Amerasian school student in Okinawa wins official diploma

Japan Policy & Politics, March 27, 2000

NAHA, Japan, March 21 Kyodo

A 15-year-old boy attending the Amerasian School in Okinawa received an official diploma Tuesday from a Japanese school, although the Amerasian school is not recognized by the local board of education.

Ricky Agarijo received the diploma from the Okinawa municipal Misato junior high school after his attendance at the Amerasian School was recognized under a special arrangement as equivalent to studying at a Japanese public junior high school.

"I would like to thank the principal for giving me the diploma," Agarijo said after receiving the certificate from Misato's principal, Soken Nagahama. "I want to study hard at a high school in the United States and then come back to Okinawa."

The Amerasian School in Okinawa is a private school which conducts classes in English, with Japanese-language lessons provided twice a week. Agarijo is the first student from the school to receive an official Japanese diploma.

It was established in June 1998 to deal with the growing incidence of truancy, especially by children whose fathers are U.S. soldiers stationed in Okinawa and whose mothers are Japanese.

There are 36 students aged from 4 to 16 attending the school, but there had been concern that graduates cannot obtain the qualifications to apply to enter Japanese high schools, so the boards of education in Okinawa Prefecture decided to make special arrangements.

Agarijo's case was approved because he met the condition of providing Misato school with periodic reports on his studies.

Agarijo, who was born in Los Angeles to Okinawan parents, said he plans to complete his secondary studies in the U.S. before considering attending a Japanese high school.