Tokyo's richest ward counts cost of sending all students to Singapore

TOKYO, Oct 11 (News On Japan) - Tokyo's Minato Ward Assembly recently made a formal decision to allocate 500 million yen of taxpayers' money for overseas study trips for all public junior high schools, sparking both support and opposition.

The destination for these trips is Singapore, known for its iconic Merlion, a 7-hour flight from Tokyo. The program is aimed at about 760 third-year students in public junior high schools.

According to the ward, the per-person cost borne by families had previously been around 70,000 yen for study trips to Kyoto or Nara. The remaining cost of approximately 500,000 yen will be covered by taxpayers' money, totaling a staggering 500 million yen.

Minato Ward has been focusing on international education since 2007, and the 3-night, 5-day study trip to Singapore is considered the culmination of its efforts in elementary and junior high schools.

Minato Ward's chief of education explained, "We aim to promote interactions with local students in English. The program also includes direct experiences of foreign cultures, nature, and history. Students will engage in group activities and explore the city, and no matter the cost, we want to ensure that they learn effectively with taxpayer money, without any wasteful spending."

by Brian Dentry

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