One of Japan’s oldest international school closes its doors today, leaving behind a 99-year legacy that started as a result of nationalist upheaval and ended under a cloud of bitter protests and suspicions of greed.
Just 13 students of the class of 2000 will attend today's graduation ceremony at St. Joseph International School in Yokohama, although it's likely they'll be joined by several hundred alumni and former staff, many of whom still remain in the dark as to why the school is to fold.
St. Joseph was established in 1901 by Marianist brothers as an all-boys Catholic school to provide education for children of the foreign community here. Approximately 1,500 students have graduated since, including Charles J. Pederson, the 1987 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner.