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Marist Brothers International School (MBIS) — Not the Same School as St. Mary's Tokyo

Hyogo, Japan

Founded in 1951 in Kobe's Suma-ku, a coeducational IB continuum school reportedly WASC-accredited since 1972.

Researched by William Prep from published sources. Not yet verified by the school. — Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

MBIS was founded in 1951 in Kobe's Suma-ku. It runs the full IB continuum (PYP/MYP/DP) and is reportedly WASC-accredited since 1972. It enrols roughly 520 students representing 35-plus nationalities.

At a Glance

Founded	1951 (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
WASC Accreditation	1972 (reported) (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Coeducation	Coeducational not publicly confirmedas of: 2026-09-24
Tuition (DP, G11-12)	¥1,883,620/yr (2024-25) (not independently confirmed)2024-25 · as of: 2026-09-24

Not the Same School as "St. Mary's"

Some search results conflate MBIS with St. Mary's International School in Tokyo (a boys-only school founded by the Brothers of Christian Instruction). Despite the similar name, these are entirely separate institutions — different founding religious order, different city (Kobe vs. Tokyo), different admissions policy (MBIS coeducational, St. Mary's boys-only).

William Prep’s Analysis

Catholic-founded schools draw on multiple religious orders, and similarly-named schools turning up in different cities isn't unusual. Searching by name alone risks blending in information from an entirely different school by mistake. Making this distinction explicit was itself one of the goals of this profile.

Fees: Only 2024-25 Data Could Be Confirmed

The school's own site (marist.ac.jp/tuition-fees/) was checked this session, but the actual 2026-27 fee amounts are held in a separate downloadable document that wasn't retrieved. Third-party sources report 2024-25 figures (PYP Early Years ¥1,548,660, PYP Grade 1-5 ¥1,778,680, MYP Grade 6-10 ¥1,875,140, DP Grade 11-12 ¥1,883,620) — one to two years stale, and no application or registration fee amount was found at all.

University Entrance Eligibility in Japan

School-accreditation route	Yes (not independently confirmed)
Student-qualification route (IB, etc.)	Yes

WASC accreditation is based on third-party reporting, not confirmed against the registry directly this session. Independent of that, a student completing the full IB Diploma qualifies via the individual-credential route regardless.

Fees & Estimated First-Year Cost

academic year: 2024-25

Tuition (PYP Early Years)PYP-EY	¥1,548,660(not independently confirmed)
Tuition (PYP Grade 1-5)PYP-G1-G5	¥1,778,680(not independently confirmed)
Tuition (MYP Grade 6-10)MYP-G6-G10	¥1,875,140(not independently confirmed)
Tuition (DP Grade 11-12)DP-G11-G12	¥1,883,620(not independently confirmed)
Application / Registration Fee	not publicly confirmed

What Makes This School Distinctive

WASC accreditation reportedly dating to 1972

Over 50 years of reported WASC accreditation history

Multiple third-party sources consistently report the 1972 date.

A strong signal of institutional stability for families weighing accreditation continuity.

Admissions

Cycle

通年（ローリング入学と報告） (not independently confirmed)

What Japanese Families Should Know

Who Might Find This School a Good Fit

Might suit — Families in the Kobe area seeking a full IB continuum

Might not suit — Families wanting exact, current (2026-27) fee figures before applying

William Prep’s Analysis

What mattered most in researching MBIS wasn't the fee figures themselves — it was making explicit that this is a separate school frequently conflated with St. Mary's. A useful reminder for the whole research process: search-engine summaries can blend information from different schools together without flagging it.

Questions to Ask the School

1.What are the exact 2026-27 fees, including application and registration amounts?
Why this matters: The school's own fee page defers to a separate document not retrieved this session.
2.What is the current status of WASC accreditation, and when is the next review?
Why this matters: Not confirmed against WASC's own registry directly this session.

Sources & Verification

Search synthesis on Marist Brothers International School history and accreditation — Multiple (incl. Wikipedia)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Founded 1951 in Kobe (Suma-ku). WASC accredited since 1972. IB-authorised (PYP/MYP/DP) per third-party reporting. ≈520 students, 35+ nationalities. Not independently confirmed against marist.ac.jp's own history/accreditation pages this session.
Search synthesis on Marist Brothers fees — Multiple (search aggregation)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Reports, for 2024-25: PYP Early Years ¥1,548,660/yr, PYP G1-5 ¥1,778,680/yr, MYP G6-10 ¥1,875,140/yr, DP G11-12 ¥1,883,620/yr. This is one year behind most other batch-3 schools (2026-27) — the school's own site (marist.ac.jp/tuition-fees/) was fetched this session but the actual 2026-27 fee schedule is a separate downloadable document not retrieved. No application/registration fee amounts were found.
大学入学資格について — 文部科学省 (MEXT)official source · as of: 2026-09-23Sets out the routes to 大学入学資格: MEXT-designated schools; graduates of 12-year programmes at institutions accredited by WASC, CIS, ACSI, NEASC, Cognia or COBIS; holders of the IB Diploma, Abitur, Baccalauréat, GCE A-Level, International A-Level or European Baccalaureate; 高等学校卒業程度認定試験 (age-18 gated); and individual university review at 18+.

Last reviewed by William Prep: 2026-09-24

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