Japanese School of Melbourne

Mizukami stated that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, which was established in 1963, were the "driving force" behind the establishment of the school. In the 1960s a women's association held negotiations and meetings with Japanese people on where to conduct classes. Some of the Japanese individuals they negotiated with were lecturers at Monash University. On 25 July 1968 the Department of Education of the State of Victoria permitted the society to use the premises of the Malvern Central State School for a supplementary Japanese lessons. It opened in September of that year. While many Japanese wanted a full-time Japanese school, At one time Japanese officials asked for permission for the establishment of a Japanese school when the Premier of Victoria had approached them to discuss the possibility of further Japanese investment in Victoria. The property of the Holy Cross Primary School went up for sale in 1981, and the supplementary school asked Japanese people to join a subscription effort. The supplementary school purchased the property in May 1982. On 21 June 1984 the school, prompted by the chamber of commerce, appointed a committee for establishing a full time Japanese school. The school board asked for funds to buy four prefabricated classrooms in February 1985. These classrooms were completed in December 1985. The Victorian state government stated its willingness to allow a full time Japanese school to be operated in April 1986. In May 1986 an invitation for subscriptions circulated among the Japanese. On 13 May 1986, the full time school opened at its current location with 96 students. A new Japanese supplementary school in Melbourne opened because the previous supplementary school had converted into a full time school; therefore most of the initial students of the JSM were previously students of the predecessor supplementary school. The peak enrolment of the JSM was over 150 students. The 1990s recession in Japan forced many families of employees of Japanese companies to return to Japan, so the student body declined. As of 2012 the school had 53 students, including 3 preparatory students, 33 students in primary school, and 17 students in secondary school. ==Operations==

the school received subsidies from the Australian and Japanese governments, and a head official of the school stated that therefore the JSM had tuition that is about 33% of those of area private schools. ==Curriculum==

Over 90% of the school's coursework is in the Japanese language. The curriculum and selection of the teaching staff is oriented towards Japanese people temporarily living in Australia, and the school management also is oriented towards that clientele. ==Student body==

Most students are temporary residents of Australia, though some are from Japanese families who permanently moved to Australia. In 1996 400 children of ages 6–15, the ages for elementary and junior high school, lived in Melbourne, and of those 25% went to the JSM, with the remainder going to Australian schools. At the time some Japan-born children attended Australian schools and were moved to a nihonjin gakkō for their final year in Australia, since they were due to return to Japan. ==Recreation==

Every October school holds the Japanese School Festival. The festival includes kimono for visitors to try on, Japanese food, and karate demonstrations. ==See also==