Asahi Gakuen,[a] or the Los Angeles Japanese School,[b] is a part-time Japanese school in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[1][2] The school was founded by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education in Los Angeles. In 1988, the school had 2,500 students.[3] The school teaches the Japanese language, science, social sciences, and mathematics.[3] As of 1987 the school teaches all four aspects in each school day.[1] The Japan Business Association of Southern California,[c][4][5] previously known as The Japan Traders' Club of Los Angeles,[d] as of 1997 financially supports the school.[3]
History
Asahi Gakuen was founded in 1969. At the time it had one campus and 68 students. By 1986 there were 2,400 students on four campuses.[6]
Prior to 1978 the school took some San Diego residents; that year the Minato School opened in that city.[7]
As of 2018[update] three campuses (Santa Monica, Orange, and Torrance) have high school classes.[11] Previously all high school classes were held at the Santa Monica campus.[12] As of 1986 students took buses from as far away as Orange County to go to the high school campus.[6]
In 1986-1987 the school had students in four campuses,[1][6] including one in Pasadena, one in Garden Grove, one at Daniel Webster Middle,[6] and one at South Torrance High.[1] In 1997, Asahi Gakuen had five branch schools in Los Angeles County and Orange County.[3]
The Torrance campus opened in 1980 with 400 students. In 1987, the Torrance campus had 773 students.[1]
The school year uses the Japanese schedule from April until March, with classes held from 9:00 AM until 3:30 PM during Saturdays.[3]
The school uses tuition to pay for the textbooks it orders from Japan. As of 1986, each student in grades 1-9 has tuition of $49.50 ($137.59 when accounting for inflation) each month, while each high school student has tuition of $67.50 ($187.62 when accounting for inflation) monthly.[15] In 1987 the school had a registration fee of up to $150 ($402.28 when accounting for inflation) and an annual tuition of fewer than $600 ($1609.14 accounting for inflation).[1]
All campuses, as of 1986, have libraries. Fatsuko [sic] Fujita, the West Los Angeles campus librarian, stated that her campus permitted loaning of 5,000 of its books.[15]
Curriculum
In 1986 Kimiko Lin, the assistant principal of the West Los Angeles campus, stated that the school puts its emphasis on classwork instead of homework to avoid overburdening students who have other commitments; therefore, the school sometimes gives homework.[15] However, in recent years, the homework level has increased significantly given a week's curriculum in Japan is covered in one day of class on Saturday and through homework and self study.
Employees
As of 1987, Asahi Gakuen had 47 faculty members.[1] The school's administrators are visiting employees from Japan,[3] credentialed by The Ministry of Education of Japan (Monbusho).[1] The ministry recommends which employees come to teach at Asahi Gakuen.[3]
Student body
In 1986 Hiroshi Matsuoka, the Japan Business Association of Southern California executive director, stated that 85% of the about 3,500 Japanese nationals working for Japanese companies in the Los Angeles metropolitan area sent children to Asahi Gakuen.[6]
^"JBA's History 1960" (Archive). Japan Business Association of Southern California. Retrieved on April 12, 2014. "1961 Inaugurated as Japan Traders Club of Los Angeles with the support of 48 companies"
^"JBA's History 1970Archived 2014-03-06 at the Wayback Machine" (Archive). Japan Business Association of Southern California. Retrieved on April 12, 2014. "1978 Changed name to Japan Business Association of Southern California"
^ abcdePuig, Claudia. "'School of the Rising Sun' : Surroundings Are American but Classes, Traditions Are Strictly Japanese." Los Angeles Times. November 13, 1986. p. 1. Retrieved on March 30, 2014.
^"学園概要." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 3, 2018. "高等部(サンタモニカ校、トーランス校、オレンジ校)"
^"サンタモニカ校・高等部." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "DANIEL WEBSTER MIDDLE SCHOOL 11330 W. Graham Place, Los Angeles, CA 90064 "
^"オレンジ校." Asahi Gakuen. Retrieved on March 30, 2014. "SANTIAGO HIGH SCHOOL 12342 Trask Ave., Garden Grove, CA.92843 "
^"Orange". Asahi Gakuen. Archived from the original on 2001-12-16. Retrieved 2024-07-16. BOLSA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL 9401 Westminster Ave., CA 92644
^ abcPuig, Claudia. "'School of the Rising Sun' : Surroundings Are American but Classes, Traditions Are Strictly Japanese." Los Angeles Times. November 13, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved on March 30, 2014.
Further reading
Moritomo, Toyotomi. Japanese Americans and Cultural Continuity: Maintaining Language and Heritage. Taylor & Francis, 1997. ISBN0815317670, 9780815317678.