Welcome to TJS!
Tucson Japanese School is located in Tucson, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert surrounded by beautiful mountains rich in nature. We rent the building of a local private school, and teach the Japanese language to PreK-12 students, including adult learners, around 40 students, on Saturday mornings. We emphasize the joy of learning and give students opportunities to experience Japanese language, culture, arts, and traditions in the classroom, and through events such as sports days, calligraphy day, and festivals. We also make Japanese reading materials available to students by offering a Mini-Japanese library, which can help students' learning experience outside the classroom.
By creating an environment where students enjoy learning with friends and deepen their understanding of culture, art traditions, and languages, we hope that learning at our school will help students build self-confidence and respect for others, and earn skills and strength to thrive in a diverse society today.
We promise that Tucson Japanese School will serve and respond to the needs of our community, and it will remain a trusted school community not only for our students, their families, instructors, and staff but also for all the people in Tucson. We welcome you all!
Our Story
The Tucson Japanese Language School, LLC was founded in August 2015 by two parents, Hitomi and Minami, and many other parents with a wish to provide immersive learning experiences of Japanese language, culture, and tradition for their children and their peers. It started as an organization to support Japanese families by maintaining and expanding their Japanese language skills in a school environment closest to the schools in their home country of Japan in standards.
By increasing interest in our programs from the community members, we have expanded our program offerings to the following:
In 2018 the school began offering Japanese as a foreign language, targeting children who don’t have Japanese heritage or background. To meet the demand from adults, we launched Nihongo Cafe, a Language Exchange program, in January 2020 to provide opportunities to practice conversational Japanese skills. Then the pandemic hit. We moved Nihongo Cafe online with the collaboration of volunteers from Anjo city, This made it possible to practice Japanese with native speakers for anyone who has internet from home, office, or anywhere! In recent years, the popularity of Japanese pop culture has increased demand for in-person language programs for adults; as a result, we opened the door for adults to participate in the Japanese as a Foreign/Second Language class in 2022. The same year, we launched a pilot program “Tucson Japanese Culture Classes”.
In 2024, the school celebrated its 10th anniversary. We established Manabi of Tucson, Inc.; Tucson Japanese School, an Arizona non-profit corporation in April, and received tax-exempt status 501(c)(3) in August. After months of preparation, the school starts a new chapter as “Tucson Japanese School” a nonprofit organization in the summer of 2025.
History
2015
Tucson Japanese Langauge School LLC was founded and opened with 25 students
2017
The First Kanji Kentei Oversea ( we are 1 of 4 exam locations in the U.S) is held
2018
An International Division Class for children is established
2020
Nihongo Cafe Initiative starts
2022
Japanese Culture Classes Initiative starts
Japanese as a second language for adult class added
2024
Arizona Nonprofit corporation “Manabi of Tucson, Inc.” incorporated
Tucson Japanese Langauge School’s 10th Anniversary
501(c)(3) status approved
2025
The school starts a new chapter as “Tucosn Japanese School”, a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
