Nihonjin gakkō
Nihonjin gakkō, also called Japanese school, is a full-day school outside Japan intended primarily for Japanese citizens living abroad. It is an expatriate school designed for children whose parents are working on diplomatic, business, or education missions overseas and have plans to repatriate to Japan.
The schools offer exactly the same curriculum used in public elementary and junior high schools in Japan, so when the students go back to Japan, they will not fall behind in the class. Some schools accept Japanese citizens only; others welcome Japanese speaking students regardless of citizenship.
They are accredited by Japan's Ministry of education and science and receive funding from the Japanese government. There were 85 schools worldwide as of April 2006, and all of these schools provide English classes in the primary education.
Every school hires teachers from Japan on a two- to three-year assignment, but they also hire people from the local community as Japanese-speaking teachers, English and other language instructors, administrative assistants, gardeners, janitors and security guards.
Nihonjin gakkō serve elementary school and junior high school. One nihonjin gakkō, Shanghai Japanese School, has a senior high school program.
Schools that partially offer the nihonjin gakkō's curriculum after school hours or on weekends are sometimes called Japanese Schools, too, but strictly speaking they are categorized as hoshū jugyō kō or hoshūkō, a supplementary school.
History
Some of the nihonjin gakkō in Asia have a long history, originally established as public schools in the Japan-occupied territories in Thailand, Philippines, and Taiwan.As Japan recovered after World War II, increased numbers of Japanese international schools serving elementary and junior high school levels opened around the world. The first postwar Japanese overseas school was the Japanese School of Bangkok, which opened in 1956.
The Ministry of Education of Japan, as of 1985, encouraged the development of nihonjin gakkō, in developing countries, while it encouraged the opening of hoshū jugyō kō, or part-time supplementary schools, in developed countries. However, some Japanese parents in developed countries, in addition to those in developing countries, campaigned for the opening of nihonjin gakkō in developed countries due to concern about the education of their children.
In 1971, there were 22 nihonjin gakkō worldwide. During the postwar rapid economic growth in 1950s to early 1970s and Japanese asset price bubble in 1980s, the country gained economic power and many sogo shoshas and major industries sent their employees all over the world. That was when many nihonjin gakko were established to educate their children in Asia, Europe, Middle East, North, Central and South America. The number of nihonjin gakkō increased to 80 in 1986 with the opening of Japanese schools in Barcelona and Melbourne. As of May of that year 968 teachers originating in Japan were teaching at these Japanese schools worldwide. That month 15,811 students were enrolled in those schools. The number of nihonjin gakkō increased to 82 by 1987.
In the early 1980s, 40% of Japanese national children living in Europe attended nihonjin gakkō, while almost 95% of Japanese national children living abroad in Asia attended nihonjin gakkō.
Many Japanese parents abroad sent their children to Japan to attend high school after they completed the junior high school abroad, or leaving the children behind, so they could become accustomed to the difficult Japanese university entrance systems. Toshio Iwasaki, the editor of the Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry, stated that this reason inhibited the development of Japanese senior high schools in other countries. The first overseas international schools that served the senior high school level were the Rikkyo School in England, gaining senior high school level classes after 1975, and the Lycée Seijo in France, which opened in 1986. By 1991 Japanese international senior high schools were in operation in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Denmark, and Ireland.
By 1991 many overseas Japanese high schools were accepting students who were resident in Japan, and some wealthier families in Japan chose to send their children to Japanese schools abroad instead of Japanese schools in Japan.
While Japan was experiencing a major recession called the Lost Decade in the 1990s, so were nihonjin gakkō. Many of them were closed due to a dramatic decrease in enrollment.
With its rapidly growing economy, China is an exception. Schools in Beijing, Shanghai and have been expanding and new schools had founded in Dalian, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Qingdao, Suzhou since 1991.
By 2004 there were 83 Japanese day schools in 50 countries.
