The International Schools Review Forum

We are currently in Shanghai and VERY happy. Love our jobs, our housing, and both school and sports opportunities for our boys have been fantastic. We are looking around only because of the pollution.

Can anyone comment on ASIJ? What is it like living there? I have heard that it is very expensive to live and travel in Japan. Anyone know savings potential?

Can anyone suggest other schools in Asia that are less polluted than Shanghai but still very good schools? (I know that is hard to define and depends on priorities...)

The 2, or even 3 pay scales, would drive me nuts....

It's a toughie.
I have to admit I do not have any friends with personal experience there so basically I'm talking out my ass. However, a good mate of my sisters works in Tokyo...(my sister is some hifalutin' insolvency accountant consultant with a well know accountancy/management consultancy firm and her friend is on secondment) and she says there is huge upheaval in the expat community and indeed all over Japan owing to the dreadful calamity that befell them after the quake. I think we have tended to forget what a profound and dreadful event this was because the Japanese did not whine or ask for help but have simply gotten on with the task of re-building.
If you think this through, this has probably resulted in a reduction in the ex-pat community, and therefore kids at the school. Ongoing concerns about radiation with the usual tabloid, unthinking reaction may have taken its toll. Secondly my sources suggest a general increase in taxation to support the redevelopment.
There are not many schools that can come through this unscathed.
Having said that, they have traditionally been a "Holy Grail" of IS teaching, so I should imagine that what passes for a reduction in package and living conditions at ASIJ might be inconsequential, given their standing in the IS community.
Would I accept a job there? Hmmm. I would stare long and hard at the fine print of the contract and especially the details of the ethos of the school. As a long standing IS teacher, with children, I consider that fit is paramount. In my career I have been fortunate to have choices in all my moves. I would not jump at ASIJ as a knee-jerk reaction to an offer. But I suspect it would be hard to turn them down.
Such as they are, herein are my thoughts.

[quote="Cheery Littlebottom"]It's a toughie.
I have to admit I do not have any friends with personal experience there so basically I'm talking out my ass. However, a good mate of my sisters works in Tokyo...(my sister is some hifalutin' insolvency accountant consultant with a well know accountancy/management consultancy firm and her friend is on secondment) and she says there is huge upheaval in the expat community and indeed all over Japan owing to the dreadful calamity that befell them after the quake. I think we have tended to forget what a profound and dreadful event this was because the Japanese did not whine or ask for help but have simply gotten on with the task of re-building.
If you think this through, this has probably resulted in a reduction in the ex-pat community, and therefore kids at the school. Ongoing concerns about radiation with the usual tabloid, unthinking reaction may have taken its toll. Secondly my sources suggest a general increase in taxation to support the redevelopment.
There are not many schools that can come through this unscathed.
Having said that, they have traditionally been a "Holy Grail" of IS teaching, so I should imagine that what passes for a reduction in package and living conditions at ASIJ might be inconsequential, given their standing in the IS community.
Would I accept a job there? Hmmm. I would stare long and hard at the fine print of the contract and especially the details of the ethos of the school. As a long standing IS teacher, with children, I consider that fit is paramount. In my career I have been fortunate to have choices in all my moves. I would not jump at ASIJ as a knee-jerk reaction to an offer. But I suspect it would be hard to turn them down.
Such as they are, herein are my thoughts.[/quote]
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Not first hand, but highly reliable second hand:
Package is still very good. Japan can be expensive but you would have a very high quality of life and there are ways to avoid the worst of the high costs (e.g. where you shop, eat out etc).

The school still provides a high quality and enjoyable school/work experience. Admin had their pet projects that everyone is expected follow/pay lip service to, but that is no different than any school.
First hand:

Japan is amazing and I would go back in a second (and I'm currently in a prime location in Europe). The neighborhood around the school is adorable and very, very livable with convenient train transport close by. The houses available for teachers to rent are excellent.

The school facilities are top notch and the school is a hub for many activities and social opportunities.

As for the possible health concerns, do your research but I wouldn't rule it out based on that. There are questions, but there are possible questions and concerns about something, virtually anywhere in the world.

I agree with wrldtravlr...I lived there from 1990 to 1995. I'm sure it's changed a lot but it really is a neat place. Very safe and everything works. The Japanese are very efficient so problems would, for the most part, be transparent and dealt with. I'd go back in a heartbeat.