Seiritsu International Education

It is that time of year again. The registration for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) runs from March 30th to April 30th. The test itself will be held on July 5th at various locations throughout Japan. (The test is also held abroad. If you wish to know more, check out the JLPT website.)


One interesting fact is that even those with Japanese nationality can take the test, as long as they are not considered “native speakers” or if they have studied abroad for an extended period of time.





There is just a little over 2 months left before the test. Making a reasonable plan and sticking to it will go a long way towards successfully passing the test.


Good luck!



Brent Regan

International Dept

writer: staff  date: 3:25 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Connor here,


March saw the end of another busy school term and opened up the way for hours and hours of football. As usual the holidays saw the football club increase both our training and playing schedules.








The first few days of our holiday was made up of intense training and napping. Then we were off to Hasaki in Ibaraki once again for the Spring version of the Ocean Cup, the tournament in which we came 4th during winter. On this occasion the tournament wasn't as successful, however I enjoyed playing against opposition that are usually too far away to play. Besides, spending 4 days playing football with your friends is always fun.





Thankfully we did get a day or two to rest and recover and I spent one of these days skating around Shibuya, Harajuku and Omotesando on a penny board (A penny board is a small skateboard - PW). Although I did get a few odd looks, it was far more enjoyable than walking.

writer: staff  date: 1:14 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Today is the third day of the new school year. The first day is for returning students to give a final clean up of their old homerooms, to get awards from the previous year, and to do some other follow up work and then to move to their new homerooms. The second day is the day we hold our Nyugakushiki (入学式), which is the entrance ceremony for new students. The third day is to welcome our new students on a more personal level. There is a short ceremony in the morning in the school yard where students are lined up with their homerooms. Welcoming messages are given and new teachers are introduced as well. Everyone bows and greets the new members of the “Seiritsu Family.”





Then, in the afternoon, we hold what is called the Club Shokai.





All of the clubs have short 3-minute demonstrations arranged so that new students can get an idea of what each club is like. With 40 clubs to visit, that is 2 hours of watching various club presentations. And that doesn’t include the time moving between club areas. So, the introductions take up the whole afternoon.





The students can try any number of clubs during the month of April. It is a very important decision for many as it will have a large impact on their time in high school and, in some cases, can influence their university years as well.

writer: staff  date: 12:02 PM | Life at Seiritsu

Marina here!

Just before year 1 ended, I went to Harajuku with my friends from 1J Suzune, Karin, and Ayumu. We went to a Hawaiian restaurant for brunch. The restaurant is really popular for its pancake. It would usually take more than an hour to get in during weekends. Ayumu and I shared a pancake and an omelette. The food tasted very good!






After that we went shopping in Harajuku. We went to 竹下通り [Takeshita street - this is the very trendy high street where everyone goes for the current in J-fashion - PW] and looked around. We bought some accessories in a shop called Paris Kids. Then we also went to shops like Wego, Spins, and ABC Mart.





At the end we took 'purikura' - プリクラ - together, which all Japanese high school students like to do [Purikura is like a passport photo booth which you enter with your friends or loved one and take pictures which you then digitally 'beautify', with sometimes hilarious results - PW]. Even though we are in different classes for year 2, we had fun times together.

Thanks to everyone in J-class who made me feel welcomed to Japan!

writer: staff  date: 1:20 PM | Life at Seiritsu

On Sunday March 29th, a number of our karate club members participated in a friendship tournament hosted by the Enyuukai. The event was held at the Western Tokyo City Sports Complex (総合体育館). While the girls didn’t manage to medal, and two boys were “disqualified” over a minor variation in kata that is usually allowed, several boys had some pretty good results.


They earned 1st place and 3rd place in the non-black belt kumite division, which included adults as well as high school aged boys.





They also earned 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the high school aged (少年男子) kumite division. First place went to T.H. Sempai who just graduated a few weeks ago and who was the former captain of our karate club.






For the Kata division, one student placed in the top 8. One of the boys who was disqualified should have also placed but these things can happen…






This was the third consecutive year that our school has participated and, especially for our first year students (who are now second years), it was another good chance to gain experience.

We hope to continue having the chance to compete at this event in the future.


Brent Regan
Seiritsu International Department

writer: staff  date: 1:55 PM | Life at Seiritsu