At Mejiro Kenshin, promoting international understanding has become an important educational objective. With advances in technology, it is especially important for our students to understand that they are members of a global village which requires the ability to understand people with different mother tongues, cultures, and values, and to develop reciprocal relationships while living together. Mejiro Kenshin is proud of a very successful student exchange and study program that is truly unique and tailored to our students' needs.

The International Education Department at Mejiro Kenshin opened in April of 1990, and is currently made up of 6 staff members. All teachers in the International Education Department have the experience of studying or teaching abroad and bring this valuable experience with them.

 

Student Exchange Program

The international exchange program gives students an opportunity to study abroad at one of the schools with which we have an exchange agreement.

 

These student exchanges vary in length from three months to one year. We currently have 17 partner schools (10 that we actively exchange students with) in countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a one way exchange with a boarding school in England. Since 1990, more than 280 Mejiro Kenshin students have participated in the study abroad program. In that same period, more than 200 students have come from our partner schools to study at Mejiro Kenshin.

All Mejiro Kenshin students from Junior 3 (grade 9) to Senior 2 (grade 11) are eligible to apply for exchanges. We especially look for students who will profit from the exchange and who will be good representatives of the school. In return for going on exchange, a student’s family is asked to offer home stay for a period equivalent to the time their child was or will be away. The International Exchange Committee in the PTA organization is the network for all the host families. Our exchange partner schools select the students who come to Mejiro Kenshin.

Exchange students from our partner schools are placed in Senior 1 (grade 10) or Senior 2 (grade 11) homerooms. They have Japanese classes according to their levels and take English, Art and Music with Japanese students.