Good to know
Good to Know
- Headline tuition is rarely the full cost — expect additional application fees, one-time entrance/registration fees, annual capital levies or 'building funds' (sometimes ¥1,000,000+), plus separate charges for buses, lunch, technology (e.g. required MacBook/iPad), and activities.
- Tuition paid directly by a family out of pocket is generally not deductible against Japanese income tax, though employer-paid tuition can sometimes be structured tax-neutrally if the school is on the relevant Ministry of Education list — check with a tax advisor and HR/relocation team.
- Popular schools and year groups (especially Early Years and lower Primary) can have waiting lists of a year or more, so it's worth starting the search and application process several months before a planned move.
- Some of Tokyo's most established schools (e.g. ASIJ's main campus) are located outside central Tokyo, meaning a significant daily commute for families based downtown — factor this into both housing and school choice.
- IB is the most broadly represented curriculum in Tokyo and the most 'portable' if your family may relocate again; American (AP) suits US-bound students, and British (IGCSE/A-Level) suits UK-bound students.
- If a Tokyo posting is even likely, start contacting schools and joining waitlists immediately — the most established schools (ASIJ, BST, St. Mary's, Tokyo International) can have waitlists stretching over a year.
- Because commute times in Tokyo can be long, many families deliberately wait to sign a housing lease until a school place is confirmed, then choose their neighborhood around the school.
- Waitlist policies differ a lot school to school — ask directly whether a school uses a formal numbered waitlist (which may need reapplication each year) or an informal pool, since the practical waiting experience differs.
- Homeschooling in Japan sits in a genuine legal gray area rather than being clearly 'legal' or 'illegal' — foreign families are not prosecuted for it in practice, but it isn't formally recognized as an accredited path, so plan ahead for how any home-based record will be viewed for future school or university transfers.
- Notifying your local ward office or Board of Education about homeschooling isn't legally required but is commonly recommended by homeschooling families in Japan to avoid misunderstandings with school staff.
Schools
The American School in Japan (ASIJ)
- Location
- Main campus in Chofu (western Tokyo suburbs); Early Learning Center in Roppongi, Minato-ku
- Curriculum
- American
- Curriculum Detail
- English-language, American-style curriculum from nursery through Grade 12, with Advanced Placement (AP) courses and an optional pathway to the IB Diploma Programme alongside the American track.
- Proximity Note
- The Roppongi Early Learning Center is central, but the main Chofu campus is well outside central Tokyo, commonly involving a 45–60 minute commute for downtown-based families.
Tuition
- Grade6 8
- ¥3,425,000
- Grade9 12
- ¥3,533,000
- Nursery Prek
- ¥2,987,000
- Kindergarten Grade5
- ¥3,269,000
One Time Fees
- Application Fee
- ¥50,000
- Registration Fee
- ¥300,000
- Building Maintenance Fee
- ¥1,525,000
- Capital Assessment Annual
- ¥250,000
The British School in Tokyo (BST)
- Location
- Azabudai Hills campus (primary, Nursery–Year 6) and Showa Campus at Showa Women's University, Taishido (Year 7–Year 13)
- Curriculum
- British / IB
- Curriculum Detail
- Follows the National Curriculum for England with IGCSEs at Key Stage 4; the IB Diploma Programme is now embedded as the senior pathway for Years 12–13 alongside IGCSE foundations.
- Proximity Note
- Both campuses are within central Tokyo.
Tuition
General Band
- Amount USD Low
- 12308
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 21538
- Amount Local Low
- 2000000
- Amount Local High
- 3500000
Tokyo International School (TIS)
- Location
- Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku; a move to Takanawa Gateway City is planned for the 2026/27 academic year
- Curriculum
- IB
- Curriculum Detail
- IB World School delivering the Primary Years Programme (Kindergarten–Grade 5) and Middle Years Programme (Grades 6–10); the IB Diploma Programme has been added, with Grade 11 introduced from the 2025–26 school year.
- Proximity Note
- Central Tokyo.
Tuition
General Band
- Amount USD Low
- 12308
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 21538
- Amount Local Low
- 2000000
- Amount Local High
- 3500000
Seisen International School
- Location
- New state-of-the-art campus in Azabudai Hills; Setagaya-area heritage
- Curriculum
- IB
- Curriculum Detail
- All-girls Catholic school (co-ed kindergarten) offering the full IB Continuum; achieved IB World School accreditation in 2025, with the IBDP offered as an option for the final years alongside a phasing-out A-Level track.
- Proximity Note
- Central Tokyo.
Tuition
General Band
- Amount USD Low
- 12308
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 21538
- Amount Local Low
- 2000000
- Amount Local High
- 3500000
St. Mary's International School
- Location
- Setagaya ward
- Curriculum
- American / IB
- Curriculum Detail
- All-boys Catholic school combining an American-style curriculum with the IB Diploma Programme for high schoolers.
- Proximity Note
- Setagaya is a residential area outside the immediate city center but well within greater central Tokyo.
