Nihonjin gakkō ( 日本人学校 , lit. School for Japanese people ) , 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.
23-514: The Hong Kong Japanese School and Japanese International School ( HKJS&JIS ) is a Japanese international school in Hong Kong . It consists of a Japanese section and international section. The Hong Kong Japanese School Limited operates the school system. The Japanese primary and secondary school sections are in a campus located along Blue Pool Road , in Happy Valley . The international school
46-861: A local school or an international school over nihonjin gakkō . Reasons include: Nihonjin gakkō tend to be in the following types of areas in the world: As of October 2006: Africa: Asia (excluding Middle East): Middle East (excluding Africa): Europe: South America: (in Japanese) Shanghai Japanese School The Shanghai Japanese School ( SJS ) is a Japanese international school serving primary and junior high school levels in Shanghai . It has two campuses, one in Hongqiao and one in Pudong . The school's teachers are Japanese citizens. The school also has
69-788: A new school for an international section. The international school in Tai Po opened in 1997. The funds used to build the campus came from a grant issued by the Hong Kong government. In April 2018 the junior high school moved to the Happy Valley campus. The Japanese division uses the Japanese school calendar and curriculum while the English-medium international division uses Hong Kong's school calendar. The international division has students who will reside in Hong Kong and/or otherwise reside outside of Japan in
92-502: A senior high school component. As of 2020 the principal of the Pudong campus is Naoto Sashida(?) ( 佐次田 直人 , Sashida Naoto ) (?), and the principal of the Hongqiao campus is Kenji Fujihara ( 藤原 鎌次 , Fujihara Kenji ) . In April 1987, the school was founded as The Japanese Government General Consulate of Shanghai, Shanghai Japanese School . The school has since changed its name to
115-465: 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. Overseas Japanese schools operated by private educational institutions are not classified as nihonjin gakkō, but instead as Shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu [ ja ] . Some of
138-602: Is Misato Kitanaka ( 北中 美郷 , Kitanaka Misato ) , and the principal of the international section is Joshua Blue, replacing Simon Walton, who retired in 2022. A school for Japanese children opened in 1946, with eight people employed to teach. South China Morning Post stated the initial enrollment was 70. According to the HKJS website, it was established in May 1966 ( Showa 41), and opened on 10 May of that year. According to Vivienne Poy , her father, Richard Charles Lee , helped facilitate
161-577: Is approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) 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
184-600: Is in Tai Po . The Tai Po campus opened in 1997. The Japanese secondary school was previously located in Braemar Hill , North Point . As of 2020 the principal of the secondary section is Osamu Kobayashi ( 小林 修 , Kobayashi Osamu ) , the principal of the Hong Kong Island Japanese elementary school is Yoshitaka Yamazaki ( 山崎秀哲 , Yamazaki Yoshitaka ) , the principal of the Tai Po Japanese elementary school
207-591: 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
230-916: 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
253-474: The Senkaku Islands /Diaoyu Islands did activities outside of the Happy Valley school, as part of the Senkaku Islands dispute . Principal Akihiro Kaku argued that the consulate general would have been a more appropriate protest area, not the school. The Hong Kong Post characterized the incident as an attack against the school. In 1994 the school system asked the Hong Kong government for permission to build
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#1733085429195276-718: 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
299-496: The postwar rapid economic growth in the 1950s to early 1970s and the Japanese asset price bubble in the 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
322-538: The Japanese academic calendar instead of those of their host countries. 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 (outside Japan) attended full-time Japanese schools, making up more than 70% of
345-484: 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
368-732: The current Shanghai Japanese School . The high school opened in 2011 ( Heisei 23). The Pudong campus (Japanese and Traditional Chinese: 浦東校, Simplified Chinese: 浦东校, Hepburn: Hotō/Pūton Kō, Pinyin: Pǔdōng Xiào), with 4,643 square metres (49,980 sq ft) of space, has 71 teachers and serves 1,079 students in the elementary and junior high school levels. The Hongqiao campus (Japanese and Traditional Chinese: 虹橋校, Simplified Chinese: 虹桥校, Hepburn: Honchao Kō, Pinyin: Hóngqiáo Xiào) in Minhang District , with 8,727 square metres (93,940 sq ft) of space, has 61 teachers and 1,340 students in elementary school. The SJS Senior High School
391-467: 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
414-405: The establishment of the school. It opened because the government of Japan dedicated a subsidiary budget for it. The initial enrollment was 70, and the initial principal was Ichiro Fujita ( 藤田 一郎 , Fujita Ichirō ) . The initial location was floors two and three of Tower Court (崇明大廈). Its official opening ceremony was on 15 October. At the time it covered only primary grades, and its enrollment
437-467: 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
460-523: The long run. (in Japanese) Nihonjin gakko 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
483-678: The opening of Japanese schools in Barcelona and Melbourne . As of May of that year 968 teachers from 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
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#1733085429195506-612: Was 84. Additional space in the Ling Ying Building (嶺英商場) was used, beginning in April 1971, for kindergarten and primary school classes. The current Japanese section elementary campus opened on 24 January 1976. On 23 October 1982 the Japanese section junior high campus opened. Beginning circa 1994 the school engaged in exchange programmes with Hong Kong schools for children from Hong Kong and with other international schools in Hong Kong and Macau. In 1996 protesters against Japanese claims on
529-692: 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 Hong Kong 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. Nihonjin gakkō use Japanese as their language of instruction. The curriculum
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