Lycée Français International de Tokyo (LFIT)

In Brief

For a French-curriculum family, LFIT is the obvious choice in Tokyo. Around 1,500 students, 60 nationalities, single site in Takinogawa (Kita-ku, north Tokyo). Bac results are strong — close to 100% pass, most with honours.

The teaching team is generally seen as motivated and the curriculum is what you'd expect from a solid AEFE school. According to one parent on a Tokyo forum, "the lycée has a very good level, with bac success near 100% every year."

Two things to go in with eyes open about.

Social split. This comes up repeatedly. Classes mix children from fully French families with children from Franco-Japanese families, and the two groups don't always blend. One former tutor described the Franco-Japanese kids as sometimes struggling with French comprehension, especially in maths, which keeps the friendship circles separate. The wider French community in Tokyo is small, so the school is effectively the social world for many families.

Parent-school relations have been tense. During Covid, a parent collective formed (around 300 families) and went public via Le Petit Journal, frustrated by uneven distance learning, no catch-up provision, and what they saw as poor communication while the school sat on healthy reserves. As one parent tribune put it, "it is we who took on this education." Things have settled since, the active FLT parent association is constructive, and an anti-bullying programme (pHARe) is now in place — but the lesson is that LFIT is a big institution and parents have to push to be heard.

Practical. Around €1,000/month per child. Location in Takinogawa means a real commute from the central expat areas (Minato, Shibuya). School buses run only up to CM1. Traffic at drop-off is reportedly heavy.

Bottom line for your friend. If they're French-system committed, this is the school — the academics deliver. Tell them to ask hard questions at admissions about the bilingual/Franco-Japanese class mix in their child's year group, and to plug into the FLT parent association early. That's where the real information flows.