Does anyone know about the Toho school that is known to be popular with returnees? Located out near Fuchu maybe 25 minutes out from Shinjuku on the Keio line (Senkawa station?) and then a bit of a walk. I heard they have among other things a really strong music program. Also the elementary school is co-ed, but then it splits into two sex-segregated schools at the junior high level. The boys section is supposed to be pretty high pressure, but the girls side is more outside of the box. The Toho university is a music university, but the Toho high school students are not automatically fed into the university (in other words they don't all go into music but go on to a wide variety of disciplines).

Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School
2-19-59 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153
Tel: 03-3468-6811, Fax: 03-3466-0080

They actually have an entrance examination option in English.
Here is their website (the English section is far from complete):
http://www.kokusai-h.metro.tokyo.jp/

Here are some letters from students who have graduated:
www.kokusai-h.metro.tokyo.jp/english/english_letters_from_grads.htm

Annual fees total about Y200,000
*fully subsidized public school in Japan ends with Junior high school

I am American, my husband Japanese. My son was born in Kyushu and went to school here until jr high. We moved to the US where he went to jr high but he was very unhappy and came back to high school here. He is looking for an intl school
(reasonably priced) The American schools are so expensive. I know Doshisha High school has 2/3 returnees. Any other options? I would think a Japanese public school would be more reasonable. The Tokyo metro high school looks good but no housing. Would appreciate advice. Thanks!

We sent our kids to Keimei Gakuen in Haijima (next to Hachioji), which specializes in returnee children; the school may not be ideal, but it's still very good, IMO. Our kids' first language was/is Japanese, but I spoke only English with them at home, so they were basically fluent already. Keimei's international program furnishes native teachers for languages acquired abroad, to help the kids maintain them. Our kids are now both in US schools (college/high school) and doing well. Keimei goes from elementary to HS, so you don't have to worry about sending kids to juku for entrance exams to the next level, unless you intend on sending them to a J university, and you might not need juku even then, given the way J universities are lowering their standards and making special admissions policies across the board.
The Keimei website is at
http://www.keimei.ac.jp/

Please consider Kikokushijo Academy for your child's English education needs. We have a program designed specifically for returnees and bicultural children. Our teachers are all experienced teachers of returnees, and understand well the unique educational and emotional needs of returnees.
Please visit our website at kikokushijoacademy.com

I am the head of the returnee department at Shibuya Kyoiku Gakuen, a junior and senior high school whose program has become quite popular among returnees. I've done a bit of research in this area, and I can say with confidence that Shibuya's returnee program is about the best you will find, although it is extremely difficult to get in.
I am also the principal of Kikokushijo Academy, an after-school English support school for returnees and bicultural children. Our program is ideal for students who are attending a Japanese school during the day. We offer classes that are almost identical to the classes at the better returnee programs and North American language arts classes, but as our classes are smaller, we can tailor the classes to match the special needs of our students. Please visit our website at kikokushijoacademy.com for more details.

Charles,
I am very interested in Kikokushijo Academy. I looked at your website, but it did not mention ages of students accepted. My son is in third grade, is he too young?
PS-I was very impressed with the essays written on your message board by your students. Could you post more writings by younger students? Thanks,
Sam

Thank you for looking at our website. We teach children from the first grade of elementary school all the way through university. I apologize that the website didn't make the clear--I will try to have that fixed immediately.

Thanks for the compliments on the essays. I'll tell the girls who wrote them. They'll be thrilled.

I will try to get papers from younger students up if their parents don't mind.

By the way, where is your son attending school now? Is it a Japanese school or an international school?

Charles,
Thank you for answering my questions. I am very happy that you accept younger students. I cannot afford international school, so my son is currently enrolled in a Japanese elementary school. I looked for a special English program for my son in public grade school but there was nothing. I know there are many kikokushijo programs in jr. high school, but my son is half (or bi-cultural as you say on your website) would he qualify? I am NOT interested in sending my son to an ekaiwa, it seems a waste of time and money. That is why I am so interested in your school.
To be honest I am also very eager for my son to meet people like him (bi-cultural or kikokushijo) who have more of an international background than that of the average elementary school student. I guess what I am trying to ask is if there is also a social aspect to your school as well as studying? Are there events for students to meet?
What is your background Charles and how did you come up with this great idea?

Sam, your son is eligible to enter some but not all junior high school returnee programs.
Many schools that have an official policy stating that students have to have lived abroad for a number of years are willing to make exceptions for bicultural children and international school students. It's best to visit the schools you're interested in, observe their classes, and try to establish a relationship with the administration of that school. The returnee program I'm involved in, Shibu Shibu, does allow BC Kids as long as they can pass the exam.
I would be perfectly happy to meet you and discuss this further. If you speak Japanese, you could also contact FRIENDS, a Japanese run, non-profit agency that assists parents of returnees. Their website is at: www.ne.jp/asahi/friends/kikoku/

Regarding social events, yes, KA does hold social events for returnees and bicultural children. We're having a bowling party in early march. I will send you or post the details in the coming weeks. These events are open to non-KA students. Please come.

I got the idea for this school while teaching at Shibu Shibu where we had to turn away hundreds of returnees every year. I wanted to make a place for these returnees who would otherwise end up in a regular, at times mind-numbing English class at school. I also have children myself (5 months and 2 and a half), so I felt I had to do something about their English before long. As I spend most of the day at work, my older child is already picking up a lot of Japanese from his mother and only limited English from me, despite my efforts. International pre-schools and international schools are simply over-priced. I cannot afford them on a teacher's salary. When my child is old enough, I plan to place him in my school, where he will be taught by someone other than me. So, that is another reason I opened this school.

I hope I've answered all of your questions. Sorry for the long delay.

