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.