As competition heats up, Tokyo's international schools spruce up facilities

Plans to renovate established international schools in and around Tokyo are underway as administrators look to update facilities in line with global learning trends and maintain a competitive edge over their rivals.

With Asian international schools having popped up in Tokyo in the last two decades, giving families looking for an international learning experience more options, renovating facilities is or had been at the top of the to-do list for legacy institutions such as Yokohama International School (YIS), the American School in Japan (ASIJ), Saint Maur International School and the British School in Tokyo (BST).

“The landscape of education has changed dramatically. ... I've seen more dramatic change in the last three or four (years) than I think I saw in the previous 30,” ASIJ Head of School Jim Hardin said in April as he revealed the renewal plan for its campus, which is set be implemented over the next decade or so.

“What's important is that we recognize that traditional notions of rigor are evolving and needing to change as well,” he said. “Rigor is no longer defined by how he could remember or how well you can repeat that, but what you can actually do, and the problems that you can solve.”

In 2022, YIS, formerly located in Yokohama’s Yamate area, opened its new campus — designed by acclaimed architect Kengo Kuma — just steps away from the city’s central Minato Mirai district.

The new venue — complete with a field, swimming pool and theater, all of which the school previously didn’t have — also provides more space than could be offered in the crowded Yamate district, and is intended to match what students need in the current era.

“It wasn't just the physical space in terms of more space. (The buildings in the former campus) were fairly old-style buildings with boxy classrooms and corridors, and it didn't really suit our learning program,” YIS Head of Operations Bob Pomeroy said. “So we really wanted an opportunity not only to have a little more space, but have a purpose-built facility that really is in line with our learning program.”

And while competitiveness wasn’t a huge driving factor, it was certainly one of them, Pomeroy added.

As with most international schools, high turnover is a fact of life, with expat parents frequently needing to leave Japan for new job posts. And because YIS draws around one-third of its secondary and middle school students from Tokyo, where the selection of international schools is ever-increasing, having a shiny new facility is a big plus.

While the overall level of enrollment has been fairly static at YIS, Pomeroy said the new building added some 100 students, bringing the total to about 770 students. The plan is to limit enrollment to 800.

BST, which has campuses in the capital’s Shibuya and Sangenjaya areas, will soon open a new campus at the Azabudai Hills commercial complex, in place of its current Shibuya campus.

As the school is receiving more and more applications each year, Marketing Manager Ping Liu said, the current building in Shibuya — which opened in 1989 — no longer has the space and facilities necessary for the growing community.

While legacy schools are renovating their facilities, newer international schools focused on serving people from other Asian countries are also looking to expand — specifically, those targeting Japan’s rising South Asian population.

India International School in Japan, founded in 2004, has plans to open a new and larger campus this year, for example.

Everest International School, Japan (EISJ) — currently located in Tokyo's Ogikubo area — opened in 2013 in Asagaya, becoming the first school in the world to use the Nepalese national curriculum outside of the country. And it already has plans to expand following its addition of a kindergarten building in Shin-Okubo.

Nepali families flocked to Asagaya area for access to the school, and it had around 400 students and 56 teachers as of February.

The school also received approval from the Education Ministry in 2022, which allows families to receive subsidies for attending the school and also enables students to receive the credits necessary for them to enroll in Japanese universities later on.

EISJ Principal Bishnu Bhatt said the school has also made an effort to hire a diverse group of teachers and staff, including those from Nepal, India, Japan, the Philippines and the United States.

All this has drawn not only Nepalese and other foreign students, but also Japanese students. However, because of limited space, EISJ was forced to turn away 100 prospective students last school year.

Now, the school is looking to take on more space next door, Bhatt added.

“I talked to our Japanese parents and asked them why they’re sending their kids to this school,” the principal said. “They said it was because of the English environment, and the second (reason) is the mixed community.”