Chalres Knudsen

SUNBEAMS English Enhancement class in Fujisawa: This is an afterschool class for returnees and those who show they can pass certain level of English. It is a literature based class where one hour is devoted to discussing, exploring and experiencing various aspects of a monthly book the students are reading. Explorations are cross curricular delving into the vocabulary of maths, geography, etc. One more hour is devoted to comprehension practice, grammar, spelling, and writing. It is perfect for bilingual children with busy parents. We create the base for you to work with your child the rest of the week. Have a look at the website for more information: http://www.gatewayinternational.org/id10.html
or call: 0466-54-5755

Gateway International is a Japan With Kids sponsor.

Kumon English Native Language Programme OPEN HOUSE
WEDNESDAY 19th OCTOBER from 4.15 P.M. to 7 P.M

The English Native Language Programme is an educational programme that aims to develop reading comprehension and self-study skills for children whose first or second language is English. The Programme is used in 17 countries, including the UK and Australia, but is only available in Japan at our Monitor Centre here in Ichigaya. This is a unique opportunity for children with an English speaking parent, children who have lived abroad and children studying at an international school to study the same English programme as those living in English-speaking countries.

Come along with your children to our OPEN HOUSE and learn more about the programme, our Monitor Centre and the Kumon Method of Native Language Study. Try our Diagnostic Test (used to gauge reading comprehension) free of charge, with no obligation to enrol.

For an appointment, write to kumon-chn@kumon.ne.jp or fax us on (03) 5276 7166.

Hi, Norm,
I have heard about Keimei and wanted to know more about this school. First off is this school as expensive as international school? I checked the website but there is no metion of pricing.

Do the kids attending get a good grasp of Japanese (reading/writing, etc.)? Are most of the courses conducted in Japanese?

Any information you could share about this school and your overall feeling about the curriculum would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

http://www.keimei.ed.jp/06jr-gakuhi.htm
This is Keimei Jr. High's tuition. It seems expensive but not as expensive as international schools?
I hear at ICU, half of the students are returnees.
This is the website: http://www.icu-h.ed.jp/index.html
and fees: http://www.icu-h.ed.jp/admin/fee.html

Yikes! Thanks Star for the info!
Looks like Keimei and ICU are out for us.

Keimei ~ 1.0mY (ish, not worrying about details)
ICU ~ 1.1mY

Still comparatively cheap. Note, these are first year fees, including the equivalent of keymoney.
The American schools and the British one are on the order of double that. Then there are the Japanese ones. The NAME schools.

Pricing: Keep in mind that the typical public elementary school in Tokyo is costing the tax payer about 1.9 million yen + per student per year. One could ask oneself the question, is the public school worth that?

In any case "free" public schooling stops at the end of 9th grade in Japan. So start saving now if you want your kids to finish high school!

Additional reading on the topic of child returnees:

Japan's "International Youth": The Emergence of a New Class of School-Children by Roger Goodman ($65usd)

A review of Goodman's book by Merry I. White
Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter, 1992), pp. 250-253
doi:10.2307/132728
This article consists of 4 page(s).

This may apply to some children of bi-cultural marriages as well, since they too may be moved about due to their father or mother's work, and then end up back in Japan.

Without wanting to denounce the figures about the cost of education by the Administrator of the forum, I went out to look for statistics about the cost of education in Japan and found a set of statistics at : http://www.mext.go.jp/english/statist/07070310.htm
the government education ministry website, with a document called "Expenditure of National and Local Governments" that shows an average price of 1.1 Million yen per child. Below is an excerpt of page 4 of that document. Naturally this is a national average and may differ in big cities like Tokyo. Knowing that they have over 30 kids per class, the fully privately funded institutions like the International Schools do not fare too bad to my view.
Excerpt : "Local and national government education expenditures on a per-student basis for students in public schools has been increasing, although expenditures for kindergartens, elementary schools and upper secondary schools dropped in 2003. Upper secondary schools had the highest spending per student in 2003 at 1,120,000 yen per student."

I can believe that. I visited Okinawa for 11 days last March, and the economy there is decidedly at a much lower intensity than the one in Tokyo.

I got my numbers directly from Tokyo's Bunkyo ward office (in Japanese). I'd be interested what Minato-ku reports on this subject.

Japanese list for schools that accept returnees.
http://www.joes.or.jp/g-kokunai/japan/tokyo1.html
and contact for this association.
http://www.joes.or.jp/info/english.html

hope it helps!

GREGG INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
AFTERNOON SCHOOL
EXPERT CLASS for RETURNEES
For selected students only
4:30-6:00pm weekdays
We have classes for Grade 1 to 4.
Using American Textbooks.
Please Call 03-3725-8000
for more information
Ask for a Trial Lesson.
Near Jiyugaoka Station on Toyoko Line

GREGG INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
AFTERNOON SCHOOL
EXPERT CLASS for RETURNEES
For selected students only
4:30-6:00pm weekdays
We have classes for Grade 1 to 4.
Using American Textbooks.
Please Call 03-3725-8000
for more information
Ask for a Trial Lesson.
Near Jiyugaoka Station on Toyoko Line

Monitor Centre - Kumon English Native Language Programme

Please note that we have closed our old email address (kumon-chn@kumon.ne.jp). Should you wish to contact us, please fax us on (03) 5276 7166.

Due to the special circumstances under which our Monitor Centre operates (the English Native Language Programme is not available in the Kumon study centres in Japan), we have a strict limit on the number of students we can enrol.
The Monitor Centre is running at full capacity with a long waiting list of interested students. It may take more than three to four years before a place becomes available. As a result we have changed our waiting list admissions guidelines to the following: (1) A child must be attending an English-speaking kindergarten or school (full-time / five days a week) or (2) a childfs first language at home must be English.
Thank you for your understanding.