22-05-2025
Indian Education Diplomacy: A Thumbs Up in Japan
In recent developments, Indian international schools have gained growing popularity in Tokyo. This opens a new strand of India's soft power diplomacy in Japan through education.
A branch of the Global Indian International School (GIIS), in Edogawa ward, has gained traction due to the unique style of teaching. For example, recently, a fifth-grade student discussed a pressing geographical topic about where we can find Greenland on the map, and the island's coordinates were used to show how maps and the Global Positioning System work.
As of January 2025, Edogawa was home to 7,484 Indians, or about 40% of the Indians living in Tokyo. The population has grown nearly fortyfold over 25 years. Currently, GIIS has four campuses in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward and a newly opened one in Osaka. This article explores the relevance of GIIS in expanding Indian soft power in Japan and how its educational outreach is gaining traction.
GIIS Tokyo follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, which is unlike traditional Japanese schools. All lessons at the school are conducted in English. Moreover, they are conducted with no textbooks.
Lessons are structured around grade-specific themes such as "The time and place we live in" and "Ways to express ourselves." They integrate numerical exercises with geographical concepts within a single class. It does not follow a silo-based approach of separating subjects like mathematics and language. Artificial intelligence and robotics are some of the new areas that are included. (May 21, 2025 screenshot, GIIS Japan website.)
The teaching also includes Indian-style arithmetic, which involves solving complex calculations in one's head. Parents hope this would improve their wards' science, math, and practical IT education.
At the same time, the school does not teach in a way that only seeks correct answers because there is a conviction that there are no correct answers in the real world. Instead, it intends to raise future-ready citizens. As a result, these Indian-style international schools are attracting a growing number of Japanese students.
GIIS is one of the top-rated Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) accredited international K-12 schools. It sets high standards in educational frameworks, teaching methods, and outstanding academic performance.
With the expansion of internet services around the 2000s, there was a rise in Indian international schools in Japan. This can be attributed to the movement of Indian IT engineers, ranging from those on project-by-project business trips to individuals moving to Japan with their families. GIIS Japan Higashi Kasai Campus. (May 21, 2025 screenshot, GIIS Japan website.)
One consequence was a growing demand for the same educational curriculum as in India, so children could return to their home school system seamlessly. Then, in 2014, GIIS Tokyo opened, hoping to appeal to Indian families in Japan. After all, many of GIIS Tokyo's parents worked in the information technology and finance sectors. At the Tokyo campus, their children learned from Indian teachers, and for its first decade in operation, the school only used the Indian national curriculum.
With the school's introduction of the IB curriculum in 2017, GIIS also began offering International Baccalaureate accreditation. However, its application depends on the grade level. Students start with the Indian curriculum in lower grades and move on to the IB curriculum in upper grades, if they choose.
There is also an Indian curriculum that follows traditional Indian schools on campus. Japanese students make up 20% to 30% of those classes. Entrance exams test English and math skills from preschool, with science included from sixth grade.
Since its inception, the number of Japanese applicants has grown, and campuses have increased from one to four. In FY2021, the number of Japanese students surpassed Indian students, accounting for 55% of the total student body. In FY2024, this figure stood at 78%.
Many international schools in Japan are known for catering to wealthy Western expats, Japanese returnees, and children from multiracial or multicultural families. Within that mix, GIIS is increasingly attracting Japanese parents seeking an accessible international education for their children. According to the school, Japanese families and other expats are attracted by the holistic educational ecosystem and lower tuition fees, compared to legacy international schools.
It helps that Japan's education ministry has designated the international schools as equivalent to Japanese high schools. This approval means that the students who graduate from these schools can take entrance exams for Japanese universities. It is just one of many reasons, however. GIIS Japan's Nishi Kasai campus. (May 21, 2025 screenshot, GIIS Japan website.)
There is a strong emphasis on mathematics as well as science within an English-speaking environment in a culturally mixed community. And, its low fee structure and closer cultural similarity to Japanese schools make the GIIS system accessible for both Japanese parents and school operators.
The necessity to expand the school beyond Indian students was rooted in the COVID crisis. Territorial borders were closed for almost two years, leading to a change in strategy. Dependence on Indian students necessarily stopped, and an effort was made to include the Japanese population. As a consequence, international schools' relevance increased exponentially. Until the pandemic, students and teachers at GIIS Tokyo were predominantly Indian. Today, however, nearly 60% of the student population at GIIS is Japanese. The Indian student population is roughly 30%.
In terms of academic achievement, GIIS Tokyo students have been performing well with a commendable success rate. Apart from India's national educational curriculum (Central Board of Secondary Education), the school offers Montessori, IB, and Cambridge programs. This vastly expands GIIS students' options for continuation and enrollment in higher education worldwide. It has allowed GIIS students to go on to study at some of the best universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Switzerland.
In June 2024, GIIS Tokyo also offered its first Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). A globally acknowledged standardized test, the SAT evaluates students' proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics and provides a comprehensive assessment of their academic readiness. It also plays a crucial role in college admissions in the US and several other countries, including some universities in Japan.
In a significant milestone, GIIS had a commendable turnout with 34 students participating in the rigorous evaluation. Out of these, 31 were from other schools. This impressive participation underscores GIIS's reputation for excellence in facilitating standardized testing.
In September 2024, GIIS Tokyo students also achieved outstanding success at the Global Excellence Day (GED) 2024 and the inaugural Mock Conference of the Parties (COP) event, organized by the Global Centre for Education Excellence in Singapore. GIIS Tokyo students from the primary, middle, and senior levels participated in the GED and Mock COP. While GED serves as a platform for students to engage in Student Quality Circles and is a framework based on the principles of total quality management and continuous improvement within the Global Schools Group (GSG), the Mock COP was a simulation of the Global Climate Summit. It enabled students to discuss pressing climate issues and make collective decisions, mirroring real-world diplomacy.
Through these initiatives, students collaborate to identify challenges and devise practical solutions that will help them improve their logical and analytical skills. They foster collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity among participants. Over 200 students across 18 campuses from five countries participated, and GIIS Tokyo students received multiple awards for their presentations and contributions. Seishincho Campus of GIIS Japan. (May 21, 2025 screenshot, GIIS Japan website.)
The popularity of the Global Indian International School in Japan has been a noteworthy development from the prism of Indian Soft Power Diplomacy. It is also moving into the realm of new innovative tools of outreach. The expansion of its campuses and the inclusivity provided to the Japanese population serve as an opportunity for both the sustainability of their schools and increased cultural exchange and diversity. It is a win-win situation for all.
Author: Varuna Shankar
Varuna Shankar is an editorial manager at India's World , an online magazine.
