MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. -- A new international school here may be starting off small, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in aspirations.
Determined to challenge Japan's monolingual culture, four international couples have launched a school that aims to eventually offer classes in any language requested.
The International Community School plans to start in April with about 30 children. The 3- to 7-year-olds will be put into one kindergarten and two elementary classes. English and Portuguese will be the principal languages, although Japanese teachers will use some Japanese as well.