Pre-school education

Pre-school education for children under school age is provided at kindergartens.

 Kindergarten (Youtien)

Kindergartens  are  educational institutes stated  by the educational law and aimed towards children  above  age  three  to  children  until  the entry age at elementary school. At these institutions, children receive education through important points of pre-school (stated by the Ministry of Education). There are national, public and private kindergartens run by the national  government, local governments, and  legal entities of education.

	Public kindergartens	Private kindergartens
Open to	Children aged 3 years old  until the entry age at elementary school and who live near the school to be frequented (depending on the city, municipality or even the institution, the age of enrollment may vary)	Children of age three until the entry age at elementary school (it may vary on the institution)
Open hours	4 hours are the basic period.*Effective hours of child care (effective hours may vary on the institution)	4 hours are the basic period.*Effective hours of child care (effective hours may vary on the institution)
Enrollment period	For enrollment, contact the Secretary of Education  in your municipality or address yourself to the educational institution you wish to enroll the child.	Address yourself to the educational institution you wish to enroll the child (enrollment period is from september to the beginning of november)
Emission and receipt of enrollment form	For enrollment, contact the Secretary of Education  in your municipality or address yourself to the educational institution you wish to enroll the child.	Address yourself to the educational institution you wish to enroll the child.
Fees	Child care fee (the fee may vary on the municipality  you reside)	Enrollment fee, child care fee, maintenance facilities fee, etc ( Address yourself to the educational institution you wish to enroll the child)
School region	The city or municipality you reside	No particular limitation
Other	Pick-up and drop off by parents or guardians and preparation of lunch are essential. For details, please enquire at the Board of Education of the municipality y ou reside or address yourself to the educational institution you wish to enroll the child).	Some municipalities provide subsidies, such as assistance with entrance fees and subsidies for child care fees, Private kindergartens are each managed under various education principles, so it is important to enquire at the respective kindergarten for details.

Nursery schools

Child care for babies a few months old to children before entering school is carried out in nursery schools called HOIKUSHO AND HOIKUEN.

Nursery schools (Hoikusho, Hoikuen)

Nursery schools are institutions that look after babies a few months old to children during the daytime,who are unable to be looked after at home due to the work or ilness of their parents. The costs for nursery schools depends on the household family income. The basic service is eight hours a day.

For more information about this kind of institution, enquire the responsible information desk in the municipality you reside.

Daycare-kindergartens  (Nintei-kodomo-en)

Daycare-kindergartens  combine  the  functions  of  kindergartens  and  nursery  schools.  A  child  may receive  a  combination  of  pre-school  education  and  day-care  whether  or  not  the  child’s  parents or guardians  work during the daytime. Daycare Kindergartens give consultation for all children’s families and carry out meeting groups for participation of parents and children.

For more information about this kind of institution, enquire the information desk responsible for KoritsuNinteiKodomo-en (public institution) from the municipality you reside. For information about private institutions (ShiritsuNinteiKodomo-en), address yourself to the institution you wish to enroll the child.

* Informations about Daycare-kindergartens:

http://www.pref.mie.lg.jp/d1kodomo/kodomok/nikodomo.htm

This video is based on material from CLAIR’s  “Multilingual Living Information (http://www.clair.or.jp/tagengo/)”.