Education and Schools in Tokyo

Most expats send their children to international schools in Tokyo. While this is an expensive option (it can cost around 2 million yen per child per year), it does mean that your child’s education will not be interrupted.

Parents of very young children might consider sending their children to local Japanese schools, which are free even for foreign children. The advantages are that your child will learn Japanese and will integrate into local society more, but this is not a good option if you are not planning to live in Japan long-term.

The Japanese school system has a well-deserved reputation for being strenuous and you might find the pressure placed on young children to perform a bit daunting. If you factor in after-school activities and near-obligatory lessons at jukus (cram schools) your child could face a 12-hour day, with homework still waiting to be done later.

 

Schools follow the northern hemisphere academic year with the longest break in August – although for Japanese children regular school is often simply replaced with all-day juku. International schools in Tokyo offer a wide range of programmes, as well as tuition fees, from those aligned to US or British curricula to integrative approaches which combine Japanese and international educational models. Most international schools follow the northern hemisphere academic year with a 7 to 8 hour day, generally from 8 am to  3 or 4 pm.