Tokyo School Admissions and the School Year

Tokyo is the only major expatriate city where the answer to "when does school start?" is genuinely two answers. The Japanese academic year begins in April and ends in March. Almost every international school in the city begins in August or September and ends in June, and a handful follow a third calendar belonging to their home country. ESG profiles 21 international schools in Tokyo, 20 with complete profiles and 15 publishing fee information. This guide covers how the calendar split affects a relocation, when to start an application, how Tokyo waitlists behave by year group, what the entrance and capital fees actually amount to, which documents to assemble, and how ward geography and train commutes shape the shortlist.

The American School in Japan (ASIJ), an international school in Tokyo

Quick answer

How Tokyo school admissions work for relocating families — the April and August calendars, when to apply, waitlists by year group, entrance fees and document requirements.

At a glance

Two calendars running side by side

Which calendar applies to which school

Japan's national academic year begins in the first week of April, breaks for a long summer holiday from late July to late August, and ends in March. It is a genuinely different rhythm from the northern-hemisphere international norm, and it is embedded in everything around it: corporate transfer cycles, housing turnover, entrance-examination seasons and even the cultural weight attached to the April entrance ceremony.

Tokyo's international schools do not follow it. The American School in Japan, The British School in Tokyo, St. Mary's, Seisen, the International School of the Sacred Heart, Aoba-Japan, K. International, Tokyo International School and Nishimachi all run an August or September start with a June finish, because their students arrive from and depart to school systems on that calendar. A third group runs a third calendar: Lycée Français International de Tokyo follows the French year, and Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama the German one.

The practical consequence for a relocating family is that Tokyo has two peak moving seasons rather than one. Japanese corporate transfers cluster around late March, while international-school families move in July and August. Housing supply, removal services and school availability all move with those cycles, and knowing which one you are in changes what is realistically available to you.

When to apply, and what 'full' really means

Twelve months ahead is comfortable for Tokyo. Six months is workable. Three months or less is possible, but only for a family willing to take whichever good school has a seat rather than a specific first choice.

The reason Tokyo runs tighter than comparable cities is tenure. Expatriate postings to Japan are often long, families frequently extend, and the established schools therefore have low annual churn in the primary years. A cohort that fills in Reception can stay full for a decade. That is why availability here is a question about a year group and a date, never about a school.

When a school tells you it is full, ask three follow-up questions. How many families are ahead of you on the list for that specific year group? How many places came free in that year group in each of the last two years? And does the school hold any places for corporate-sponsored or newly arriving families? The answers vary widely and turn an unhelpful "we're full" into a decision you can actually plan around.

Also ask when the school confirms places for the August intake. Many Tokyo schools issue main-round offers in the first quarter of the calendar year, which means a family whose posting is confirmed in May is already applying into the second round even though the term has not started.

Entrance fees, capital levies and the real first-year cost

Ask for the first-year total, itemised

Tuition in Tokyo runs from about ¥600,000 a year at the Indian International School in Japan through the ¥1,200,000 to ¥1,600,000 band at Lycée Français International de Tokyo, Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama, Canadian International School Tokyo and Tokyo International School, into the ¥1,600,000 to ¥2,600,000 band at Aoba-Japan, K. International, Seisen and Nishimachi, and up to ¥2,000,000 to ¥3,500,000 at St. Mary's, The British School in Tokyo, the International School of the Sacred Heart and The American School in Japan. Senior-year fees exceed primary-year fees at every school that publishes both.

The part that surprises families is what sits on top. A non-refundable application fee is standard. A one-off entrance or facilities fee on first enrolment is standard, and at the established schools it is a serious number rather than an administrative charge. Some schools operate a capital levy or a corporate-membership arrangement that a sponsoring employer may hold, which can materially change what an individual family pays. Bus transport, lunch, uniform where required, devices and examination entry are separate again.

The correct question to an admissions office is therefore never "what is the tuition?" It is: what is the total amount payable in the first twelve months for a child entering this year group on this date, itemised, including everything non-refundable. Ask it in writing, and ask what an employer-sponsored package would normally cover — many Tokyo relocation packages cover tuition but not the one-off entrance fee, and that gap is best discovered during negotiation rather than after.

