Elementary and junior high schools in Japan
Elementary and junior high schools in Japan are “compulsory education.”
All Japanese children aged 6 to 15 must attend elementary and junior high schools.
Foreign children can also attend Japanese elementary and junior high schools if they wish.
Students study for 6 years in elementary school and 3 years in junior high school.
Tuition and textbooks are free of charge for "public" elementary and junior high schools run by municipalities.
However, there are fees for teaching materials and school lunches (lunch provided by school).
Elementary school
Children who reach 6 years old on or before April 1st are enrolled in elementary school.
Around October of the previous year, "School Enrollment Guidance (shugaku an-nai)" will be sent from your local municipal office for those children.
Let the municipal office know that you would like your child to enroll in Japanese elementary school and take your child to the needed medical checkup.
You will receive a "Notice of Enrollment (nyugaku tsuchisho)," which includes the name of the school your child will be enrolled in and the date and time of the entrance ceremony.
Gather needed school supplies before the entrance ceremony.
Bunkyo Multilingual Support Network: Elementary School Guidebook for Foreign Parents (Easy Japanese, English, and Chinese)
Junior high school
Children who reach 12 years old on or before April 1st are enrolled in junior high school.
Around October of the previous year, "School Enrollment Guidance (shugaku an-nai)" will be sent from your local municipal office for those children.
Let the municipal office know that you would like your child to enroll in Japanese junior high school. (Please inform that your child will attend junior high school even if they attend elementary school in the same town.)
You will receive a "Notice of Enrollment (nyugaku tsuchisho)," which includes the name of the school your child will be enrolled in and the date and time of the entrance ceremony.
Gather needed school supplies before the entrance ceremony.
Most junior high schools have school uniforms.
Ask your school where to buy a uniform.
Enrolling in elementary or junior high school during mid-year
Those foreign children whose ages are between 6 and 15 can enroll in municipal public elementary or junior high schools even in the middle of the school year.
After you have completed your resident registration at your local municipal office, let them know that you wish for your child to be enrolled in the school.
Your child can enroll in school even if it is not April.
A guidebook in 8 languages (English, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian) that describes Japanese elementary and junior high school enrollment procedures and school life is available at the following website:
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology:
Guide for foreign students to start school (Japanese)
Support for children who cannot speak Japanese
There are various systems to support children who cannot speak Japanese, such as support for learning Japanese language, catching up on schoolwork, and interpreting.
Ask your school what support is available.
After-school childcare
"Gakudo Hoiku (after-school childcare)" is a facility that looks after elementary school students whose guardians (those raising children such as fathers, mothers, etc.,) work during after-school hours.
There are adults in after-school daycares who look after the children to make sure they are safe.
During long breaks such as summer break and spring break, there are facilities that take care of children from the morning.
Ask the facility for details such as the time you can leave your child and the service fees.
