In Japan the school year starts on April 1 and ends on March 31. Children must go to school for 9 years: 6 years of elementary school and 3 years of junior high school.
April 1 – March 319 years of compulsory school
学年The school year
Elementary school
6 years
Junior high school
3 years
Starts
the first April after a child turns 6
From the School Education Act and its Enforcement Regulation.
A year from April to March
The rules for schools say that the elementary school year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31 of the next year.
Nine years for everyone
The School Education Act says that parents must let their children receive 9 years of general education.
Elementary school is 6 years and junior high school is 3 years.
Children start elementary school at the beginning of the first school year after the day they turn 6, and stay until the end of the school year in which they turn 12.
What each school is for
Elementary school gives the basic part of general education, fitted to how children grow.
Junior high school builds on elementary school and gives general education as part of compulsory education.
Think about it
Q1A child born in June turns 6 in June. In which month will they start elementary school?
Q2What might be good about starting the school year in April? What might be hard?
Q3When does the school year start in your country?
There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.
Did you know? — Before Japan’s school system began in 1872, many children learned at small schools called terakoya.