Aoba-Japan International School vs St. Mary's International School
🇯🇵 Tokyo · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither Aoba-Japan International School nor St. Mary's International School sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. Both are day schools with fees in the same market band — see the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| Aoba-Japan International School | St. Mary's International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB | IB / American |
| Ages | 2–18 | 5–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English |
| Annual fees | JPY 2,330,500–3,094,500 | JPY 3,060,000–3,250,000 |
| Enrollment | 600 | 1,000 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | CIS, NEASC | CIS, WASC |
Strengths
- ✓Long operating history (since 1976) and IB World School status since 2015
- ✓Dual external accreditation (CIS + NEASC) plus IB authorization
- ✓Distinctive entrepreneurship/innovation positioning, backed by BBT's business-education parentage
- ✓Strong language-inclusion model: native-English faculty plus integrated Intensive English Preparation through Grade 8
- ✓High diversity (~50 nationalities) while remaining accessible to Japanese-heritage families
- ✓Dual CIS + WASC accreditation — exceptional accreditation depth for a Japan-based school
- ✓Full K–12 continuity (ages ~5–18) on a single 9-acre campus, with IB DP capstone
- ✓70-year-old established institution with a clear, stable Catholic mission
- ✓Strongly international student body (~1,000 boys, ~60 nationalities)
- ✓Published, transparent IB DP subject offering (all six groups + TOK/CAS/EE)
Trade-offs
- !'Full IB Continuum' marketing vs. evidence that MYP may be candidate-stage, not authorized — a continuity gap in the middle years
- !Multi-campus, age-split sites (2–6 vs 3–15 vs 15–18) can mean transitions between physical campuses
- !No published verified IB average — only a reported range (27–40); cohort-level outcomes not transparently public
- !Heavily Japanese-connected student body (~65% with at least one Japanese parent) may dilute the international-immersion some expat families expect
- !Accreditation/authorization detail relies partly on a Wikipedia article with maintenance flags
- !No published academic outcomes — IB average, pass rate and university destinations all not public
- !EAL/ESL support is not described anywhere public; English-language-learner provision is unverifiable
- !AP is sometimes assumed but is NOT publicly evidenced — only the IB DP is confirmed
- !Official tuition figures could not be confirmed on the school's own fees page (third-party only)
- !The school's Wikipedia entry references 2014 historical abuse allegations — a matter of public record families may wish to research independently
Best Fit For
- • Families (esp. Japan-resident or mixed-heritage) wanting an English-medium IB pathway with strong EAL onboarding
- • Students drawn to entrepreneurship, innovation and project/STEAM-oriented learning
- • Families needing a 2-to-18 single-provider pathway in northwest/central Tokyo
- • Families specifically seeking a single-sex, all-boys environment
- • Families wanting a Catholic / faith-based education within an international setting
- • Families prioritising accreditation rigour (CIS + WASC) as a quality signal
- • Long-stay expat or local families wanting K–12 continuity in one institution
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: IB Diploma results cited as a range of 27–40, with 100% of graduates progressing to further education. No published average score or independently verified destination list was found.
Not public. No university destinations, placement statistics, or matriculation lists are published, though the school maintains a University Counseling function.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Aoba-Japan International School or St. Mary's International School?
Aoba-Japan International School is best for: Families (esp. Japan-resident or mixed-heritage) wanting an English-medium IB pathway with strong EAL onboarding. St. Mary's International School is best for: Families specifically seeking a single-sex, all-boys environment. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between Aoba-Japan International School and St. Mary's International School?
Aoba-Japan International School: JPY 2,330,500–3,094,500. St. Mary's International School: JPY 3,060,000–3,250,000. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Aoba-Japan International School and St. Mary's International School offer?
Aoba-Japan International School: IB. St. Mary's International School: IB, American.
Do Aoba-Japan International School or St. Mary's International School offer boarding?
Aoba-Japan International School: day school only. St. Mary's International School: day school only.
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →