Returnee student eligibility for April 2027 junior high exams: five schools' own rules

帰国生 (kikokusei, a returnee) and 国際生 (kokusaisei, an international applicant) are labels on a school's own exam. They are not one national status. A child who qualifies at one school can be outside the rule at the next. The five rules below are copied from each school's April 2027 guidebook. Toho Girls' and Keimei Gakuen's rules are in their own articles, and they do not match this table.

Five returnee rules, side by side

School	What the April 2027 guidebook requires
Shiba Kokusai (Tokyo), returnee exam	All of: Japanese nationality; the family left Japan because a parent was posted abroad; at least one year abroad and no more than three years since return, or still abroad; due to finish primary school, or an equivalent course, in March 2027; the family supports the school's policy.
Mita Kokusai (Tokyo)	Born from 2 Apr 2014 to 1 Apr 2015; due to finish primary school in March 2027, or with equivalent schooling; lived abroad continuously for at least one year because of a parent's transfer or similar, and is within three years of return.
Keio Shonan Fujisawa, returnee exam	Born from 2 Apr 2014 to 1 Apr 2015, and will commute from a parent or guardian. Abroad for a cumulative 1 year and 6 months at any point from 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2027, or a cumulative 3 years from 1 Sep 2020 to 31 Mar 2027.
Yokohama Futaba, girls, returnee exam	A girl due to finish elementary school in March 2027, including a Japanese school abroad. As of March 2027 she has been, or was, continuously enrolled overseas for at least one year because of a parent's transfer. If she is already in Japan, she transferred into a Japanese elementary school from March of grade 3 or later. She is back, with a parent, by the entrance ceremony.
Hosei University Daini (Kawasaki)	Due to finish elementary school in March 2027, or the equivalent year at a school abroad, and a parent's time abroad was at least one year, with the return in March 2024 or later.

Shiba's sentence on nationality and the parent's posting is:

日本国籍を有する者で、保護者の海外への転勤を目的として日本を出国し、海外に在留していた者または現在在留している者。

Keio counts months, and the month you move counts as a whole month. Its worked example: 23 Apr 2026 through 14 Mar 2027 is 1 year and 0 months. A stay you would describe as "almost a year" in days can fall short once the months are added that way.

Gakushuin boys' returnee exam (4 Dec 2026, about 15 places) is another pattern. The child must be of Japanese sixth-grade age. A parent who is a Japanese national was posted abroad. If the child is already back, he entered a Japanese elementary school on or after 1 Jun 2024, and either spent one continuous year abroad counting back from the return or spent two years in total since 1 Jun 2020. If he is still abroad and will return by the end of March 2027, the one continuous year is counted up to the exam day, 4 Dec 2026, or the two years fall between 1 Jun 2020 and that day. The school says this year's lengths are a relaxation because of the coronavirus. The certificate of the stay is in principle from the parent's employer. The parent cannot sign it as the certifier. If you are unsure, the guidebook gives the address bhs-off@gakushuin.ac.jp.

A returnee exam and an international exam are different doors

At Shiba, the February international course does not use the returnee conditions. Its general exam asks that the child be due to finish primary school in March 2027 and that the family support the school's policy. An English-test score, if you have one from April 2025 onward, is sent as reference material for that course. It is not the thing that makes the child eligible.

Mita will not decide eligibility on the phone or by email. You pre-register on the website (by 17:00 on 4 Nov 2026 for the 25 Nov exam, or by 17:00 on 12 Nov 2026 for the 9 Dec exam), post the history form, the school's overseas-stay certificate and the last year of overseas transcripts, and wait for a qualification number. The web application asks for that number. Without it, the application does not proceed.

Hosei asks you to phone its admissions line (044-711-4354) if you are unsure how it counts the year abroad. The stay certificate and a returnee questionnaire are the school's own forms, and the employer writes the certificate.

What it costs

Each of these exams has its own fee, and the guidebook says the fee is not returned: ¥25,000 at Shiba (a second Shiba round, applied for at the same time, is ¥5,000), ¥25,000 at Mita, ¥30,000 at Keio SFC, ¥25,000 at Yokohama Futaba, ¥30,000 a round at Hosei 2, ¥30,000 at Gakushuin boys. A processing fee on the card or the convenience-store payment is extra.

What goes wrong

Families count a single "years abroad" number and apply everywhere. Shiba's returnee exam asks for Japanese nationality and a parent's posting. Keio asks for a cumulative total and does not, in this guidebook, ask for a parent's posting. Futaba asks whether the child was enrolled at school overseas, and whether a child already in Japan came back no earlier than March of grade 3. Mita rejects a near-miss that was only discussed by email, because it will not confirm eligibility that way.

The Tokyo private-school association publishes a principle of its own (at least one year abroad, and a return within three years). A member school can write a different rule. The public combined schools in Tokyo use yet another rule, in the eligibility article for those schools.

What to do now

• Write the dates you left, arrived, and changed school, in months, before you open a form.
• For each target school, read only that school's returnee page. Tick every condition, including nationality and who the child will live with after entry.
• At Mita, pre-register and post the packet. Do not wait for a phone call that the school has said it will not make.
• If the returnee door is closed, check whether that school has a separate international or English exam with its own rule, as Shiba's February international course does.

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