pathoff← All countries for early study

Early study

Japan

The safest country outside Europe, at Tokyo international-school prices.

5/5
ingredients confirmed
Every ingredient this page asks for has a figure and a source.
Tuition
~$18.9–22.5k/yr
Tokyo international schools, secondary. The one-off charges are heavy and sit outside these figures: K. International asks ¥300,000 to enrol and a ¥700,000 capital fee once, on top of ¥200,000 of building maintenance every year. A previous version of this note attributed one-off fees of ¥1,525,000 and ¥1,180,000 to "both schools" while naming the two schools this figure deliberately excludes.
Living
65.7% of US prices
A comparison of prices, not a budget: it says what things cost here against the United States, not what a month will cost you. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.
Education
Very strong
Guardian visa
No parent route; one parent must qualify alone
Structurally the same position as Germany, the Netherlands and Czechia, and scored the same. Many international schools in Japan are 各種学校 rather than accredited Japanese schools, which narrows what the child can be sponsored on as well.
Safety
1.489 · 10th of 163
Tenth globally, and the highest-ranked country outside Europe on the index

Where these figures came from

One row per ingredient. Open any of them for the source, how far we trust it, and when we last checked.

Tuition~$18.9–22.5k/yr

Two mid-tier Tokyo international schools, from their own 2026-2027 schedules, secondary years only. K. International School Tokyo prints ¥2,850,000 for the band it writes as Grades 1–9 and ¥2,970,000 for Grades 10–12. Tokyo International School prints ¥3,500,000 for Grades 6–9 and ¥3,600,000 for Grades 10–12, and both of those include a ¥200,000 building fee; the rows here take the three term payments without it, ¥3,300,000 and ¥3,400,000, so that both schools are being read as tuition. A previous version of this record said the building fee was billed separately by both, which is true of K. International and not of Tokyo International. Tokyo’s top tier is left out and named so the exclusion can be argued with: the American School in Japan, the British School in Tokyo and Sacred Heart, all above ¥4 million.

Tokyo international schools, secondary. The one-off charges are heavy and sit outside these figures: K. International asks ¥300,000 to enrol and a ¥700,000 capital fee once, on top of ¥200,000 of building maintenance every year. A previous version of this note attributed one-off fees of ¥1,525,000 and ¥1,180,000 to "both schools" while naming the two schools this figure deliberately excludes.

WhatAs publishedPer year, USD
K. International School — Grades 6 to 9Priced in a band the school writes as Grades 1–92,850,000 JPYa year$18,850
K. International School — Grades 10 to 122,970,000 JPYa year$19,600
Tokyo International School — Grades 6 to 9Three terms of ¥1,320,000, ¥990,000 and ¥990,0003,300,000 JPYa year$21,800
Tokyo International School — Grades 10 to 12Three terms of ¥1,360,000, ¥1,020,000 and ¥1,020,0003,400,000 JPYa year$22,450

4 figures from 2 separate decisions — a body that publishes its prices in finer detail would otherwise count for more than one that does not. Nothing stands above them, because no one of them is the country’s price.

Confidence
printed in the source
Last checked
2026-09
Living65.7% of US prices

World Bank, 2024, CC BY 4.0: the PPP conversion factor for household consumption is 99.3848 local currency units per international dollar, against an official exchange rate of 151.3663 to the US dollar. Their ratio, 0.657, is the price level against the United States, whose own ratio is 1 by construction. Both figures are theirs; the division is ours. See the Pathoff method, section 12.

A comparison of prices, not a budget: it says what things cost here against the United States, not what a month will cost you. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.

Confidence
made by us from the source
EducationVery strong

Pathoff judgement, no rubric yet: placed against the other countries here from general knowledge of the international-school sector. Under review — see the Pathoff method, section 9-3.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Guardian visaNo parent route; one parent must qualify alone

Pathoff outcome rubric (the Pathoff method, section 10-1), early outcome band "A guardian must be arranged": Japan’s dependent status runs from a resident to their spouse and children, not from a child to a parent. There is no status a parent can hold on the basis of a child’s schooling.

Structurally the same position as Germany, the Netherlands and Czechia, and scored the same. Many international schools in Japan are 各種学校 rather than accredited Japanese schools, which narrows what the child can be sponsored on as well.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Rule
No change known to us
Last checked
2026-09
Safety1.489 · 10th of 163

Global Peace Index 2026, Institute for Economics and Peace: score 1.489, ranked 10 of 163. Both figures are theirs; we publish them as they are.

Tenth globally, and the highest-ranked country outside Europe on the index

Confidence
printed in the source

What it is like here

Japan is tenth in the world for peacefulness, a child travels alone on the train at seven, and Tokyo has one of Asia’s deepest international-school markets. The weak yen has made all of it cheaper than it was five years ago. What has not changed is the immigration position: there is no parental status, so the family’s stay depends on one parent holding a work or business status of their own.

How the process works

1

A parent secures a status of residence

Engineer/Specialist, Intra-company Transferee or Business Manager. The family follows as dependants.

⏱ 1–3 months
2

Apply to schools a year ahead

The established Tokyo schools run waiting lists and assess English before offering a place.

⏱ 6–12 months
3

Register the address, then enrol in health insurance

Both happen at the ward office in the same visit, within 14 days of arrival.

⏱ 1 day

Where families cluster

Chofu / Musashino, Tokyo
The established international schools and the families around them
Minato / Shibuya
Central, expensive, closest to the international workplaces
Kobe / Yokohama
Older international-school traditions at lower rents

Open any ingredient above to see where its figure came from, how far we trust it and when we last checked. Nothing here is a substitute for the official source. Last reviewed 2026-09-04.

Photograph of Japan by Morio, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.