Getting an education in Tokyo; from kindergarten to college, the opportunities for an English-language education in Tokyo have never been better. But how do you make the right choice? - International Education

Japan, Inc., Jan, 2004 by John Dodd

Some within the academic community are fighting for better recognition of the important contribution foreign schools are making to Japanese society. Temple University's Dean Kirk Patterson comments: "We, like other schools, suffer from various limitations due to not being a Japanese university per the regulations of MEXT. Were we to become one, we would lose the freedom of being able to offer a US-style curriculum--which of course would defeat our purpose for existence. One possible approach is our Special Economic Zone (tokku) proposal to the government, to accord accredited foreign universities [and presumably K-12 international schools] Japanese branch campuses with the same treatment as Japanese universities--thus removing the discriminatory treatment we now experience."

While the procurement of funding is a problem, it is fortunate this difficulty doesn't seem to be holding back new schools from starting up on a regular basis--creating more varied niches for foreign parents to choose from. As a result, the quality of English-language-based education continues to improve, and more families are able to access a foreign education of their choice--even for those children who are returnees of are from local international marriages, where the parents may not be on an expat salary.

DIRECTORY

When calling from outside Japan please dial the country code (81) first, then 3 for Tokyo (omitting the 0), followed by the number.

The American School in Japan

ASIJ (Chofu Campus) 0422-34-5300 ext. 721 Fax: 0422-34-5308 1-1-1 Nomizu, Chofu-shi, Tokyo 182-0031

Early Learning Center 03-5771-4344 6-16-5 Roppongi Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032 wwww.asij.ac.jp Contact person(s): Laura Lyons, ASIJ Judy Beneventi, ELC enroll@asij.ac.jp ASIJ provides an independent US-style, college preparatory education for boys and girls age 3 to grade 12. In addition to ASIJ's spacious main campus our new Early Learning Center is now open in Roppongi.

The British School in Tokyo

03-5467-4321 Fax: 03-5467-4322 1-21-18 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002 www.bst.ac.jp admissions@bst.ac.jp BST is the only British School in Japan. We offer the programmes of study of the National Curriculum of England (2000) within the wonderfully diverse and rich cultural and physical context of Japan and East Asia. The learning opportunities are endless and our pupils benefit from a truly unique and memorable educational experience, using the most current teaching techniques.

International Secondary School (ISS)

03-3710-1331 Fax: 03-3710-1319 3-18-16 Meguro Honcho Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-0002 www.isstokyo.com Contact person: Allan Tsudaiss@isstokyo.com ISS will be MOVING to a bigger and better location at 4-1726 Mita, Minato-ku in April 2004, a 10-minute walk from Shirokane Takanawa Station on the Namboku Line. Open House is in planning. Stay tuned!

K. International School Tokyo

English 03-5632-8714 Japanese 03-5632-8711 Fax: 03-5632-8715 www.kist.ed.jp Contact person: Rob Whittaker info@kist.ed.jp K. International School Tokyo founded in 1997 is a private, co-educational, secular day school pre-K to G12 with some 300 students representing 40 nationalities and is authorized to offer the IB PYP and MYP programs.