News Shinagawa first Tokyo ward to offer free junior HS uniforms for students

According to the ward, 1,900 new students are expected at local public junior high schools and 30 at special education schools for the 2026 academic year. The free items include jackets and blazers for winter, as well as pants and skirts for summer and winter. A survey conducted in fiscal 2023 showed that the price of uniforms at the 15 junior high schools and compulsory education schools in the ward ranged from about 33,000 yen to 52,000 yen (roughly $220 to $340). Starting with new students in the 2026 school year, the ward office or the school will purchase the uniforms collectively upon notification of the student's uniform size. The ward government plans to earmark approximately 100 million yen ($658,000) for related expenses in the initial budget draft for fiscal 2025, which starts this April.

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Shinagawa Ward in the capital has announced a policy to introduce morning child care services at three elementary schools starting in the first semester of the 2025 school year, beginning in April. Under this plan, vacant classrooms and after-school club facilities will be available on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with students receiving free bread and rice balls each day. The program will be open to all elementary students at the selected schools, regardless of grade. Initially, the ward government will implement the system on a trial basis at the three schools, with the aim of expanding it to all 31 ward elementary schools and six compulsory education schools by the end of the 2025 academic year. The initiative seeks to address the "first-grade barrier," a challenge faced by working parents due to limited child care options when their children begin elementary school.

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