Tuition
General Band
- Amount USD Low
- 12308
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 21538
- Amount Local Low
- 2000000
- Amount Local High
- 3500000
Aoba-Japan International School
- Location
- Campuses in Hikarigaoka and Meguro (Aobadai)
- Curriculum
- IB
- Curriculum Detail
- IB Continuum school (PYP through DP) emphasizing bilingual learning and global competencies, including a unique Online IB Diploma option for senior students.
- Proximity Note
- Meguro campus is reasonably central; Hikarigaoka is a northern suburb.
Tuition
General Band
- Amount USD Low
- 12308
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 21538
- Amount Local Low
- 2000000
- Amount Local High
- 3500000
Shinagawa International School (SIS)
- Location
- Near Shinagawa Seaside Station
- Curriculum
- IB
- Curriculum Detail
- IB World School offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP), with an Early Learning Center offering IB PYP Early Years; an eventual Grade 12/DP addition is planned.
- Proximity Note
- Shinagawa is a well-connected, nomad-relevant business/residential district.
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing; falls within Tokyo's general IB-school tuition band.
Malvern College Tokyo
- Location
- Tokyo
- Curriculum
- British / IB
- Curriculum Detail
- British-style IB World School accredited for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP), with Diploma Programme (DP) accreditation underway; opened in 2023 as the Tokyo campus of the UK's Malvern College.
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing; falls within Tokyo's general IB-school tuition band.
Global Indian International School (GIIS) – Higashi Kasai Campus
- Location
- Edogawa ward (eastern Tokyo)
- Curriculum
- IB / Cambridge / CBSE
- Curriculum Detail
- Offers IB PYP, Cambridge (CLSP & IGCSE), and the IB Diploma Programme, alongside a proprietary '9GEMS' competency framework; instruction primarily in English for ages roughly 8–18.
- Proximity Note
- Edogawa is an outer residential ward, not central.
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing.
Canadian International School (CIS) Tokyo
- Location
- Tokyo (Shinagawa area)
- Curriculum
- Canadian (PEI) / IB / AP
- Curriculum Detail
- Accredited by the Prince Edward Island Department of Education (graduates earn a Canadian PEI Diploma), plus IB Primary Years Programme accreditation and AP course options for flexibility without a full IB Diploma commitment.
Tuition
Annual 2025 26
- Amount USD Low
- 16000
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 19077
- Amount Local Low
- 2600000
- Amount Local High
- 3100000
Learning Tree International School
- Location
- Campuses in Kiba and Tsukishima
- Curriculum
- American / IB pathway
- Curriculum Detail
- American curriculum from Prekinder through Middle School with a pathway to the IB Diploma Programme; core classes in English with integrated Japanese language support.
- Proximity Note
- Both are within central-to-eastern Tokyo (Koto-ku).
Tuition
Annual 2025 26
- Amount USD Low
- 16000
- Currency Local
- JPY
- Amount USD High
- 19077
- Amount Local Low
- 2600000
- Amount Local High
- 3100000
Capital Tokyo International School (CTIS)
- Location
- Tokyo
- Curriculum
- IB
- Curriculum Detail
- IB World School offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP).
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing.
Tokyo West International School (TWIS)
- Location
- Tokyo
- Curriculum
- IB
- Curriculum Detail
- Authorized IB PYP school.
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing.
UIA International School of Tokyo
- Location
- Tokyo
- Curriculum
- British (Cambridge)
- Curriculum Detail
- Early years through Grade 12 offering Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge A-Level qualifications.
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing.
Tokyo YMCA International School
- Location
- Koto-ku
- Curriculum
- American
- Curriculum Detail
- American-based curriculum rooted in YMCA core values (caring, honesty, respect, responsibility).
Tuition
- Note
- Specific tuition not independently confirmed for this listing.
Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ)
- Location
- Greater Tokyo
- Curriculum
- American (faith-based)
- Curriculum Detail
- K-12 school established in 1950 to provide Christ-centered education, originally for children of evangelical missionaries, now serving a wider international community.
Tuition
- Note
- Generally positioned at the more affordable end of Tokyo's international-school tuition spectrum, per aggregator listings.
Typical Tuition Bands
- Enrollment Bond Or Capital Levy Typical Max
- ¥1,000,000
- Description
- Approximate 2025/26 annual tuition bands across established Tokyo international schools, before one-time enrollment bonds/capital levies.
Mid Range Schools
- Amount Local Low
- ¥1,200,000
- Amount Local High
- ¥2,000,000
Entry Level Schools
- Amount Local Low
- ¥700,000
- Amount Local High
- ¥1,200,000
Established IB And British Schools
- Amount Local Low
- ¥2,000,000
- Amount Local High
- ¥3,500,000
Homeschooling
Legality In Japan
- Status
- Decriminalized or tolerated
- Summary
- Japan's School Education Law requires parents to ensure children aged roughly 6/7 to 14/15 attend a recognized school, and homeschooling ('home schools') is not defined as a legally recognized schooling category under that law. However, the law penalizes parental failure to enroll a child rather than a child's own daily attendance, and in practice families who homeschool are not prosecuted or jailed for it; the education ministry has historically neither formally endorsed nor actively blocked home-based learning. High school (from around age 15) is not compulsory in Japan, which removes the main legal constraint at that stage.
