Liceo Mexicano Japonés

; ja, 社団法人日本メキシコ学院, Shadan Hōjin Nihon Mekishiko Gakuin, or , ) is a Japanese school based in the Pedregal neighborhood of the Álvaro Obregón borough in southern Mexico City, Mexico."At the Liceo: Where Two Cultures Meet." '' Mexico Journal''
Information
. Demos, Desarrollo de Medios S.A. de C.V., 1989. p
22
"In southernmost Mexico City, nestled within the upscale neighborhood of the Jardines del Pedre- gal, is the private campus of the exclusive Liceo Mexicano Japones. In Japan, it is believed to be the best school in Mexico because Mexico because President Salinas' two sons and daughter attend classes there. Headmaster Arturo Zentella prefers to refrain from making such a boast, but he does admit that "it is a school that ..

It is a school for Japanese Mexicans and the sons of Japanese temporary workers who are often brought to Mexico by companies like Nissan. There is also a section for Mexicans with no Japanese origin or descent, but Japanese is taught beginning in kindergarten and the system is in both languages until high school.

Carlos Kasuga Osaka, who served as the director of Yakult Mexico, founded the school and served as its chair. Within any Nikkei community, it was the first transnational educational institution.Kikumura-Yano, Akemi. ''Encyclopedia of Japanese descendants in the Americas: an illustrated history of the Nikkei''. AltaMira Press, 2002. , 9780759101494. p
218View #2
. "Beginning in 1974, the Japanese Mexican School (Liceo Mexicano Japones, A.C.) merged five Nikkei-run schools and a preparatory school for the children of temporary residents and thereby became the first transnational educational venture of its first kind in the history of any Nikkei community. Accredited by the governments of Mexico and Japan, the school formally opened its doors in September 1977, offering regular classes, based on a Mexican curriculum, taught in Spanish for first grade through the fifth year of secondary school,
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María Dolores Mónica Palma Mora, author of , wrote that the school is a "central institution in the life" of the Japanese Mexican group.Palma Mora, María Dolores Mónica. ''De tierras extrañas: un estudio sobre las inmigración en México, 1950–1990''. Secretariat of the Interior of Mexico (SEGOB), Instituto Nacional de Migración, Centro de Estudios Migratorios, 2006. , 9789680301713. p
318
"El Liceo Mexicano Japonés es una institución central en la vida del grupo, ya que en ella se forman sus hijos. Se fundó en septiembre de 1974, a raíz de la visita a México, por esa fecha, del primer ministro de Japón (Kakuei Tanaka). La escuela, sin embargo, no empezó a funcionar hasta el 2 de septiembre de 1977, y fue inaugurada por el secretario de Educación Pública de ese tiempo, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo. Se construyó con las aportaciones de miembros de la comunidad, de empresas japonesas establecidas en el país, y del gobierno de Japón (que aportó 300 mil yenes), El gobierno de México, ..
See search pageSee second view
/ref> , the author of the master's thesis "The Japanese Immigrant Community in Mexico Its History and Present" at the California State University, Los Angeles, stated that Japanese parents chose the school because they wanted to "maintain their ethnic identity and pride, to implant a spiritual heritage that they claim is the basis for success, and to establish close ties with other Nikkei children who live in distant areas."

many Nikkei and Japanese persons come to the school to study its management techniques and problems.Watanabe, p. 165 (footnote no. 19): "The Liceo is considered so unique that many people come to see it from Japan and other Nikkei communities in the world in order to study the management and the problems encountered."

History

Over one decade of organizational activity occurred before the school's opening.Masterson, p
214
The merger process forming the school began in 1974. It was a merger of a preparatory school, and three of Mexico City's four part-time Japanese schools.

The proposals to build the school were controversial in the Mexico City Nikkei community, and Watanabe stated that the school's importance and that of the ''Asocación Mexicana Japonesa'' "is indicated by the fact that the establishment and management of them has been the source of much strife among the community members."Watanabe, p. 146-147. p. 146: "One is Nichiboku Kyokai, or Asocacion Mexicana Japonesa, and the other is the Japanese school, the Liceo Mexicano Japones. The importance age ends p. 147: "of these two institutions is indicated by the fact that the establishment and management of them has been the source of much strife among the community members." Because of this, about 12 police officers protected the July 1967 annual general meeting to protect it from rioting, and the general meeting had received threats of violence. Watanabe stated that after the ''Liceo Mexicano Japones'' was completed, "the antagonism subsided and unity in the community seems to prevail at present."

