Japanese expat schools to serve locals

Due to the high esteem in which Japanese-style education is held in the Middle East and other regions, the government has decided to allow local students to attend overseas-based Japanese schools that cater for expat Japanese children, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday.

The schools are run by local Japanese community groups and students' parents with assistance from the Japanese government.

According to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, 23 of the 84 schools for Japanese expatriates in 50 countries around the world had established a class in which subjects are taught in both Japanese and the local language, as of April last year.

A total of only 98 local students participated in the class at schools in Shanghai, Seoul and other cities, comprising a mere 0.5 percent of the schools' 19,000 students.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has been encouraging local children since 2006 to attend the kindergarten affiliated with the city's Japanese school.

The emirate plans to further encourage these children to enter its Japanese primary and middle schools, and is discussing a plan to send the middle school graduates to study at a high school in Japan.

The government in Qatar has contacted its Japanese counterpart to ascertain if it can obtain Japanese government support in establishing a school to educate local children based on the Japanese education system.

The Chinese government also has been encouraging overseas-based schools for Chinese expatriates to accept locals.

The Japanese government plans to boost the number of local students studying at the Japanese schools to about 10 percent of the student body.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080120TDY02311.htm