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Assessment, language and the documents to assemble

Tokyo's international schools generally assess rather than select competitively: the last two years of reports, any standardised testing you have, a written task or interview, and a reference from the current school. The purpose is placement and confirming the school can support the child, not ranking.

English-language expectations rise sharply with year group. At early primary, most schools will take a child with limited English and support them. From upper primary into the senior years, several will not, because the academic load leaves no room to build the language at the same time. If English is not your child's first language, ask each school where its threshold sits for the specific year group and what support is actually delivered — in class or withdrawn, by whom, and for how many hours.

Japanese-language provision is worth asking about too, and it varies by philosophy rather than by quality. Nishimachi teaches Japanese to all students as a core part of its programme, and New International School of Japan runs a dual-language English and Japanese model. Others treat Japanese as one modern language among several. For a family staying five years, this is a materially different outcome for the child.

On documents: assemble two years of reports, standardised test results, passports, visa or Certificate of Eligibility paperwork, immunisation records, a birth certificate and the current school's reference before you apply, not during. Residency registration and the My Number process happen at your ward office after arrival and are separate from admissions, though some schools will ask for a residence card copy once you hold one.

Wards, trains and how far a child should travel

Tokyo's international schools admit from across the metropolitan area, so no ward gives you a right to a place. But the daily commute is a rail commute, and the difference between a fifteen-minute walk and a fifty-minute journey with two changes shapes family life for the whole posting.

The expatriate weight sits in Minato, Shibuya, Meguro, Setagaya and Chiyoda, and the school map largely follows. Nishimachi and Tokyo International School are in Minato, the International School of the Sacred Heart in Shibuya, St. Mary's and Seisen in Setagaya, and K. International in Koto. Columbia International School sits further out in Saitama and serves a different commuting pattern entirely.

School bus routes are the variable that resolves this. In a rail city, an established coach route into your ward turns an impractical school into a practical one, and its absence does the reverse. Ask for the current route map before you view housing, check the pick-up time rather than the journey time, and be realistic about how a young child copes with a 7am departure five days a week.

The sequence that works is: choose the school, get the bus route map, then choose the ward. Families who pick the apartment first, understandably, because housing feels urgent, routinely find the commute defines the next three years.

The British School in Tokyo — an international school in Tokyo
The British School in Tokyo, Tokyo

The Japanese public system as a real option

Foreign-resident children can generally enrol in Tokyo's public schools, which are assigned by residential address through your ward office and are free apart from meals, materials and incidentals. The quality of the system is high and the cost difference against ¥2,000,000 a year of international tuition is obviously substantial.

The honest assessment is that it works well in a specific set of circumstances: younger children, a stay of several years rather than one or two, and a family prepared to engage with the school in Japanese. Instruction is in Japanese throughout, parent communication is in Japanese, and the level of dedicated Japanese-language support for arriving children varies by ward and by individual school rather than being uniform across the city.

It works far less well for a teenager on a two-year posting who needs a recognised international qualification at the end of it. Between those poles sit the bilingual and dual-language options — New International School of Japan most explicitly — which give a child substantial Japanese without placing their entire academic future inside a system they may leave.

If the public route interests you, speak to your ward office directly once your address is registered, and ask specifically what Japanese-language support the assigned school provides for a child arriving with none.

A workable Tokyo timeline

Twelve months out, if you know the posting is coming, contact three or four schools and ask about availability in the exact year groups for the exact intended start. Register interest formally where it is free, and note each school's main-round application and offer dates.

Six to nine months out, submit applications, pay the application fees, and get reports and references sent directly from the current school. Ask each school for the itemised first-year cost and take it into any relocation-package discussion with your employer while there is still room to negotiate.

Three to six months out, complete assessments — most can be done remotely — and accept an offer. Only then look seriously at housing, using the school's bus route map as the boundary of your search.

On arrival, register at the ward office, complete residency and My Number formalities, and provide the school with the residence card copy. If you are on a waitlist rather than an offer, place your child in an available second school for the term rather than waiting; Tokyo's early years and primary sector has enough breadth to make that a real option, and the waitlist continues to move while your child is settled somewhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the school year start in Tokyo?

