暮らしの手引き広島 第２章 教育・奨学制度

Education aims to develop children into independent and healthy adults with a strong awareness of
being a member of society. Every child, including those of foreign nationality, should have theopportunity to receive an education.
Hiroshima Prefecture is making efforts to promote education for children of foreign nationalities,
focusing on children of permanent residents (including North and South Koreans) and workers withJapanese heritage, but no Japanese citizenship. However, they often face problems when going on toa higher level school and deciding their career path. We are working to ensure that foreign national
students receive appropriate guidance and support according to their individual characteristics anddesired career path.

1 School Education, etc.
(1) Nursery Schools (Child Welfare Facilities)
Facilities for infants from 0 years old to up until they enter elementary school. Nurseryschools provide childcare on behalf of parents who are unable to take care of their child at home
due to work or other reasons.
Acceptable ages and childcare hours differ depending on the nursery school. For detailed information
including application procedures, contact the Municipal government office of your residence.

Contact

Municipal government office(2) Kindergartens (Preschool Education Facilities)
Kindergartens are preschool education facilities for children from three years old up until they
enter elementary school.
Most kindergartens accept children from three years old. The application period begins around
November in the year prior to admission.
For public kindergartens, contact your municipal government office or Board of Education toobtain detailed information on enrollment etc.
For private or national kindergartens, contact the kindergarten you wish to enroll your childin.

Contact

Municipal government office, or Municipal Board of Education29

暮らしの手引き広島
第２章 教育・奨学制度
Guide to Living in Hiroshima(3) Nintei Kodomoen (Child Welfare Facilities/Schools)
Nintei Kodomoen accept infants from 0 years old up until they enter elementary school,
regardless of their parent’s employment status etc.
Acceptable ages and childcare hours differ depending on the Nintei Kodomoen. For detailed
information including application procedures, contact the municipal government office of yourresidence.

Contact

Municipal government office(4) Elementary Schools, Lower Secondary Schools (Junior High Schools)① Public Schools
Children aged six to 15 can enroll in elementary schools, lower secondary (junior high)schools, compulsory education schools, secondary schools (first-half courses), or elementaryor secondary departments of schools for special needs education. Children of foreign
nationality can also enter public schools.
For public schools, elementary school guidance brochures will be sent to households withchildren of foreign nationality from their municipal board of education in the year preceding
the child’s entrance. If you wish to enroll your child in a public elementary school, submit
an application form to your municipal board of education or municipal government office.
Applications for transfer admission to public elementary and lower secondary schools are
accepted at any time.
For details or more information, contact your municipal board of education or your local
elementary/lower secondary school.
If you have completed compulsory education but would like to enroll in high school, youwill generally need to take entrance exams.

Contact

Municipal Board of Education② Private Schools, National Schools
Entrance requirements and required application documents vary from school to school.
For details, contact the relevant school directly.

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暮らしの手引き広島 第２章 教育・奨学制度(5) High Schools① High Schools (Upper Secondary Schools)
Regarding high schools (upper secondary schools) and the latter courses of secondaryschools (Chuto-kyoiku Gakko), there are full-day, part-time and correspondence courses. Interms of the content of teaching provided, the high school courses may also be classified
into three categories: 1) general courses, which provide mainly general education; 2)
specialized courses, which are mainly intended to provide vocational or other specialized
education; and 3) integrated courses, which offer a wide variety of subject areas from bothgeneral and specialized courses. Specialized courses maybe further classified into
agriculture, industry, commerce, home economics, international, social welfare, physicaleducation, nursing, etc. Part-time and correspondence courses are mainly intended for those
who wish to learn while working and those who wish to learn in a flexible manner inaccordance with their own lifestyles.
High schools are classified into national, public (prefectural and municipal), and private
schools, according to the entity by which the school was established. For application andother detailed information regarding prefectural high schools, contact the High School
Education Guidance Division of the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education Secretariat(Tel: 082-513-4992) or your nearest prefectural high school. For detailed information onmunicipal high schools, contact the Board of Education of your municipality.
For national and private high schools, contact the relevant school directly.
② Colleges of Technology
In Hiroshima Prefecture, there are two national colleges of technology: the National
Institute of Technology, Kure College, and the National Institute of Technology, Hiroshima
College. The standard duration of studies is five years (five-and-a-half years at colleges ofmaritime technology). Students who have completed the specified number of credits are
granted the title of associate (Jun-gakushi). For application and other details, contact theschool directly.
③ Specialized Training Colleges, Miscellaneous Schools
Specialized training colleges (upper secondary course, general course and postsecondarycourse) and miscellaneous schools are educational facilities that offer a variety of practical
vocational and technical education programs to develop the knowledge and skills necessaryfor employment or practical life. There are various colleges in different fields such astechnology, medical care, personal care and nutrition, education and welfare, business,fashion and home economics, and culture and general education. The duration of studies andadmission requirements vary depending on the school. For details, contact the school
directly.

