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Child Care and Education

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Update date: November 1, 2024

Daycare Centers, Centers for Early Childhood Education and Care (Day Care Center Section), and Community-Based Childcare Programs

These facilities offer daytime care for infants and other preschool children (admission to community-based childcare programs: under three years old) whose parents require daycare due to work, illness, or other reasons. Applications for registration must be submitted to the respective health center.

If you have small children and plan to bring them to Japan, please consult with your department or faculty member you will be assigned to beforehand.

Please be aware that if there is no availability in nurseries or similar facilities, you may not be able to enroll infants and toddlers, which could potentially prevent you from conducting research.

Please inquire directly with each childcare facility regarding availability.

When visiting for a tour, please consider bringing someone who speaks Japanese as English support may not always be available.

Reference

Enrolling children in elementary and junior high schools

Children who have reached six years of age attend elementary school from the following April. The six years of education in elementary school and the three years in junior high school are compulsory, and there are no entrance examinations for municipal elementary and junior high schools (excluding schools that offer both upper (high school) and lower (junior high school) education).
In public elementary and junior high schools, tuition and textbooks are free of charge, but school-provided lunches and study materials are fee-based. Junior high schools usually have uniforms.

Procedures for starting school

If you have filed your resident registration form, a health check-up form should be sent to your home in October a year before your child begins elementary school. Please have your child undergo the check-up at the designated location. The preparation required before enrolling will be explained by each school.

In January (October of the year before for elementary schools in Hakodate City), you will receive a “Notification of Enrollment” specifying the school your child is registered to attend. If you do not receive this notification, please contact the Board of Education (Sapporo City: 011-211-3851, Hakodate City: 0138-21-3553).

School transfer procedures

For a school transfer, you must submit an “Address Change Notification” at the ward office and undertake the necessary procedures. If you would like to enroll your child in a school without filing for residence status, please contact the Board of Education.

International School

An international school provides an educational environment to foreign students who may have difficulty entering Japanese schools due to language difficulties or issues with educational continuity in the student’s home country. The school offers education from pre‑school through high school, and classes are conducted in English.