Addendum from someone who works at Japanese public schools:
* There are sometimes separate rooms for classes like science labs, music, and home ec. While students stay mostly in the same classroom all day, it’s not like they don’t have facilities for subjects that need special equipment.
* Classes have anywhere from a 5 minute to 15 minute break between periods, the most common being 10 minutes. Students are wholly unsupervised during this time as teachers often go to organize materials or go to the staff room. This is usually when bullying or other mischief goes on.
* There is no auxiliary staff to speak of. There are no adult hall monitors, security guards, substitute teachers (*), cleaning staff, or secretaries. There is a principal/headmaster, a vice principal/deputy headmaster, and a single coordinator for the staff - two if they both work part-time. There is a school nurse, but they are not required (so usually aren’t) to be a certified nurse. If the school serves meals there is a coordinator for the kitchen staff (the former working full time and the latter part time).
* After school clubs for junior and senior high school often meet every day, especially if they’re a sports club. They also are expected to come to the school for special practices or activities during spring, summer, and winter vacations. Non-sports clubs are not exempt from this. Only elementary school age children or very rich upper class kids have the luxury of a vacation to themselves without being at school most of the break.
* Uniforms are for the vast majority of junior and senior high school students. Very elite private high schools will allow more casual dress, but often their students prefer the uniform to show off where they go to school. However, it’s the reverse for elementary school. Public elementary school does not require a daily uniform, though there is a gym uniform and a standardized swimsuit. Very posh private elementary schools require a set of uniforms and it is the most expensive thing a child will probably wear in their life (costing upwards of several hundreds to over a thousand dollars).
* Saturday school was technically abolished in the early 2000s, but PTAs and school boards nationwide did not agree with this and so we’re left with voluntary on paper, but actually mandatory special activities and seminars on Saturdays.
* Student cleaning of the school can also be done around midday recess, not just at the end of the school day.
* Weekly, twice monthly, or monthly morning assemblies take place to inform students of upcoming events, showcase student accomplishments (both individual and team achievements), and/or touch on issues at the school both positive or negative.
(*) Substitute teachers exist as in a teacher will be brought in to cover a maternity leave or a teacher leaving halfway through the year (nearly unheard of unless they have an extreme medical problem or have a mental breakdown). If a teacher is sick for a day or up to a week, the other teachers are supposed to rotate stepping in to teach for the absent teacher’s class. There is no system of on-call substitute teachers like in the US or UK.
