投稿者: temp_admin

In September 2025, YBS will open its middle school division — YBS Middle School — taking our world-class bilingual education to the next level!! We are pleased to share this exciting news based on our official press release.

29th, August, 2025

PressRlease

LaLaLand Education Co., Ltd.

LaLaLand Education Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture / CEO: Fumi Inoue) will open YBS Middle School in September 2025 in Yokosuka. Taking advantage of the city’s unique setting with a U.S. Navy base, the school offers bilingual education in Japanese and English. Through hands-on experiences such as field trips and cultural immersion, YBS aims to cultivate students who can thrive globally, beyond the confines of the classroom.

■Background & Purpose

As of the end of 2024, the number of foreign residents in Japan reached a record high of approximately 3.77 million (*1). According to the Ministry of Education, over 129,000 foreign students are enrolled in public schools, with about 70,000 identified as needing Japanese language support (*2)—a twofold increase in the past decade.

However, many schools face a shortage of Japanese language instructors, making it difficult for children to overcome language barriers. This can hinder their academic advancement, career opportunities, and social integration.

YBS has spent the past 12 years working closely with American families in the multicultural city of Yokosuka. Drawing on this experience, YBS has created an educational environment grounded in multilingualism, inquiry-based learning, and real-world experiences, offering pioneering opportunities for children with international roots to build their future.

(*1) Immigration Services Agency of Japan

(*2) Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

■ Key Features of the Program

Explore the World! Asian Diversity Awaits YBS Learners

Yokosuka, Japan – At YBS, we are committed to empowering students to become global leaders with a unique blend of international knowledge and Japanese cultural understanding. From Yokosuka to the world, we offer an educational experience that prepares students to excel in a globally interconnected world. In an ever-evolving global landscape, the demand for bilingual individuals who can thrive in diverse environments is higher than ever. YBS equips learners with not only a strong foundation in English and Japanese but also the skills and perspectives necessary to lead in both Western and Asian contexts. We are proud to go beyond traditional paths to Western education, focusing on nurturing individuals who will excel within the rich diversity of Asia and beyond. Our mission is to develop global citizens capable of bridging cultures, driving innovation, and contributing to a multicultural world.

Go Global with YBS – Prepare for the Future of Education.

Expanding Real-World Learning

YBS values hands-on learning through Japanese cultural events, community engagement, and social fieldwork, providing students with experiences that go beyond textbooks.

The program is designed to help students from diverse backgrounds discover their interests and strengths while honoring tradition and nurturing a global mindset.

Academic Global Level  

YBS adopts the internationally recognized Cambridge curriculum, supporting students up to A-Level qualifications. This rigorous academic framework not only ensures a high standard of education but also equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in any path they choose, anywhere in the world.

Portfolio-Based, Middle-to-High School Learning Path

Through an integrated middle-to-high school journey, students build personalized portfolios and explore a variety of future paths, including:

-Entry to Japanese high schools and universities

-Admission to overseas universities

-Vocational and technical training programs

Flexible Learning Options

YBS offers flexible participation styles to accommodate the needs of returnee families, newly relocated residents, and short-term stays for international students, as well as those from around the world who wish to experience Japanese schools.

-Attend a few days per week

-Join short-term trial programs

-Study in both English and Japanese

-Take part in field trips and cultural events

■ Contact / School Tour

YBS Middle School will open in September 2025 – School tours are planned for the second half of 2025. We will notify you once the schedule and availability are confirmed.

If you are interested in joining a school tour or arranging an individual consultation, please fill out the form below.This tour is intended for prospective parents. Media inquiries for same-day coverage are also welcome.

Tour Pre-Registration Form:https://ybschool.info/contact/

■ Yokosuka Bilingual School（YBS）

YBS’s mission is “Diversity FOR EARTH – Creating a warm place where diversity is embraced to make the Earth a better place.” Based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, YBS aims to create an environment where both foreign residents in Japan and local Japanese residents in Yokosuka can learn and grow together through school operations and community engagement. Our core business is the operation of Yokosuka Bilingual School, which includes YBS Elementary (elementary school), YBS Pre School (Yokosuka International Preschool), YBS After School (after-school program), and YBS English Class, providing diverse learning opportunities for children in the community.

These days, children spend much more time inside, mostly thanks to technology. Compared to the past, more children are not very physically active, sit and watch TV, and do not go out to play and learn.

At Yokosuka Bilingual School (YBS), we want to introduce new worlds and challenges to our students, and a field trip is one of the best tools that we can use to provide every student with real-world experiences. Whether that’s a trip to the local grocery store, waterfront park, a library, a museum, a theater, a community garden or a restaurant, each experience that a student participates in contributes to their understanding of the world. (1)

During field trips, students are able to access tools and environments that are not available at school. Our communities are rich learning laboratories. Field trips make it possible to take students to see an underwater ecosystem at an aquarium, participate in citizen science in a river, use high powered microscopes, see and touch historical artifacts in person and present on a public stage, among hundreds of other things. Each experience solidifies learning and supports important academic concepts. It is so much easier to understand what a cow is when you see it in front of you and are able to touch it as opposed to reading about a cow in a book. Field trips allow students to interact with what they are learning. The experience goes beyond reading a concept in a textbook as children are able to participate in it physically. (2)

Yokosuka Bilingual School (YBS) is located on the Kanagawa Dental University (KDA) campus. It is exceptional that an independent nursery school is operated on a university campus, but here we are!!

