(CAJ), established in 1950, is a private

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

school in the city of

Higashikurume, Tokyo is a city located in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,020, and a population density of 9100 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Higashikurume is in the no ...

, Japan that provides a Christian

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-style education in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. CAJ has over 460 students, from kindergarten through high school. About 35% of the students are dependents of Christian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

who work for about 40 different mission organizations. The students come from 20 countries, with 48% from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, 35% from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and 28% from

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

; 33% of students have multiple nationalities. Most students commute to school by public transportation, bicycle or walking. The four-acre (16,000 m²) campus in the western suburbs of Tokyo, accessible by the

Seibu Ikebukuro Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally term ...

, includes a classroom building, auditorium, library,

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

soccer field, gymnasium, computer lab, home economics and industrial arts facilities, and dining hall.

Mission

The stated mission of Christian Academy in Japan is to "equip students to serve Japan and the world for Christ".

Activities

CAJ has a wide range of activities for its students. Chapel is included for all ages. Elementary school activities include several musical groups and various field trips. Middle and high school activities include the CAJ

Student Council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

, chapel committee, various sports, drama, music, field trips, yearbook/school newspaper, and community service opportunities. CAJ has an award winning VEX VRC Robotics program. CAJ VEX Robotics teams have won numerous awards at regional competitions. VRC Team 99484A from CAJ was selected to represent Japan at the VEX Robotics World Championships in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Additionally, team 99484B was selected to participate in 2018. At the Fall 2018 regional championship competing with schools from Northeast Asia and Hawaii, CAJ teams won the Judges Award and the Excellence Award (overall first place).

Accreditation

CAJ has been accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC ( )) provided accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern ...

since 1976.

History

Started to provide a Christian education to the children of missionaries who arrived primarily after World War II much in part to answering the call of General Douglas McArthur, who oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945-1951 and asked for 1000 missionaries to be sent to Japan. The school opened in 1950, but moved to its current location of Higashikurume in Tokyo in 1951 when it purchased the land that was originally the farm that provided dairy to the imperial family. The existing dairy barns were renovated to use for the first classrooms and additional buildings were added between 1961 - 1972 and over ensuing years.

Sponsoring mission groups

Christian Academy in Japan is owned and operated by the following six

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

mission groups: *

TEAM A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

(The Evangelical Alliance Mission) *

Christian Reformed A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

World Missions *

Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is an evangelical denomination with Pietism, Pietist Lutheran roots. The Christian denomination, denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people in th ...

Board of World Missions
OMS

SEND International

WorldVenture
(formerly CBInternational)

Notable alumni

* Kiko Wilson, singer and actress * :Simon Nakamura, cross country runner, record holder of CAJ

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Academy In Japan Educational institutions established in 1950 Elementary schools in Japan Private schools in Tokyo International schools in Tokyo 1950 establishments in Japan Higashikurume, Tokyo Christian_schools_in_Japan