School in Japan: free and in Japanese, or international and expensive

Yes, your children can go to school in Japan for free: public primary and lower secondary schools accept foreign children, and tuition and textbooks cost nothing. The price is the language: lessons are in Japanese, and after the nine compulsory years, admission to upper secondary school is by exam. Whoever wants to keep education in English chooses a school for foreign students and pays for it. That choice decides more than the school: it decides which language your child will live in for the coming years.

What does the Japanese school system look like?

Japan works with a 6-3-3-4 system: six years of primary school, three years of lower secondary, three years of upper secondary and four years of university. The school year starts in April. A child starts primary school in the April after their sixth birthday.

Stage	Age	What it costs	How you get in
Childcare, kindergarten, kodomoen	0 to 6	free for three- to five-year-olds	apply via the municipality or the facility
Primary school (shōgakkō)	6 to 12	tuition and textbooks free	via the municipality
Lower secondary (chūgakkō)	12 to 15	tuition and textbooks free	via the municipality
Upper secondary (kōkō)	15 to 18	varies per school; there is a national tuition support fund	entrance exam
School for foreign students	all ages	own fees	directly with the school

For Japanese children, primary and lower secondary school are compulsory. For foreign children it is a right: they are admitted if the parents wish. Some things you do pay for, such as school supplies; if a family cannot afford them, the municipality can help.

How do you enrol your child in a public school?

You tell the municipality that you want to send your child to a Japanese public school. The municipality gives you an enrolment permit for foreign students and assigns a school; you go there with the requested papers. In Tokyo enrolment is possible at any time of the year, so also in the middle of the school year.

The Ministry of Education has an enrolment guide for foreign parents in several languages, including English. In Tokyo you can visit the education consultation centre on Friday afternoons with an interpreter for English, Chinese or Korean, and the city's education office has teaching material to help foreign pupils learn Japanese.

Upper secondary school is not a given. After lower secondary, a pupil must pass an entrance exam to go on to upper secondary. For a child who arrives at twelve or thirteen without Japanese, that is a short run-up. Tokyo has a separate entrance exam and other arrangements for foreign pupils; ask about them early, not in the year of the exam.

What is the alternative: a school for foreign students?

Alongside the Japanese system there are schools aimed exclusively at foreign children, each with its own language, curriculum and onward route. The ministry points out that they differ widely, and that you should choose one that suits your child. Watch the recognition when choosing: whoever wants to continue studying in Japan can do so with a diploma from an accredited international school, with the International Baccalaureate, or after twelve years of education at a school accredited by WASC, CIS or COBIS, among others. Fees are per school; ask for them before you negotiate your salary.

How does care for young children work?

Childcare, kindergarten and the combined kodomoen have been free since 1 October 2019 for all children aged three to five. A daycare centre (hoikujo) is meant for parents who cannot care for their child at home because of work or other reasons, with as a rule eight hours of care a day. Kindergarten (yōchien) is a school from age three with a standard school day of four hours. The kodomoen combines both and is open whether the parents work or not. For primary school children with working parents there are after-school clubs.

What support do you get as a family?

The child allowance (jidō teate) was substantially expanded in October 2024: without an income limit and up to and including upper secondary age.

Age	Per child per month
Under three	¥ 15,000
Three up to and including upper secondary age	¥ 10,000
Third child and beyond	¥ 30,000

You apply at the municipality where you live, within fifteen days of your move. As a rule the allowance starts from the month after your application, and whoever applies late misses the months in between. So do it at your registration with the municipality. For children up to primary school age you pay 20% yourself at the doctor, and many municipalities cover more, sometimes up to the end of upper secondary; see healthcare in Japan.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.6: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Japan or go straight to step 5.6 in the open plan.