TOKYO – Starting in the 2025 academic year, all field trip and school camp expenses will be free for students attending municipal elementary and junior high schools in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.
The new initiative, announced on Sept. 5, will apply to all students enrolled in Katsushika Ward-run schools, regardless of their household income. This makes Katsushika the first of Tokyo’s 23 special wards to introduce such a program. The ward has allocated around 280 million yen (approximately $1.98 million) in its draft budget for fiscal 2025 to fund this initiative.
Since the 2023 academic year, Katsushika Ward has been providing free school lunches at its 74 municipal schools. The local government is now taking additional steps to reduce the financial burden on families raising children.
The free trips will include a range of two-night, three-day stays. These trips consist of the school trip for third-year junior high school students, study camp for second-year junior high students, outdoor educational trips for sixth graders, and a seaside summer camp for fifth graders.
Around 2,900 second- and third-year junior high school students and 3,400 fifth and sixth graders will benefit from this program. For third-year junior high students, the school trip is expected to cost around 80,000 yen (about $570) per student.
Previously, Katsushika Ward had already been covering travel and some other costs for school trips, except for third-year junior high students. An additional 49 million yen ($366,000) will now be allocated to ensure these trips are entirely free.
In addition to covering trip expenses, the ward plans to provide free equipment for science experiments, workbooks, and other materials used in public schools. This part of the initiative is expected to cost 420 million yen (approximately $2.98 million).