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BCCJ Members Mitsui Fudosan, Clarence Education Asia collaboration: Rugby School Japan
Written by BCCJ
February 4, 2022
Community and Business, Member News, UK-Japan Relations
Basic agreement to develop Rugby School Japan in Chiba
On January 31 2022, BCCJ member organisations Mitsui Fudosan and Clarence Education Asia, along with Chiba University signed a basic partnership agreement announcing the intention to establish Rugby School Japan (RSJ), scheduled to open in Kashiwanoha in August 2023.
Rugby School Japan is set to be the first ever British boarding school in the greater Tokyo area – the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with an estimated population of 37.4 million – in a campus located just 30 minutes from the Tokyo urban centre.
About Rugby School in the UK
Founded in 1567, Rugby is one of the UK’s oldest independent schools. It is also known as the birthplace of the sport of rugby:
“At least two centuries of Rugby’s history are written in the stones and other monuments to tradition that stand around the School Close, where in 1823, local lad William Webb Ellis, with a fine disregard for the rules of football, took the ball in his arms and ran with it, originating the game of rugby football.”
On the back of the success of the Rugby World Cup 2019 held in Japan, the School announced it would open a sister school in Japan, its second international location following the launch of Rugby School Thailand.
Rich academic grounds
Rugby School Japan will be a day and boarding school for 780 pupils aged 11-18, delivering the best in British education and extra-curricular activities. The School will run the British curriculum and House system, and students will benefit from the original Rugby School’s 450-year history and guiding ethos ‘Whole Person, Whole Point’ within the cultural context of Japan.
Rugby School Japan will sit nestled within the Kashiwanoha International Campus Town, a smart city concept launched in March 2008. The city’s masterplan is driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a strong focus on “promoting the utilization and internationalization of academic research and resources”.
Rugby School Japan will be a continuation of this ambitious project, and will benefit from close working links with Chiba University and the University of Tokyo also located in the Kashiwanoha development.
The heads of the project look forward to further championing internationalisation and innovation, and Rugby School Japan will be upheld as a world-leading example of educational excellence and cultural collaboration. Leaders have pledged to contribute to mutual exchange between RSJ students as well as its own communities in order to strengthen education, research, and social contributions for the greater good.
CEA British Schools in Tokyo
Clarence Education Asia also operates two other educational facilities in Tokyo: Clarence International School (CIS) a pre-school in Omotesando, and Phoenix House primary school in Hanzomon. CEA founders Fei-Fei Hu and Ayahi Suda were named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2021 British Business Awards, in November 2021.
Further reading
Mitsui Fudosan Press Release
Chiba University Press Release
Rugby School UK website
Rugby School Japan website
Clarence Education Asia website
First ever British boarding school to launch in Japan (Jan 2020)
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