.

The biggest barrier to getting a good education will of course be the language, but parents can remain assured that their children will learn to communicate quickly and rapidly speak Japanese (embarrassingly) better than they will themselves.

A database of Japanese International Schools is under construction.

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