Thousands of Japanese children in Tokyo are skipping the traditional school system — and heading instead to international classrooms where lessons are in foreign languages and curriculums are flexible.
These schools aren’t part of Japan’s official education system, and they come with steep tuition fees, but their popularity is rising. In Tokyo’s central 23 wards, more than 4,800 Japanese children are enrolled in one.
A legal grey zone
In Japan, both public and private schools are required to follow a national education curriculum and are eligible for public subsidies.
But only a small number of international schools are officially recognized by the education ministry, and students who attend unaccredited schools are not always considered to have completed elementary or junior high school under Japanese law.
Parents who choose to send their children to unaccredited schools face fines for violating the education law. In practice, however, enforcement is left to local governments and varies by jurisdiction.
Tuition is expensive, too, usually ranging from around 1 to 3 million yen (7,000 to 21,000 dollars). If the schooling includes a boarding program, the fees can soar to nearly 10 million yen (around 70,000 dollars).
One school’s approach
The Aoba-Japan International School in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward is seeing a quiet shift. Its students, aged 3 to 15, come from a range of cultural backgrounds, but these days about half of them have Japanese nationality.
A classroom in one of Tokyo’s international schools
Classes are small by Japan standards — just 20 students to a room — and there are no textbooks. Instead, students follow a globally recognized curriculum designed to prepare them for admission to universities overseas.
Each class has two teachers — a setup that reflects the focus on discussion-based, student-centered learning, in sharp contrast to the standardized methods of Japan’s national education system.
An international school lesson often involves active discussion.
Shibata Iwao, chairman of the school’s board, says it costs a lot to provide that level of education, especially without public funding, but he believes Japanese parents are willing to pay for it to give their children a stronger footing in the world.
“I think young Japanese parents have a growing desire for their children to become globally active,” he says. “And I believe that the need for an international education is steadily increasing.”
Shibata Iwao, chair of the Aoba-Japan International School board, says changing times demand a different kind of education.
Parents weigh opportunities and risks
In interviews, many parents cited the growing importance of English communication and leadership skills as a reason to send their children to an international school.
Some said they see such schools as a better pathway to overseas universities. Others expressed concerns about Japan’s public school environment, including the highly competitive entrance exams.
For some, international schools offer an alternative that prioritizes creativity and collaboration over rote memorization and standardized testing.
One mother, who has two daughters in an international school in Tokyo, says she’s seen them develop confidence through group work and presentations.
Still, she admits to some worries.
“We won’t know until we get there,” she says. “But if they finish elementary school at an international school, they might face restrictions when trying to enter a junior high or high school in Japan.”
“A system in decline”
Professor Okamoto Tomochika says the burgeoning demand for international schools could exacerbate a decline in public education.
Professor Okamoto Tomochika of Waseda University is an expert in educational sociology. He sees the increasing popularity of international schools as a sign of a “weakening” of Japanese public education, as dissatisfied parents seek alternatives they perceive as higher quality.
But while he supports the idea of educational diversity, he warns that if more families with the means and motivation continue to opt out of the public system, it will only accelerate the decline.
Okamoto says one problem is that the Japanese government has little idea of what is happening outside the public education framework. He urged leaders to examine how to strengthen and revitalize the public system in response to the changing demands.
AloJapan.com