Characteristics
Nihonjin gakkō use Japanese as their language of instruction. The curriculum is approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology so that students may easily adjust upon returning to Japan. For foreign language classes, each school usually teaches English and, if different, a major local language of the country. Most nihonjin gakkō do not admit people lacking Japanese citizenship. This practice differs from those of American and British international schools, which do admit students of other nationalities. Nihonjin gakkō usually use the Japanese academic calendar instead of those of their host countries.Tendencies
As of 2005-2007, parents of Japanese nationality residing in the United States and Europe, as well as other industrialized and developed regions, generally prefer local schools over nihonjin gakkō, while Japanese parents in Asia and the Middle East prefer nihonjin gakkō.In 2003 11,579 Japanese students living in Asia attended full-time Japanese schools, making up more than 70% of the Japanese students in Asia. In Oceania, 194 Japanese pupils attended full-time Japanese schools, making up 7.7% of the total Japanese students in Oceania. In North America there were 502 students at full-time Japanese schools, making up 2.4% of Japanese pupils on that continent. As of 2007, there were a total of three nihonjin gakkō on the U.S. mainland recognized by MEXT.
Since the early 1990s, more parents have chosen a local school or an international school over nihonjin gakkō. Reasons include:
- The parents prefer for their children to receive education in English;
- Nihonjin gakkō have only elementary and middle schools, grades first through ninth, which are mandatory in Japan. Some schools offer a kindergarten program as well as a high school program, but they are uncommon. Children educated in an English-speaking environment will be able to continue their education where they live with their parents. Those who choose not to participate in the local education system will need to pass an entrance exam to enroll in a boarding school in Japan or one of the seven Shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu, Japanese boarding schools worldwide.
- The parents' desire to acculturate their children;
- Many private and public Japanese schools have become flexible and accept expatriate students via a separate admissions system, or by offering exams in English.
Locations
- Those with a large Japanese temporary resident population, such as London or New York City.
- Those where English is not the official language, such as Düsseldorf, São Paulo, Mexico City, Lima, Dubai, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur.
Map
Asia (except the Middle East)
- Bangladesh
- * Japanese School Dhaka
- Cambodia
- * Japanese School of Phnom Penh - Sen Sok Section, Established in 2015
- Mainland China
- * Beijing Japanese School
- * Dalian Japanese School
- * Guangzhou Japanese School
- * Hangzhou Japanese School
- * Qingdao Japanese School
- * Shanghai Japanese School
- * Shenzhen Japanese School
- * Suzhou Japanese School
- * Tianjin Japanese School
- Hong Kong
- * Hong Kong Japanese School
- India
- * Japanese School of Mumbai
- * Japanese School New Delhi
- Indonesia
- * Bandung Japanese School
- * Jakarta Japanese School
- * Surabaya Japanese School
- Malaysia
- * The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur
- * The Japanese School of Johor
- * Kota Kinabalu Japanese School
- * Penang Japanese School
- Myanmar
- * Yangon Japanese School
- Pakistan
- * Islamabad Japanese School
- * Karachi Japanese School
- Philippines
- * Manila Japanese School
- Republic of China
- * Kaohsiung Japanese School
- * Taichung Japanese School
- * Taipei Japanese School
- Singapore
- * The Japanese School in Singapore
- * Other schools catering to Japanese are Waseda Shibuya Senior High School in Singapore — a Shiritsu zaigai kyoiku shisetsu or overseas branch of a Japanese private school.
- South Korea
- * Busan Japanese School
- * Japanese School in Seoul
- Sri Lanka
- * Japanese School in Colombo
- Thailand
- * Thai-Japanese Association School
- * Thai-Japanese Association School Sriracha
- Vietnam
- * The Japanese School of Hanoi
- * The Japanese School in Ho Chi Minh City
Middle East (not including Africa)
- Bahrain
- * The Japanese School in Bahrain
- Egypt
- * See Africa
- Iran
- * Japanese School in Tehran
- Qatar
- * The Japan School of Doha
- Saudi Arabia
- * Jeddah Japanese School
- * Riyadh Japanese School
- Turkey
- * Istanbul Japanese School
- United Arab Emirates
- * Japanese School in Abu Dhabi
- * Japanese School in Dubai
North America
- Mexico
- * Escuela Japonesa de Aguascalientes
- * Liceo Mexicano Japonés Seccion Japonesa
- United States
- * The Japanese School of Guam
- * Chicago Futabakai Japanese School
- * The New Jersey Japanese School
- * The Greenwich Japanese School, the Japanese School of New York
Central and South America
- Argentina
- * Asociación Cultural y Educativa Japonesa
- Brazil
- * Escola Japonesa de Manaus
- * Escola Japonesa de São Paulo
- * Sociedade Civil de Divulgação Cultural e Educacional Japonesa do Rio de Janeiro
- Chile
- * Instituto de Enseñanza Japonesa - Lo Barnechea, Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region
- Colombia
- * Asociación Cultural Japonesa
- Costa Rica
- * Escuela Japonesa de San José - Moravia, San José Province
- Guatemala
- * Escuela Japonesa en Guatemala
- Panama
- * Escuela Japonesa de Panamá
- Paraguay
- * Colegio Japones en Asunción
- Peru
- * Asociación "Academia de Cultura Japonesa"
- Venezuela
- * Colegio Japonés de Caracas - Sucre Municipality, Miranda
Europe
- Austria
- * Japanische Schule in Wien
- Belgium
- * The Japanese School of Brussels
- Czech Republic
- * Japanese School in Prague
- France
- * Institut Culturel Franco-Japonais
- Germany
- * Japanische International Schule Frankfurt am Main e.V.
- * Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf e.V.
- * Japanische Internationale Schule Munich e.V.
- * Japanische Internationale Schule zu Berlin e.V.
- * Japanische Schule in Hamburg e.V.
- Hungary
- * The Budapest Japanese School
- Italy
- * Scuola Giapponese di Milano - Milan
- * Scuola Giapponese di Roma - Rome
- Netherlands
- * The Japanese School of Amsterdam
- * The Japanese School of Rotterdam
- Poland
- * Japanese School in Warsaw
- Romania
- * Scoala Japoneza Bucuresti
- Russia
- * Japanese School in Moscow
- Spain
- * Japanese School of Barcelona
- * Colegio Japones de Madrid
- Switzerland
- * Japanische Schule in Zürich
- Turkey
- * See Middle East
- United Kingdom
- *Teikyo School United Kingdom
- *Rikkyo School in England
- * The Japanese School in London
Africa
- Egypt
- * Cairo Japanese School
- Kenya
- * The Nairobi Japanese School
- South Africa
- * The Japanese School of Johannesburg
Oceania
- Australia
- * The Japanese School in Perth
- * The Japanese School of Melbourne
- * Sydney Japanese School
- Guam
- * See North America
Former locations
- Algeria
- * École japonaise d'Alger - Algiers - Designated on January 11, 1978, certified on January 12, 1994, revoked March 29, 2002
- Nigeria
- * Lagos Japanese School - Designated and certified on March 1, 1975, revoked March 29, 2002
- India
- * Calcutta Japanese School - Designated on March 30, 1976, certified on December 18, 1992, revoked March 29, 2002.
- Indonesia
- * Medan Japanese International School or Medan Japanese School
- ** It was affiliated with the Japanese Consulate General in Medan, and occupied a building on a property. It originated as a supplementary school in the consulate's library that opened in April 1972. A committee to establish a new day school was created in 1978, and in January 1979 the school remodeled an existing building for this purpose. The school opened in April 1979. It closed in March 1998.
- Iraq
- * Baghdad Japanese School
- Kuwait
- * Kuwait Japanese School
- Lebanon
- * Beirut Japanese School - Designated February 10, 1972, revoked March 29, 2002
- Turkey
- * Ankara Japanese School, under the name Japanese Embassy Study Group - Opened April 1, 1979,
- Greece
- * Japanese Community School of Athens - Closed March 2007
- Spain
- * Colegio Japonés de Las Palmas - Opened in October 1973, closed in March 2001,
- Former Yugoslavia
- * Belgrade Japanese School
- Brazil
- * Escola Japonesa de Belém - Designated on February 25, 1977, Certified on December 18, 1992, revoked March 29, 2002.
- * Escola Japonesa de Belo Horizonte, a.k.a. Instituto Cultural Mokuyoo-Kai Sociedade Civil - Santa Amélia, Paumplha, Belo Horizonte - Designated on February 6, 1982, Certified on December 18, 1992, revoked March 29, 2002.
- * Escola Japonesa de Vitória - Designated February 10, 1981, Certified December 18, 1992, revoked March 29, 2002
- Ecuador
- * Colegio Japonés de Quito - Closed in 2003