1. Attendance: Arriving at school on time is very important. Students are expected to arrive to class at 8:30 AM. In some schools, if a student is late more than five times they must come to class early and accept cleaning responsibilities as punishment for a week.
2. Greetings: It’s very important to pay respect to you elders in Japan, especially one who is providing you with an education. Every day upon arriving and leaving class students must stand and bow to their teacher in order to show their respect.
3. Lunch: When it’s time to have lunch, students don’t leave their classrooms to go to a cafeteria. Instead, students must bring their own place mat and dishes in order to be served food that is made either by lunch ladies or the student. They are required to finish everything on their plates and bring a toothbrush to wash up afterwards.
4. Cleaning: Rather than relying on cleaning staff, students in Japan are responsible for keeping the classrooms and hallways clean. This includes mopping, dusting, and cleaning the chalkboard erases and bathrooms. This is to teach students the value of cleanliness.
5. Summer: If you think your school vacations were short, 2 months of time would seem like a lot to a student in Japan. Students receive a small 5-6 week break starting on July 20 and lasting until the end of August. However, during this time students often show up to class anyways to either study, work on their hefty homework load, or to participate in school clubs.
6. Weekends: Up until the year 1992, weekends in Japan were only 1 day long until the government decided to give students more time to relax. Despite the change, many high schools ignore this rule and still offer classes on Saturdays.
7. Relationships: In Japan, many high schools have a rule in place prohibiting students from having open relationships. This is to make sure that each student is strictly focused on their studies.
8.Hair: There are several strict rules dedicated to how students present themselves and a lot of them are related to hair. Though school is the time to play around with your look and try new things, there are a few limitations when it comes to certain schools in Japan. Girls are not allowed to have bangs longer than their eyebrows and are not allowed to wear colorful scrunchies. Boys are not allowed to have long facial hair and it’s to be kept neat and trimmed at all times.
9. Uniform: If you wore a uniform in school, chances are you found a way to spruce it up by playing with makeup and accessories. For students in Japan, there are several rules regarding how the uniform should be worn.These rules have to be maintained even after students leave the building in order to represent the school well.
10. Accessories: In some schools you’re not allowed to change your physical appearance. This means no hair dye, makeup, contacts, and some schools even prohibit grooming eyebrows and painting nails.
11. Sweater: Students are not allowed to wear a colored jacket over their uniform. Only tan, navy, black, or gray. There is also no jewelry allowed.
12. Cell Phones: Students are not allowed to use their cell phone while inside the school. Instead, they are required to use their phones between classes or after school in the parking lot or front entrance of the school.
13. Swimming Lessons: Most schools in Japan have a swimming pool and students are required to learn to swim a certain distance. The lessons are treated very seriously and are apart of the curriculum. If a student fails, they have to take the training over the summer.
14. Kancho: While this is more of a tradition among young school kids than a rule, it’s quite common for Japanese students to perform this silly prank. It involves using the index fingers pressed together to poke someone in the behind. When teachers come overseas to Japan, they are often warned of this little game.
15. Substitute teacher: For some people, when a substitute teacher took over class for a day it was an excuse to be lazy and slack off. In Japan, there are rarely substitute teachers. Another teacher in the school may check in on the class but for the most part students are required to study on their own and be on their best behavior.
16. Curfew: Imagine having the same curfew as all of your friends when you were younger. That’s exactly how it is for Japanese youth. Students are required to be home by 10 PM and are prohibited from having sleepovers with friends.