Students enjoy different atmosphere

Students enjoy different atmosphere

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta Japanese School (JJS) in Bintaro, Tangerang, appeared
very serene that morning, suggesting that the students were busy
studying in their classrooms.

Step into the compound and take a glance at the classrooms or
pay a visit to the library, you may be surprised to see that
everyone, students and teachers alike, are all very relaxed.

Neither the teachers nor the students wear uniforms.

Most students wear T-shirts and shorts. Their teachers are
equally casually dressed, with many of them also wearing T-shirts
and sporty short pants.

Here at the JJS, the kids always smile and make friendly
gestures when encountering strangers.

"We enjoy our time very much here. It's a different atmosphere
from our school in Japan. I moved here from Japan when I was in
grade one of elementary school," said Haruna Sakaue, 13, who is
now a second-year high school student.

Sakaue is just one of the hundreds of high school students
studying at the JJS, the only Japanese school in the capital.
Founded in 1969, the school now has close to 1,000 elementary and
high school students.

Before it moved to its current site, the JJS was located in
Tebet in South Jakarta, before it moved to Pasar Minggu and then
to Cilandak, all in South Jakarta.

Most of the children studying at the JJS are children of
Japanese diplomats and businessmen residing in the capital. Aside
from the JJS, there are also Japanese schools in Surabaya, East
Java; Bandung, West Java; and Medan in North Sumatra. There are
around 10,000 Japanese citizens living in Indonesia.

JJS director for community relations Hiroshi Saito said most
students at the school had studied in Japan for some time before
moving to Jakarta.

"They have no problems adjusting their lifestyles or culture
here. They seem to enjoy the somewhat different atmosphere," he
told The Jakarta Post.

Udo, who moved to Jakarta when she was in grade six, said that
she found the school and the city very interesting as she had
learned many new things, including the Indonesian language and
culture.

"I am very excited about being here. It is a different
experience and I like it a lot," she told the Post.

She said that most of her friends live in apartment complexes
in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.

Saito said that some students continued their studies in at
the Jakarta International School (JIS), but most returned to
Japan for higher education after their parents finished their
assignments in Indonesia.

"We provide education up to the junior high school level as
the Japanese government has an obligation to educate its citizen
for 9 years," he said.