German School Tokyo Yokohama

The German School Tokyo Yokohama is the oldest German school abroad in East Asia still in existence today. It opened its doors for the first time on September 20, 1904 in a community center in Yokohama. Nine girls and boys from three countries were in the first classes at that time.

The school has had an exciting history: two fires, the great earthquake of September 1923, the two world wars and the triple disaster of 2011 forced relocations, new buildings and temporary closures. It was not always certain whether the school could continue to exist.

In September 1953, the "German School Association Tokyo" was re-established. The first school year after the Second World War began on December 1, 1953 with seventeen students. The first high school graduates received their school leaving certificates as early as 1960. On November 23, 1967, the school moved into the new building in Omori. The German School Tokyo was now a truly German school, meaning it had its own building with classrooms, as is common in Germany. While Japan and Germany became more and more intertwined, after 1970 the number of students grew so rapidly that the school was once again too small. Work began on the new building in Nakamachidai/Yokohama. The DSTY was now back in Yokohama. Where it is today. A modern school with a modern teaching concept.

The school started in September 1991 with 450 students. After a temporary drop in student numbers, the number rose so sharply that a third floor had to be added to the new building in 2010. The triple disaster of 2011 was survived without any structural damage, but the number of students initially fell sharply due to many families moving away. Today, this crisis has been completely overcome, the number of students has exceeded the 500 mark and the school is more modern than ever.

Despite all its modernity, the DSTY retains a sense of the commitment of its long history: the DSTY has always been a place of human and cultural encounters. And it wants to remain so.

Our Mission Statement

The foundation for our interactions and educational work at DSTY is based on the three main pillars of our mission statement:

• Globally unique
• Growing together
• Living shared values together