International and foreign schools in Japan: 一条校, 各種学校 or neither, and what the status means for your child
インターナショナルスクール・外国人学校の法的な位置づけ（一条校・各種学校・無認可）
- Applies to
- All of Japan
- Source last checked
- , Open the Japanese source
- Official source
- 大学入学資格について（文部科学省、2024年6月時点）
Every school in Japan has one of three legal statuses, and the status decides what your child can do afterwards. A 一条校 (ichijōkō) is a school listed in Article 1 of the School Education Act; a 各種学校 (kakushu gakkō, literally "miscellaneous school") is approved under Article 134; anything else is, in law, not a school. Most インターナショナルスクール, 中華学校, 韓国学校, ブラジル学校 and Indian schools are 各種学校: MEXT's own notice defines an 外国人学校 as 各種学校のうち、外国人を専ら対象にするもの.
The three statuses
| Status | The law | Who approves | Typical examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一条校 | 学校とは、幼稚園、小学校、中学校、義務教育学校、高等学校、中等教育学校、特別支援学校、大学及び高等専門学校とする。 | Prefecture or ministry | Every public school; private 小中高 |
| 各種学校 | 学校教育に類する教育を行うもの (Article 134) | The prefectural governor (Article 134 applies Article 4 with 都道府県知事) | Most international and ethnic schools |
| Neither | Not covered by the Act | Nobody, as a school | A programme run as a company or NPO; the pages read say nothing more |
Compulsory schooling and transferring back
Article 17 puts the duty on the parent to send a child to a 小学校, the first stage of a 義務教育学校 or a 特別支援学校 小学部 from the April after turning six, and then to a 中学校 or equivalent. A 各種学校 is not on that list. MEXT's handbook says foreign children have no such duty (外国人児童生徒の場合、就学義務がないため), so a foreign family may choose any of the three. For a Japanese-national child, including a dual national, how a ward treats an international-school enrolment is not on the pages read: ask the ward board before you sign.
Coming back is open at any time. Tokyo's board says 外国人の子供も、日本の子供と同じように教育を受けることができます and 手続きはいつでも受け付けています; you apply at the ward office, and the grade follows age (see moving schools inside Japan). The handbook notes that families do move children from fee-paying foreign schools into Japanese schools when circumstances change.
University entrance eligibility
Article 90 admits to university anyone who finished high school or 通常の課程による十二年の学校教育を修了した者, or whom the minister recognises as equivalent. MEXT's page (as of June 2024) spells out the routes that matter for a non-一条校:
| Route | Condition |
|---|---|
| A foreign 12-year course | Completed abroad, or at a facility in Japan that MEXT has designated as equivalent to a foreign high school |
| An internationally accredited school | 12 years at a school accredited by WASC, CIS, ACSI, NEASC, Cognia or COBIS (ECIS, CIS's former name, counts) |
| 高等学校卒業程度認定試験 | The high-school equivalency exam; eligibility from age 18 |
| A university's own screening | Individual assessment of applicants aged 18 or over |
The designated-facility list (as of 26 March 2025) names eight in Tokyo: インディア・インターナショナル・スクール・イン・ジャパン, インドネシア学校東京, エベレストインターナショナルスクールジャパン, カナディアン・インターナショナルスクール, グローバルインディアンインターナショナルスクールジャパン, 東京韓国学校中・高等部, 東京国際フランス学園 and 東京中華学校; and two listed under Kanagawa: 東京横浜独逸学園 and 横浜中華学院. Some entries apply only to graduates after a given date. A school that is neither designated nor accredited leaves your child the equivalency exam or an individual screening at 18. See also the University of Tokyo's foreign-school route.
High-school tuition support changed in April 2026
The 高等学校等就学支援金 law was amended from 1 April 2026. The income limit was abolished (所得制限を撤廃し) and the cap for private full-time high schools is ¥457,200 a year, ¥118,800 for public. But the amended rules remove foreign schools: the eligible list now reads 高等学校等（外国人学校を除く）, and the designation of foreign schools ended 令和8年3月31日限り.
| Your child | What applies (MEXT leaflets, 27 May 2026) |
|---|---|
| Enrolled at a designated foreign school before 1 April 2026 | Transitional measure: the old 就学支援金, up to ¥396,000 a year by income, for households under about ¥9.1 million |
| Entered a foreign school from April 2026 (Japanese nationals included) | 高校生等・新修学支援: up to ¥396,000 by income under about ¥9.1 million; ¥118,800 regardless of income above it |
| Any applicant | Apply through the school with a 住民票 or 在留カード copy, plus a 課税証明書 for the new programme |
The main scheme's residence-status rules for non-Japanese students are in high-school tuition support.
What to check before enrolling
Ask, in these words: この学校は各種学校ですか、一条校ですか。 Then: which body accredits it; whether it is on MEXT's designated list; what certificates it issues on leaving (在学証明書 and 成績証明書 are what a Japanese school asks for); and which tuition-support column above your child falls into. Ask the ward board about a Japanese-national child.
What it costs
Tuition is on no official page; ask each school for its fee table. The support figures above are the only sourced numbers.
What goes wrong
- "International" is taken to mean accredited. Check the accrediting body.
- A Japanese-national child is enrolled without a word to the ward board.
- A family budgets on the old 就学支援金 for a foreign school; from April 2026 new entrants are in the budget programme with an income test.
- A child leaves at 17 from an unaccredited school and discovers the equivalency exam.
What to do now
- Get the school's legal status and accrediting body in writing.
- Check the MEXT designated list for the school's name.
- Decide now which route to university the status leaves open.
- For high school, file the support application through the school in April.
- Verify a Japanese-national child's position with your ward office.
Your child's dates, not the general ones
Add your child and ward. The timeline does the rest.