About

2021 marks the 110th year of existence for the Japanese Language School Unified System (AKA Kyodo System). As an alumnus of Chuo Gakuen, I have had the honor of serving as a board member for the past three years and look forward to serving as the Board Chairperson for the next three years.

My parents sent me along with my two brothers to Chuo Gakuen so that we would be able to communicate with our many friends and family members who were from and are in Japan and other parts of the world. It gave me a foundation for the Japanese language that I used when I lived in Tokyo, as an announcer for the Scout Association of Japan’s Jamborees, chanting Sutras at my Temple, and with the various jobs I have had in the airline industry. I am grateful for the existence of Kyodo System and the many teachers I had.

Yes, there are fewer students going to our schools as compared to when I was a student but we have a more diverse student population now. I have been to speech contests at various of the campuses over the past few years and was extremely impressed with the speeches each student wrote on topics that were near and dear to them. Much different from my time at Chuo Gakuen during the mid to late 60’s and early 70’s.

Due to Covid19 Pandemic, we’ve had to adjust the way our educators taught our students. I applaud all of our educators who taught via Zoom and our students who continued their studies during this trying time and look forward to brighter days ahead where we can get back to our normal routines at each of our campuses.

We have moved our headquarters from Menlo Avenue to our new location in Pasadena (near the Eaton Canyon Golf Course).

On behalf of our board, I ask for your continued support of our Japanese Language School Unified System as we venture into the future with our students and educators.

Japanese Language School Unified System Board Chairman
Richard Narumi

Since Japanese Language School Unified System (JLSUS) was established in 1911, the main objective of our school system was to teach Japanese and Japanese culture (heritage language) to the children of Japanese and Japanese Americans, and we played the vital role in the Japanese community of Los Angeles for many years. Although We experienced some difficult periods to get enough interest in learning the heritage language among Japanese and Japanese American because of their focus on English education, in recent years we have found that it has become popular to learn Japanese language for the children of newly arrived Japanese in the US for their business or their marriage life with Americans.

At the same time, our school system has been changing over the past 10 years and has been teaching not only to children of Japanese and Japanese Americans, but also to American children with a wide range of backgrounds reflecting a diversified America. This interest in Japanese may partly be because Japanese cars and electrical products have obtained a good reputation, but also Japanese games and anime have been exceedingly popular among young Americans. In addition, recently in the sport world of the US, several Japanese players have shown excellent performance, like Ms. Osaka as the 2 times champion of US Open for women’s tennis, Mr. Matsuyama as the winner of this year’s Masters Tournament for golf, and Mr. Otani as one of leading hitters in the home run race for Major League Baseball.

For 2020-21 school year, we had the most difficult and challenging experience to start online classes for the first time in Kyodo System history because of the covid-19 pandemic. But due to the large -scale distribution of covid-19 vaccines under the new Biden administration, we will be able to reopen in-person classes fully from the new school year on 7/10/21.

The role of our school will continue to be teaching Japanese and Japanese culture as heritage to Japanese children, but also will expand to teach anybody who want to learn Japanese and Japanese cultures in the Los Angeles community. It is not easy to learn foreign language and culture, as it requires everyday efforts. But through your efforts, you can also enjoy expanding your world by learning different languages and cultures. We would like to provide various help to you for learning Japanese and Japanese cultures with enjoyment through our school system.

Japanese Language School Unified System Principal
Kiyoshi Murakata