It depends entirely on which system the school follows. Japanese schools — national, public and the Japanese private sector — begin in early April and finish in March. Almost all of Tokyo's international schools run an August or September start and finish in June, matching the northern-hemisphere international calendar. A few, including Deutsche Schule Tokyo Yokohama and Lycée Français International de Tokyo, follow their own national calendars. This split is the single most important scheduling fact for a family relocating to Tokyo.

What does the April versus August split mean for our move?

If you arrive between April and July, the international schools are mid-year and you are applying for an in-year place, while the Japanese system has just started its year. If you arrive in August or September you are aligned with the international schools' main intake but joining the Japanese year in its second term. Neither is fatal, but the two calendars mean 'the start of the school year' has no single answer in Tokyo, and your relocation date should be checked against the specific school you want rather than against a general rule.

How far in advance should we apply to Tokyo international schools?

Twelve months is comfortable, six months is workable, and under three months is possible only if you are flexible about which school. Several of the most established schools — The American School in Japan, The British School in Tokyo, St. Mary's, Seisen and the International School of the Sacred Heart — run genuine waitlists in popular year groups, particularly in the early primary years where families arrive and rarely leave. Applying early costs a registration fee; applying late can cost you the school.

Are Tokyo international schools full?

Some year groups at some schools are, and this is more common in Tokyo than in most expatriate cities because the community is long-tenured. Availability is genuinely year-group specific: a school may be closed at Year 3 and open at Year 7 in the same term. Ask each school directly about the exact year group and the exact start date rather than about the school in general, and ask where on the waitlist you would sit and how it has moved historically.

Can our children attend a Japanese public school in Tokyo?

Foreign-resident children can generally be enrolled in the local public system, which is free apart from meals and materials, and is assigned by residential address in your ward. Instruction is in Japanese, and Japanese-language support varies considerably by ward and by school. It works well for young children who will stay several years, and much less well for a teenager on a two-year posting. Confirm current procedure with your ward office once you have registered your address.

How much do Tokyo international schools cost?

Published annual tuition runs from about ¥600,000 at the Indian International School in Japan to ¥3,500,000 at the senior end of The American School in Japan, with the established English-medium schools clustering between ¥1,600,000 and ¥3,000,000. Beyond tuition, Tokyo schools commonly charge an application fee, a substantial one-off entrance or facilities fee on first enrolment, and in some cases a refundable or corporate-linked capital levy. Ask for the full first-year figure in writing, not the tuition line alone.

Which documents do Tokyo schools ask for?

Expect the last two years of school reports, any standardised testing, passports and visa or Certificate of Eligibility documentation, immunisation records, a birth certificate, and a reference from the current school. Schools with a religious foundation or a specific national curriculum may ask for more. Japanese residency registration and the My Number process happen after arrival at your ward office and are separate from admissions, but some schools ask for a residence card copy once you have one.

Does where we live in Tokyo determine which school we can use?

Not formally for international schools, which admit from across the metropolitan area, but practically it matters a great deal. Tokyo commutes are done by train, and a 50-minute journey with two changes is a very different daily reality for a seven-year-old than for a sixteen-year-old. Most expatriate families concentrate in Minato, Shibuya, Meguro, Setagaya and Chiyoda, in part because that is where the schools and the coach routes are. Choose the school first, then the ward.

Do Tokyo international schools provide bus transport?

Many do, and in a city built on rail this is a more significant differentiator than families expect. Ask which routes run, whether your intended ward is on one, what the pick-up time is and whether the service is included or charged separately. For younger children, an existing bus route into your neighbourhood can be the deciding factor between two otherwise comparable schools.

What if we arrive mid-year and no place is available?

The practical options are a waitlist place at your first-choice school while your child attends a second-choice school with capacity, a smaller or newer school with more flexibility, or — for younger children — a bilingual or Montessori setting for a term or two. Tokyo has enough breadth at the early years and primary level that a stopgap is usually findable; the senior years are harder, which is another argument for applying long before you move.

International schools in August/September calendar, established intakes

International schools in IB continuum and mid-market options

International schools in National-calendar and specialist schools

International schools in Early years and primary flexibility

Planning a Tokyo move around the school year?

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