Practical Notes
- Foreign families are generally free to homeschool; it has long been practiced by some expatriate families in Japan.
- There is no legal requirement to notify authorities, but many families choose to inform their local ward office or Board of Education of their intent, partly to reduce friction with school staff who may not understand homeschooling.
- There is no mandatory reporting, testing, or approved curriculum requirement for homeschoolers, though the compulsory subjects taught in Japanese public schools (e.g. Japanese language, mathematics) are the general benchmark some families use.
- Enforcement and attitudes can vary by local municipality/Board of Education, so experiences differ by ward.
Homeschooling Community In Japan
- Caveat
- Homeschooling remains a minority, non-mainstream choice in Japan generally, and much of the day-to-day community-building for Tokyo-based homeschoolers happens informally through expat parent networks rather than through large, formal Tokyo-specific institutions.
- Exists
- Yes
Organizations
- The NPO Homeschool Association of Japan (HoSA) — a nonprofit aiming to support homeschoolers in Japan, improve the status of homeschooling, and raise public awareness of it.
- CHEA Japan (Christian Home Educators Association Japan) — a longstanding homeschool support contact network in Japan.
- Local city-level support groups exist in some municipalities (e.g. a Himeji-based homeschool network), and Tokyo-area families connect informally through expat community networks, Facebook/LINE groups, and meetups rather than one single citywide organization.
Waitlist Expectations
- General Pattern
- Waitlists are common in oversubscribed grades in Tokyo, and status can shift as families' relocation plans change, particularly near deposit deadlines and just before term starts.
- How Waitlists Actually Work
- Practices vary by school rather than following one citywide system. Some schools use a formal numbered waiting list tied to a paid application fee and a passed assessment, valid for one academic year only, after which a family may need to reapply for the next year's grade level. Others use an informal 'wait pool' rather than a numbered list, where fully completed applications are held and matched to seats as they open based on the school's own admissions criteria and the makeup of the current cohort; some schools do not describe any formal waitlist mechanism at all and simply base decisions on real-time space availability and class-size caps.
Practical Advice
- Sensible families apply to two or three schools in parallel given how common waitlists are, rather than waiting on a single application.
- Keep the school updated with new report cards, awards, or achievements while waitlisted, and reiterate interest, especially as deposit deadlines approach.
- Ask each school directly about typical waitlist movement for the specific grade you need, since this varies significantly by year group and by school.
International School Application Process
- Overview
- Tokyo's international schools operate on a competitive, advance-planning admissions cycle, especially at the most established names.
- Assessment Process
- Admissions typically combine a cognitive/academic assessment (commonly CAT4, MAP, or WIDA for English learners) with a parent interview and, at many schools, a student try-out day. Non-English speakers entering later grades can expect a WIDA-style or in-house English-language screening.
- Typical Annual Cycle
- Most Tokyo international schools run an August-to-June academic year, with main intake decisions issued between November and March, and a second wave of decisions in May for late applicants or families on newly confirmed Tokyo postings. A common cycle runs: open houses and scholarship inquiries (Sept–Nov), online applications and document upload (Oct–Jan), assessments/interviews (Nov–Feb), offers and seat-securing deposit (Jan–Mar), then residence card, visa and health paperwork (Apr–Jun).
Application Fees
- Note
- Non-refundable, paid at time of application submission; typically valid for one academic year
Required Documents
- Completed online application form and payment of a non-refundable application/processing fee
- Child's passport copy, and Japan Residence Card (Zairyu Card) once issued
- Most recent two to three years of school reports/transcripts (certified translation required if not in English or Japanese)
- Confidential reference or recommendation from the child's current school/teacher, sometimes sent directly school-to-school
- Immunization/health records
- English language assessment results if the child's first language is not English, and for secondary applicants, any standardized test results the school requests, or a personal statement/written assessment
- Proof of parent's employment or visa status, requested by some schools
How Far In Advance To Apply
- For the most sought-after schools (e.g. American School in Japan, British School in Tokyo, St. Mary's International School, Tokyo International School), families are advised to register interest 12 to 18 months ahead, with full applications submitted 6 to 9 months before the target start date.
- For other, less oversubscribed international/bilingual schools, 6 to 9 months of lead time is generally sufficient.
Tokyo has one of the largest concentrations of international and bilingual schools in Asia, with dozens of accredited options across Minato, Shibuya, Setagaya, Meguro, Shinagawa and further-out suburbs like Chofu. The International Baccalaureate (IB) is the most widely available framework, followed by British (National Curriculum/IGCSE/A-Level) and American (AP-based) programs.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
More About Tokyo
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.