高校受験 (kōkō juken) for foreign families in Japan外国から来た家族の高校受験
Almost every child in Japan sits a high-school selection at the end of junior high. Here is how marks and exams combine, when each round happens, what it costs, and the routes for children who arrived recently.
Who: junior high year 1 to junior high year 3
What it is
Tokyo's Board of Education has published the rules for entering a metropolitan high school (都立高校, toritsu kōkō) in April 2027. In the main February round (学力検査に基づく選抜 第一次募集, the selection based on a written exam, first recruitment), a student's total is built from three parts: the written exam, report-card points sent by the junior high school (調査書点, chōsasho-ten, which families call 内申, naishin), and an English speaking test.
Dates and deadlines
From the rules this site's timelines run on. Your child's own dates, by birth date, are on their path page.
Report-card marks start to matter (内申, naishin) 内申（調査書）
to Approximate
The usual dates each year
High-school admission reads the school report (調査書, chōsasho). Tokyo metropolitan schools count grade-9 marks, with the four non-exam subjects doubled; Kanagawa public schools count grades 8 and 9, grade 9 doubled. Attendance for all three years is on it.
Source: 公立高校入学者選抜制度の概要
Career-path meeting (進路面談, shinro mendan) for high school 進路面談（三者面談）
to Approximate
The usual dates each year
In the autumn of grade 9 the homeroom teacher meets you and your child to settle which high schools to apply to. Private high schools start pre-admission consultations (入試相談) with junior highs on December 15, so the list must be ready before that.
Source: 令和９年度高等学校就学計画について
Tokyo metropolitan high school recommendation round (都立推薦, suisen) 都立高校 推薦入試
to
Exam day:
Published dates for school year 2026
The recommendation round uses the school report, an interview and an essay or practical test, with no academic exam. Applications close in mid-January; tests are in late January.
Source: 令和９年度東京都立高等学校入学者選抜の日程について
Tokyo metropolitan high school general exam (都立一般, ippan) 都立高校 一般入試（第一次・分割前期）
to
Exam day:
Published dates for school year 2026
The main round for Tokyo's public high schools: an academic test in five subjects plus the grade-9 school report. Applications close in early February; the test is in late February.
Source: 令和９年度東京都立高等学校入学者選抜の日程について
Kanagawa public high school exam (共通選抜, kyōtsū senbatsu) 神奈川県公立高校 共通選抜
to
Exam day:
Published dates for school year 2026
Kanagawa's single main round for public high schools: applications in late January, the common test in mid-February, and the grade-8 and grade-9 school reports.
What it costs
Published figures only, each with its source. An average is not a bill.
- Juku and extra study over 3 years of public junior high: ¥814,584
- The final year alone: ¥390,000
Source: 中学生にかかる教育費はどれくらい？
Read: V-mogi (Vもぎ) mock exam for Tokyo-area high school entrance: what it costs and what the result is not
- High school (full-time), all 3 years: ¥1,784,895 at public schools, ¥3,521,361 at private schools
- Average spent per child, school costs and spending outside school together, from the Ministry of Education's survey of children's learning costs for fiscal 2023.
Source: 令和5年度子供の学習費調査 調査結果の概要（文部科学省、令和8年1月16日差替）表9
Read: What parents paid from kindergarten through high school: the fiscal 2023 survey
Free tools
- Route budget, to university
Kindergarten through high school from the ministry survey, then the national university fee standard.
- What juken really costs
Juku fees and junior-high fees for your route, compared with the other routes. Published figures, each with its source.
- Your child's path, by birth date
Which school year your child is in, and every window and exam date from hoikuen to high school.
Every guide for this step
19 guides, grouped by topic. Each one is checked against an official Japanese source.
Foreign students, returnees and late arrivals
- After high school, a child on Dependent status who wants to work: what the immigration page actually says
- April 2027: the IB course at Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School, and a returnee transfer at a national secondary school
- Kanagawa's April 2027 selection for foreign nationals who have been in Japan six years or less
- Night junior high when a child is already 15 and has not finished compulsory school
- Tokyo public high schools: the April 2027 selection for students who arrived in Japan recently
Private high schools
- Kanagawa private high schools: the exam pattern beside the public date, and what the prefecture pays toward fees
- Tokyo private high schools: first-choice recommendation, 併願優遇, and the December consultation
- Tokyo private high schools: national support plus Tokyo's top-up, and which residence statuses qualify
- Tokyo private high schools: the general exam window, and what the first year cost in fiscal 2026
Report cards (内申, naishin), mock exams and juku
- Junior high in Tokyo: regular tests, the report card, clubs, and the three-way meeting
- Kanagawa public high schools, April 2027: the common selection, the report, and the fees
- Tokyo public high schools, April 2027 entry: how report-card points and the exam add up
- V-mogi (Vもぎ) mock exam for Tokyo-area high school entrance: what it costs and what the result is not
Fees and tuition support
Public high school rounds
Part-time, correspondence and the equivalency exam
People also search
What parents type into Google or ask ChatGPT about this step, and the page on this site that answers it.
In English
Questions parents ask
When is the Tokyo metropolitan high school exam for entry?
Applications run to ; the general exam is on .
Source: 令和９年度東京都立高等学校入学者選抜の日程について
When is the recommendation round (推薦) for Tokyo metropolitan high schools?
For entry, applications run to and the tests start on .
Source: 令和９年度東京都立高等学校入学者選抜の日程について
When is the Kanagawa public high school exam (共通選抜)?
For entry, applications run to and the common test is on .
What is naishin (内申)?
The number a Tokyo public high school later reads is not a single Friday test. It is the junior high's 評定 (hyōtei, the subject grade on a scale of 5 to 1). Families call the set of those grades 内申 (naishin).
Is there a separate high-school selection for foreign students in Tokyo?
Tokyo's metropolitan high schools run a separate selection for students who need Japanese-language support (在京外国人生徒等対象の選抜, zaikyō gaikokujin seito tō taishō no senbatsu, selection for foreign students living in Tokyo). The tests are a composition and an interview, and the student may choose Japanese or English for each.
How do private high schools in Tokyo admit students?
Tokyo's association of private junior and senior high schools (東京私立中学高等学校協会) explains the two ways most private high schools in Tokyo admit students: a recommendation exam (推薦入試, suisen nyūshi) and a general exam (一般入試, ippan nyūshi).
Is there help with high-school tuition?
Japan's high-school tuition support (高等学校等就学支援金, kōtō gakkōtō shūgaku shienkin) is not paid unless someone applies.
How much do high school, and the juku before it, cost?
Juku and extra study over 3 years of public junior high come to ¥814,584, with ¥390,000 in the final year alone. High school then cost families ¥1,784,895 over 3 years at a public school and ¥3,521,361 at a private one (fiscal 2023 survey).
Source: 中学生にかかる教育費はどれくらい？令和5年度子供の学習費調査 調査結果の概要（文部科学省、令和8年1月16日差替）表9
The other steps
- Before this step: Chūgaku juken (junior-high entrance)
- After this step: University entry (daigaku juken)
- Every step, from hoikuen to university
What to do next
- Find your child's path: the free juken check
Free, no sign-in. The route that fits, what it costs and the deadlines on the way.
- See the season pass
Verified dates and fees for every school, a reminder before each deadline, unlimited questions.