A varied range of activities is very important for children’s learning and development. The more stimulants there are, the more growth and knowledge for them.

Thanks to this environment, YBS can provide a safe yet stimulating school life for children.

Regular classrooms, a fenced balcony, different activity rooms, a huge gym, a walking course on campus and the exterior nature area was named “Spooky Forest” by our students!!

In addition to this, we can access Yokosuka’s landmark park, Mikasa Park, without crossing the street!

How lucky we are!!!

Let us introduce our special facilities and activities:

School Balcony

Our balcony is on the 3^rd floor of our building. It is not just an outside recess area, as YBS children can have fun doing water play and other activities.  

Nature Exploring at nature area, “Spooky Forest”!

Spooky Forest is right outside the building. Full of trees, plants, bugs… Japan has four seasons and you will be surprised how different it looks and feels in each season.

In Spooky Forest, our students enjoy seasonal change and exploring nature. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful nature next to us!

Physical Education class and exercise time at a Huge Gym!!

We rent KDA’s huge gym facilities! A big arena, a soccer court, a tatami dojo… We use these facilities according to the needs of our classes and activities.

Events and Activity Rooms

We also use large rooms for events and big group activities. These rooms facilitate interaction between different age groups.

In addition to these facilities, we have many safe points. Security guards are here 24 hours a day, and there is a school doctor on campus.

Again, how lucky we are!!

YBS children learn and grow with no limit at these amazing facilities.

As we have no limit, children grow more and more!

Come check us out to see and feel our safe and stimulating school environment!

When you think about international educational accreditation, you will come up with IB and Cambridge. These are the two well trusted big names in education worldwide.

Yokosuka Bilingual School (YBS) was accredited by Cambridge International in 2023, and we believe that we made the right choice to join this educational system. 2023-2024 was our first year using the Cambridge curriculum, and we have observed significant improvements in learning among our Japanese and international students.

Cambridge International is the world’s largest provider of international education for students ages 3 to 19, and part of the University of Cambridge. It has over 160 years of experience in providing fair, valid and reliable learning and assessments that offer a global, internationally recognized performance standard in education. Cambridge International’s globally trusted framework for education, including high-quality curriculum, assessment, resources and support, helps over 10,000 schools in 160 countries to offer a fully aligned education of the highest standards.

In Japan, there are yet only 20 schools with Cambridge International accreditation, and YBS is one of them!

As 80 percent of our students have parents at the U.S navy base, their period of stay in Japan is usually not long and they will change schools after a few years. While they are in Japan, they would like to learn and be exposed to Japanese language, culture and people. But the prospect of changing schools in the future worries parents that their child will get behind in English and other core subjects.

But at YBS Elementary, such concerns are blown away!

At YBS Elementary, we use the Cambridge International curriculum for English, Math, Science, Global Perspective, English as a Second Language, and Digital Literacy. In addition, we also use the Japanese curriculum and investigative learning curriculum.

Thanks to this unique curriculum framework, students gain skills in a world-wide standard core curriculum, and Japanese skills as well.

YBS has had students who transferred to schools outside Japan, and we received great feedback from their parents; after learning at YBS, the students were very advanced and got great grades, especially in Math and English!

If you are looking for an option for your child’s education in Yokosuka, YBS is the only school that can provide high quality education of Japanese and world-wide standards.

Are you looking for Summer program / care for your child？

Yokosuka Bilingual School offers fun & exciting summer program, with lots of local experience and learning!

YBS summer school is…

-Fully bilingual setting program

-Safe & heart-warming care

-Daily Japanese language classes

-Home work and study support

-Activity and learning with Local Japanese students

-Many field trips and local experiences

-Flexible schedule and affordable tuition

~Schedule~ 

Dates: June 17th to August 31st  *You can enroll weekly!

Time : 8:30-14:00 (Before & After care is available!) 

 ~Price~ 

 9,500yen / week
Before After care ＋ 6,500yen / week
*Field trip fee will be extra

~​Time table~
6:30~8:30 Before care
8:30~9:40 Class1 Ice break activity
9:40~10:00 Recess time
10:00~11:30 Class2 Japanese language
11:30~12:30 Lunch time
12:30~14:00 Class3 Theme learning
14:00~19:00 After school care

~Weekly Theme~

Week 1 June 17th ~June 21st   Japanese Calligraphy

Week 2 June 24th ~June 28th      Japanese History

Week 3 July 1st ~July 5th  Japanese traditional art

Week 4 July 8th~July 12th   Japanese food culture

Week 5 July 15th ~July 19th              Science week

Week 6 July 22nd ~July 26th      Nature &Outdoor

Week 7 July 29th ~August 2nd           Theater Art

Week 8 August 5th ~August 9th             Recycling

Week 9 August 19th ~August 23rd        Craft Art

Week 10 August 26th~August 30th  Food Culture

For application, please send us a contact form below.

We will contact you in 2 bussinesday!

We look forward to meeting you in this Summer!!