China’s education crackdown spurs Japan moves for international schools

British institutions Harrow, Rugby School and Malvern College are setting up campuses in Japan’s biggest expansion in international education since 2018

They’re betting that scions of wealthy Chinese families will be lured by the country’s proximity, low Covid-19 rates and fewer restrictions on education

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Children walk home from school in Tokyo. Japan is undergoing its biggest expansion in international education since 2018. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:01am, 27 Jun 2022Updated: 10:03am, 27 Jun 2022

An international-school building boom is under way in Japan, fuelled by top-shelf names in education seeking to attract the children of wealthy Asian families, especially from China.

Famed British institutions Harrow, Rugby School and Malvern College are setting up campuses in the island nation, with more than 3,000 new student slots to be added over the next few years, the biggest expansion in international education in the country since 2018.

With annual tuition that can cost as much as 9.3 million yen (US$68,250), they’re betting that scions of the well-heeled will be lured by lush green campuses, an international curriculum and a rich activity menu. Included in the sales pitch: Japan’s relative proximity, low Covid-19 infection rates and fewer restrictions.

That’s in contrast to China, where ongoing pandemic curbs and a crackdown on private education are pushing families out – both expatriate and local.

“We were looking for opportunities outside of China,” said Mick Farley, the new headmaster at Harrow International School in the Japanese ski town of Appi. Farley oversaw Tokyo’s British School more than a decade ago before joining Harrow’s.

The London school, which boasts as alumni former British prime ministers and several royals, was already expanding its footprint in Asia, and China in particular. But “the educational offering in China has become very complex; more regulated, more controlled in terms of international schools and bilingual private schools,” Farley said.