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暮らしの手引き広島
第２章 教育・奨学制度
Guide to Living in Hiroshima(6) Schools for Special Needs Education
Schools for special needs education comprise three levels of departments: elementary, lower
secondary and upper secondary. Among schools for special needs education, schools for theblind and schools for the deaf have kindergarten departments. The upper secondary department
of schools for the blind offers general and advanced courses. Schools for the intellectuallydisabled offer general courses. The intellectual disability special needs schools, Fukuyama Kita
School for Special Needs Education and Hiroshima Kita School for Special Needs Education,
already offer general and general vocational courses.
If you wish to enroll your child in the kindergarten department of a school for the blind orschool for the deaf, contact the Special Support Education Division of the Hiroshima Prefectural
Board of Education Secretariat (Tel: 082-513-4981).
Children aged six to 15 can enroll in the elementary or lower secondary department of schools
for special needs education, according to their type of disability. The degree of disability eligible
for enrollment in an elementary or lower secondary department is stipulated in Article 22-3 ofthe Enforcement Ordinance for the School Education Law. Enrollment procedures are carriedout in accordance with the Law.
When a student moves from an elementary or lower secondary school to a school for special
needs education, the procedures prescribed by the Law must be followed. It is advisable for thechild and his/her guardian to consult beforehand with the school to which the child istransferring. Furthermore, the principals of the two schools concerned (the elementary/lower
secondary school and the school for special needs education) need to communicate with eachother and make the necessary arrangements for the child. For details, contact your local
municipal board of education.
If you wish to enroll your child in the upper secondary department of a school for special
needs education, contact the school or the Special Support Education Division of the Hiroshima
Prefectural Board of Education Secretariat (Tel: 082-513-4981).

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暮らしの手引き広島 第２章 教育・奨学制度(7) Schools for Foreign Nationals
There are two schools for foreign nationals in Hiroshima Prefecture. For details including
eligibility requirements for admission and standard duration of studies, contact the school you
wish to enroll your child in.
Hiroshima Korean School[Contact] 37-50 Yamane-cho, Higashi-ku, Hiroshima City Tel: 082-261-0028
Website: https://www.hiroshima-corea.ed.jp/Hiroshima International School[Contact] 3-49-1 Kurakake, Asakita-ku, Hiroshima City Tel: 082-843-4111
Website: https://www.hiroshima-is.ac.jp/(8) Universities, Professional Training Colleges① Universities, Junior Colleges
For universities and junior colleges, the education contents and duration of studies varydepending on the faculty/department. For details including admission requirements, contact
the university or junior college you are interested in.
② Specialized Training Colleges, Miscellaneous Schools
Specialized training colleges (upper secondary courses, general courses andpostsecondary courses) and miscellaneous schools are educational facilities that offer avariety of practical vocational and technical education programs to develop the knowledge
and skills necessary for employment or practical life. There are various colleges in different
fields such as technology, medical care, personal care and nutrition, education and welfare,business, fashion and home economics, and culture and general education. The duration ofstudies and admission requirements vary depending on the school. For details, contact theschool directly.
（9）Lower Secondary Equivalency Examination
The lower secondary school equivalency examination is a national examination administered
for those who have not graduated lower secondary school, in order to certify whether they havethe academic ability equivalent to or greater than that of a lower secondary school graduate.
Those who pass will be given the qualifications necessary to enter high school.
For more information on the exam, please contact the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology（Tel: 03-5253-4111）.
(10) Upper Secondary Equivalency Examination
The upper secondary school equivalency examination is a national examination administered
for those who cannot take college entrance and other exams because they have not graduatedhigh school, in order to certify whether they have the academic ability equivalent to or greaterthan that of a high school graduate.
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暮らしの手引き広島
第２章 教育・奨学制度
Guide to Living in Hiroshima

Those who pass the exam are not only qualified to take entrance exams of universities, juniorcolleges and professional training colleges, but also officially acknowledged as having theacademic ability equivalent to or higher than that of a high school graduate, for the purposes ofhiring, qualification examinations, etc.
For detailed information about the upper secondary equivalency examination, contact theLifelong Learning Promotion Division, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (Tel: 03-5253-4111).
(11) The Open University of JapanThe Open University of Japan (OUJ) is an accredited correspondence college founded by theOpen University of Japan Foundation, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture,Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
If you are enrolled in the university for four years or more and have earned the prescribed
number of credits, you can acquire a bachelor’s degree.
Lectures are broadcast through BS, and most of the television lectures are made available
through the Internet.
Admissions are offered twice a year, in April and October. There are no academic
examinations for entrance.
Students are classified into three types: regular students who aim to acquire a bachelor’s
degree, one-year non-degree students, who take only the courses they want to study (enrollmentperiod: one year), and one-semester non-degree students (enrollment period: six months).
Individuals aged 18 or older who possess a university entrance qualification can be admittedto the OUJ as regular students, and individuals aged 15 or older can study at OUJ as one-year
non-degree students or one-semester non-degree students.
In Hiroshima, in addition to the Study Center, a Satellite Space has been established inFukuyama City to give easier access to learning services.

Contact

The Open University of Japan Hiroshima Study Center
1-1-89 Higashi Senda-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City
Tel: 082-247-4030
Website: http://www.sc.ouj.ac.jp/center/hiroshima/34