The chart below shows the Japanese education system according to age, grade, and available educational facilities.

Children who have their 6th birthday on or before April 1 enter the first grade of elementary school of that year.

School year starts in April and ends in March.

For Japanese nationals, six years at elementary school and three years at junior high school (total nine years) are compulsory. Although foreign nationals are not subject to Japanese compulsory education, they may enter local elementary/junior high schools if they wish. Some public elementary, junior high or high schools have developed an environment to accept foreign nationals and/or Japanese children returning from abroad. Contact the municipal office in the ward (or city, town or village) where you reside for more information.

After graduating from junior high school, children may choose to continue their education to high school and then to university or to find employment.

Elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, technology colleges, junior colleges, universities and graduate schools in Japan are national, public or private institutes.

Special schools are available for physically/mentally-challenged children who may have difficulty in studying at general schools.

For more information, contact the Board of Education of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and/or the municipal office and board of education in the ward (or city, town or village) where you reside.

Since education at elementary school and junior high school is compulsory for Japanese nationals, households with a child who starts school in the coming April receive a notice regarding school enrollment from the municipal office (city hall) of their area of residence by the end of January. After receiving the notice, they should begin necessary preparation for enrollment according to the notice. Non-Japanese nationals living in Japan may not always receive this notice, however, since they are not subject to Japanese compulsory education. If you are a foreign resident and wish to have your child educated at a Japanese public school, you need to apply for permission to enroll your child. If you make an application for permission in advance, you should receive the above notice so that you can take it along with the child's alien registration certificate to the municipal office as part of the necessary paperwork. Public compulsory schools require no tuition fees in principle. Additional expenses such as lunch money may, however, be necessary. Most public elementary/junior high schools require no admission exam.

Several public junior high schools offer evening classes for aged 16 or older living or working in Tokyo, who could not graduate from elementary schools and junior high schools at home. The foreign nationals can enter the schools regardless of previous schooling, without the need to worry so much about tuition fees and other expenses. For more information, contact or the municipal office in the ward (or city, town or village) where you reside and its board of education. Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education: List of local boards of education (Japanese only) Association of Private Elementary Schools in Tokyo: Information of private elementary schools in Tokyo (Japanese only) Association of Private Secondary Schools in Tokyo: Information of private junior high schools & high schools in Tokyo (Japanese only) Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education: Public junior high night schools

Junior high school graduates may continue their education to high school or Technological colleges (kosen), which, however, is not compulsory and therefore requires the passing of an admission exam to enter. High schools generally offer a three-year program, which Evening high schools and correspondence courses offer programs for more them three years. There are several types of high schools.

General academic high school

Specialized high school that targets future employment in a specific job area (such as agricultural high school, industrial high school, commercial high school, etc.)

Technological colleges (kosen) Combined with college-level education, technological colleges in Japan offer a five-year program to students who wish to gain greater technology-related skills. The specialized areas of technological colleges include industry, merchant marine-related studies, electronic/information engineering and aviation (At present, there are no technological colleges in Tokyo for merchant marine-related studies or electronic/information engineering). Graduates of technological colleges go directly into employment or continue their education at university.

Evening classes/correspondence courses Some high schools offer evening classes or home correspondence courses for those who work during the daytime and vice versa, and wish to receive a high school diploma. The classes and courses allow once-truant students and dropouts to learn at his/her own pace.

High school graduates are entitled to take admission exams to junior colleges and universities.

Those who do not hold a high school diploma need to take and pass a qualification test (commonly known as daiken) to be eligible for universities' admission exams. Junior colleges offer a two-year program, while universities offer a four-year program. Junior college/technology college graduates may transfer to a four-year university course as a junior student. University graduates who wish to further study in their specialized area may choose to continue their education to graduate school. Master's programs offered at graduate schools are usually a two-year course.

Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education: Public high school serch (Japanese only) Association of Private Secondary Schools in Tokyo: Information of private junior high schools & high schools in Tokyo (Japanese only) Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Links national, public, and private colleges of technology Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Links national universities Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Links public universities Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Links national, public, and private junior colleges Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Links private universities

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The Open University of Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Information about Certificate for Students Achieving the Proficiency Level of Upper Secondary School Graduates (Japanese only)