Photograph pending

Osaka YMCA International School (OYIS) — the First DP Graduates Were Only in 2023

Osaka, Japan

Established in 2001 through a partnership between Osaka City and the YMCA — reportedly Osaka City's only full IB continuum school.

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

OYIS was reportedly established in September 2001 through a partnership between Osaka City and the YMCA. It's described as Osaka City's only full IB continuum school (PYP/MYP/DP) — though its first Grade 12 graduating class was reportedly only in June 2023, meaning the DP's track record spans just a few years.

At a Glance

Established	September 2001 (Osaka City + YMCA partnership) (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Standing	Reportedly Osaka City's only full IB continuum school (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
First DP Graduates	June 2023 (not independently confirmed)as of: 2026-09-24
Est. First-Year Cost (Pre-school)	≈¥1.98M2025-26 · as of: 2026-09-24

The DP Track Record Only Started in 2023

OYIS likely held PYP and MYP authorisation earlier, but its first DP (high-school) graduating class was only in June 2023. Like Fukuoka International School and Tsukuba International School (both researched in this project), a "full IB continuum" label and how many years of actual DP results back it up are two different questions.

William Prep’s Analysis

Being "the only one" in Osaka City is a strong selling point, but it also reflects the absence of alternatives. A family should weigh in the fact that DP graduate data spans only a few years so far.

Fees: Grade 10-12 Has an Unusual Line-Item Structure

OYIS's own fee PDF (2025-26) lists a registration fee of ¥300,000 (Pre-school-Grade 9) or ¥200,000 (Grade 10-12), plus a ¥30,000 application fee. Tuition climbs steadily by grade, from ¥1,454,000 at Pre-school to ¥1,910,000 at Grade 7-9 — but at Grade 10-12, the displayed tuition figure drops sharply to ¥670,000, with a much larger "development fee" of ¥1,498,000 instead. This might reflect Japan's high-school tuition support scheme reshaping how the fee is categorized, but the reason wasn't confirmed this session. Using Pre-school as the base, the first-year total is roughly ¥1,975,000.

University Entrance Eligibility in Japan

School-accreditation route	No not publicly confirmedWhether OYIS holds any of the six MEXT-recognised accreditations was not confirmed this session.
Student-qualification route (IB, etc.)	Yes

Whether OYIS itself holds a MEXT-recognised accreditation was not confirmed this session. The DP track record spans only a few years since 2023, so university-outcomes data is likely still accumulating. A student completing the full IB Diploma qualifies via the individual-credential route regardless.

Fees & Estimated First-Year Cost

academic year: 2025-26

Registration Fee (Pre-school-G9)	¥300,000
Registration Fee (G10-12)	¥200,000
Application Fee	¥30,000
Tuition (Pre-school)Pre-school	¥1,454,000
Tuition (Kindergarten A & B)Kindergarten	¥1,548,000
Tuition (Grade 1-6)G1-G6	¥1,705,000
Tuition (Grade 7-9)G7-G9	¥1,910,000
Tuition (Grade 10-12, as displayed)G10-G12	¥670,000For this grade band only, the "development fee" is separately much larger, making the displayed tuition figure lower — possibly reflecting Japan's high-school tuition support scheme, though this wasn't confirmed this session.
Development Fee (Pre-school-G9, annual)Pre-school-G9	¥184,000
Development Fee (Grade 10-12, annual)G10-G12	¥1,498,000
Insurance (annual)	¥7,000
Estimated First-Year Total	¥1,975,000

Includes: registration, application, tuition, other — Excludes: Excludes lunch fees. This uses Pre-school as the base (Grade 10-12 is excluded due to its unusual tuition/development-fee split).

What Makes This School Distinctive

Reportedly Osaka City's only full IB continuum school

Established 2001, a City-YMCA partnership school

Multiple third-party sources consistently report this standing.

But the DP's own graduate track record is still only a few years old, since 2023.

Admissions

Cycle

未確認 not publicly confirmed

What Japanese Families Should Know

Who Might Find This School a Good Fit

Might suit — Families in Osaka City seeking a full IB continuum

Might not suit — Families prioritizing a long-established DP track record (this one is only a few years old)

William Prep’s Analysis

What made researching OYIS worthwhile was that checking the school's own primary-source PDF directly surfaced the odd Grade 10-12 fee structure. Relying only on third-party USD-denominated figures would have missed this structural quirk entirely.

Questions to Ask the School

1.Why does the Grade 10-12 fee structure split so differently between tuition and development fee?
Why this matters: Not confirmed this session — possibly related to Japan's high-school tuition support scheme.
2.What are the university outcomes for DP graduates since 2023?
Why this matters: Not confirmed this session.

Sources & Verification

2025-2026 Tuition and Fees — Osaka YMCA International Schoolprimary source · as of: 2026-09-24Fetched and parsed directly (PDF). 2025-26 annual figures by division: Pre-school tuition ¥1,454,000 + development fee ¥184,000 + insurance ¥7,000 = ¥1,645,000; Kindergarten ¥1,739,000; Grades 1-6 ¥1,896,000; Grades 7-9 ¥2,101,000; Grades 10-12 tuition ¥670,000 + development fee ¥1,498,000 + insurance ¥7,000 = ¥2,175,000 (the G10-12 tuition/development split looks unusual — likely reflects Japan's high-school tuition-support-fund offsetting the displayed "tuition" line specifically, not confirmed further this session). One-time fees: registration ¥300,000 (¥200,000 for Grade 10-12 entrants), application ¥30,000.
Search synthesis on Osaka YMCA International School history — Multiple (incl. Wikipedia)third-party source · as of: 2026-09-24Established September 2001 from a partnership between Osaka City and the YMCA. Reported as the only full IB continuum school (PYP-DP) in Osaka. First Grade 12 graduating class in June 2023 — meaning the DP track record is barely three years old as of this session. Not independently confirmed against oyis.org's own history page directly this session.
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

Official Website ↗

Explore Other Schools

Let’s Talk About Your Child’s Learning

Worried whether your child is on the right track? Start with a free consultation, and we’ll map out concrete next steps tailored to their situation.

Book a Free Consultation