The founding of the school occurred after a visit to Mexico by Prime Minister of Japan Kakuei Tanaka. The Government of Japan donated 300 million yen to finance the school's construction in 1975. Tanaka later placed the school's first stone.Nathal, Janett. "Entre dos mundos." '' Diario Reforma''. November 19, 2009. p. 24. Available at Informe Académico, Gale Group, Document ID: GALE, A212211605 "Hace 35 años, durante la visita a México del ex Primer Ministro de Japón, Kakuei Tanaka, surgió la idea de crear una institución en la que japoneses y mexicanos pudieran aprender de ambas culturas y realizar un intercambio educativo; dos años después, se colocó la primera piedra del Liceo Mexicano Japonés en el País, y el 23 de septiembre de 1977 fue inaugurado de forma oficial. ..975 Japón dona 300 millones de yenes para el fondo de construcción del colegio ..984 El ex Primer Ministro, Takeo Fukuda, visitó la escuela y, el mismo año, se inaugura la preparatoria" The school, inaugurated by President of Mexico Luis Echeverría,Morrison, Manuel Rosen. ''Architecture''. BPR Publishers, January 1, 2005. , 9789681867805. p
290
English text: "1977 JAPANESE LYCEUM, Mexico City Commissioned by the Japanese government, and inaugurated by Mexican President Luis Echeverria Alvarez" - Spanish text: "1977 LICEO JAPONÉS, Ciudad de México. Comisionado por el gobierno japonés e inaugurado por el presidente mexicano Luis Echeverría Álvarez." and by Secretary of Education of Mexico Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, opened in September 1977. The governments of Japan and Mexico accredited the school. The Nisei in Mexico were the primary party who had the school built because they wanted their children to have the Japanese cultural heritage. In 1984 the high school was inaugurated. Takeo Fukuda, the Prime Minister of Japan, visited the school that year.

The school, which covered kindergarten through secondary school, eventually gained over 1,000 students, including Mexicans, Nikkeijin, children of Japanese business owners resident in Mexico, and children of Japanese diplomats.

Daniel M. Masterson, author of ''The Japanese in Latin America'', wrote that it "became one of the most prestigious schools" in Mexico. According to the '' Mexico Journal'', because President of Mexico Carlos Salinas de Gortari sent his children to the school, people within Japan perceived the ''Liceo Mexicano Japonés'' as being the best school in Mexico. Salinas said that he sent the children to the school because the Japanese culture has an emphasis on design and discipline. At the time the Mexican government was expanding trade with Japan, and Japanese influence was increasing in Mexico. At the time the Mexican authorities were taking efforts to attract further Japanese economic activity.

In 1997, there was an accusation that a preparatory level student sexually assaulted a primary level student. The accused student was expelled due to parental pressure. The Juvenile Board did not find the student guilty. The ''Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor'' fined the school for cancelling a trip of that student, giving the school a penalty of 1.870 million pesos. In November there were accusations that government officials with children enrolled in the school pressured the school to expel the accused student.

In 1997 the city of Nagoya, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary of sister city relations with Mexico City, began its exchange with the school. From then on, the school on an annual basis sends a cultural exchange group to Nagoya.

Curriculum and academics

The school has two sections: The Mexican section with Spanish-language classes and a curriculum according to the Mexican Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Japanese section with classes in Japanese and a curriculum according to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

Most classes for Mexicans are in the Spanish language. Mexican students spend ten hours per week on the Japanese language. Classes offered include art, Japanese calligraphy, judo, karate, music, and the tea ceremony.Masterson, p
215

According to the 2012 "Ranking de las Mejores Prepas en la Ciudad de México" ("Ranking of the best preparatory schools in Mexico City") of the '' Diario Reforma'', the school had the highest rank. The ranking had over 380 university academics and company directors evaluating 67 private schools in Mexico City.Carvallo, Carlos. "Destacan en Liceo seleccion docente." '' Diario Reforma''. October 15, 2012. News, p3. Available at Informe Académico (Gale Group), Gale Document ID: GALE, A305329118. "La institución obtuvo el primer lugar en el ranking Las Mejores Prepas 2012 elaborado por Grupo Reforma entre un total de 67 planteles privados de la Ciudad de México, evaluados por más de 380 directivos y académicos de universidades." According to the 2014 "Ranking de las Mejores Prepas en la Ciudad de México" of the same newspaper, the school received a score of 8.80, the highest score out of the 80 private schools surveyed. 558 academics from various universities and managers ranked each private school. According to the 2022 "Ranking de las Mejores Prepas en la Ciudad de México" of the same newspaper, the school received a score of 8.99, the highest score out of the 94 private schools surveyed. 207 academics from various universities and managers ranked each private school.

Campus

The campus has over of space.Fotografias de las instalaciones del Liceo
" () ''Liceo Mexicano Japonés''. Retrieved on March 5, 2014. "Diseñado por los arquitectos mexicanos Pedro Ramírez Vázquez y Manuel Rosen Morrison en 1976." The architects of the campus were Mexicans, Pedro Ramírez Vázquez

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