Photo/Illutration Third-graders engage in a debate in English in a classroom at the Abroad International School Osaka in Osaka’s Ikuno Ward on Oct. 12. (Tetsuaki Otaki)

OSAKA--On a fine autumn day in mid-October, cheers broke out as children, who had split into red-and-white teams, competed against each other on a schoolyard.

Located in a residential district of the city’s Ikuno Ward, the venue had been part of the now-defunct city-run Hayashidera Elementary School.

“Go! Go! Red team!” one spectator shouted--in English.

This was the first athletic meet hosted by the Abroad International School Osaka (AIS Osaka) after it relocated into the school building in August.

Previously, AIS Osaka had been housed in an office building in the city’s Nishi Ward and would have to rent an arena in the city to organize its sports day events.

This year, things were different.

“I’m happy we can hold the athletic meet in our schoolyard,” a third-grade boy said with a smile.

AIS Osaka has about 200 students between the ages of 1 and 15.

Japanese nationals make up more than half of the students, while the rest come from about 20 other countries around the world, including Turkey, the United States and Russia.

AIS Osaka is an international baccalaureate (IB) authorized school, which means that its students gain standardized qualifications to take university entrance exams worldwide, and lessons are taught almost exclusively in English.

According to Principal Ali Kara, 48, who hails from Turkey, the school was looking for a new building after their previous one became too small to accommodate the ever-increasing number of students.

The principal said he decided to relocate the school to Ikuno Ward because he thought it would be easy for AIS Osaka to be accepted in an area where multiculturalism has taken root.

Also in August, One World International School in Osaka (OWIS Osaka) opened at the former site of the city-run Ikuno Elementary School, about 500 meters from AIS Osaka.

Principal Greg Culos, 57, a Canadian native, said that Ikuno Ward is a diverse and international community.

Operated by a company that has several school brands around the world, OWIS Osaka provides inquiry-based education compatible with the IB system.

About 30 children from age 3 up through the fifth grade are enrolled at the school, and they hail from Japan, India, China and other countries.

Ikuno Ward has been home to many residents originally from the Korean Peninsula since the prewar years. The Osaka Korea Town district is lined with restaurants and clothing stores, and Korean schools are also based here.

According to a survey conducted by the internal affairs ministry in 2021, the ward has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents among communities in urban areas nationwide.

Non-Japanese residents from about 60 countries account for 22 percent of its population of approximately 127,000.

The ward office is proceeding with a plan to make use of its cosmopolitan characteristics to support community development.

Even so, public schools in the Ikuno Ward have been faced with a decreasing number of students.

At many schools, some grades have only one class, and four schools, including the Ikuno and Hayashidera elementary schools, were closed between 2021 and 2022.

Officials wished to use the former school facilities as hubs for disaster prevention and education, and recruited companies that would further those goals and bolster the community, such as international schools.

“It serves as an incentive to attract highly skilled foreign workers, while we can gain clues to resolve issues surrounding foreign residents when we manage evacuation centers in times of disaster,” one official said of international schools moving into the properties.  

Meanwhile, a facility has been set up at another former public school site to serve as an inclusive community center, which operates a learning support class for children of foreign nationals and a children’s cafeteria that provides meals to kids from low-income families.

Both AIS Osaka and OWIS Osaka are also willing to blend in with the community, offering a multipurpose room as a nursery for local residents and planning to set up cafes open to anyone.

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