Public High School Entrance Exams in Yamaguchi 2027: Dates, How to Apply and Support for Students from Abroad

This page is general information from official sources. It is not advice on whether your child can apply or will be accepted. For your own case, ask your child’s junior high school or the Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education (section 9).

Public high schools in Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県立高校, kenritsu koko, plus a few city-run schools) take new students in April after an entrance exam in February or March. This page covers the exams for April 2027 entry, which the Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education calls the 2027 (Reiwa 9) admissions. In Japan, students usually apply through their junior high school, and the junior high school sends the school report to the high school.

If your child came to Japan recently, read section 5 first. It explains the extra exam support that students from abroad can ask for, and the deadline to ask for it.

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1. What are the 2027 exam dates?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

The special selection interviews are on February 9, 2027, and the first-round written exam is on March 9, 2027. The Board published the outline on July 7, 2026 and the detailed rules on October 2, 2026. All dates below are in 2027.

Round	Apply	Exam	Results
Special selection	Jan 26–Feb 2	Feb 9 (and 10)	Feb 16 (offer), Mar 16
First round	Feb 17–25	Mar 9	Mar 16
Second round	Mar 17–19	Mar 24	Mar 25
Autumn (part-time)	Jul 28–Aug 3	Aug 17	Aug 24

Applications for the special selection and the first round close at 10:00 on the last day. The second round closes at 14:00 on Friday, March 19. A student who does not get an offer in the special selection can apply again in the first round, even to the same school. Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education: 2027 admission outline (Japanese)

2. How does the special selection work?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

For the special selection (特色選抜, tokushoku senbatsu), applications run from 9:00 on Tuesday, January 26 to 10:00 on Tuesday, February 2, 2027. You can enter the student’s details and pay the exam fee online from 9:00 on Tuesday, January 12. Only students who will finish junior high school in March 2027 can apply. They must promise to enter the school if they get an offer, and meet the school’s own application conditions.

Along with the application, the student hands in a statement of reasons for applying (志願理由書, shigan riyusho) through the junior high school. The exam is an individual interview plus the school’s own test, such as an oral quiz, a basic skills test, an essay or a self-presentation. It is on Tuesday, February 9, and some schools continue on February 10.

Results go to the junior high school and the student from 10:00 on Tuesday, February 16. Students who get an offer are announced as passing at 10:00 on March 16, together with the first round. Each school can fill up to 50% of its places this way (up to 75% for physical education courses).

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3. What happens in the first round?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

The first round (第一次募集, daiichiji boshu) has a written exam on Tuesday, March 9, 2027, and applications close at 10:00 on Thursday, February 25. Applications open at 9:00 on Wednesday, February 17, and the details and fee can be entered from 9:00 on February 10. A student can apply to only one school. A different course, department or branch campus at the same school can be a second choice.

The exam has 5 subjects: Japanese, math, English (with listening), social studies and science. Each is worth 50 points and lasts 50 minutes, starting at 9:00. Reception is from 8:15 to 8:35. A student who is 15 minutes or more late for a subject cannot take it. Some schools also hold an interview, essay or practical test on the day before, the day of or the day after the exam.

Bring the exam admission ticket (受検票, jukenhyo), pencils, an eraser, a ruler and a compass. A ruler that works as a protractor is not allowed. Phones and smartwatches should stay at home. The junior high school prints the admission ticket, which the high school issues online by 17:00 on March 3.

Results go to the junior high school and the student through the online system at 10:00 on Tuesday, March 16. 2027 detailed admission rules (Japanese)

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4. What if my child needs a later chance?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

The second round (第二次募集, dainiji boshu) takes applications from 9:00 on Wednesday, March 17 to 14:00 on Friday, March 19, 2027. Only schools that did not fill their places in the first round hold it, and the Board announces them on March 16. Students who took the first-round exam (or could not take it) and have no confirmed place at a public high school can apply. Interviews are on Wednesday, March 24, and results come at noon on Thursday, March 25.

A student cannot apply again to the same department at the school they chose in the first round. An autumn round for part-time study is held only at Yamaguchi Shofukan High School. It takes applications from July 28 to 10:00 on August 3, 2027.

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5. Is there support for students from abroad?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

Students from abroad take the same exam papers in the same time as everyone else, but the school can add up to 10 minutes per subject and furigana on the kanji in the questions. This is decided case by case. The principal decides after talking with the Board, so it is not automatic. There is no separate exam route for foreign students in the Yamaguchi public school rules.

According to the detailed rules, two groups can ask:

• Returnees (帰国生徒, kikoku seito): Japanese nationals who lived abroad for 2 years or more in a row, and returned within the last 2 years or will return soon.
• Foreign students (外国人生徒, gaikokujin seito): foreign nationals who have been in Japan for 6 years or less since they arrived. A student who later got Japanese nationality also counts if they arrived 6 years ago or less.

1. Tell the junior high school early. The junior high school must tell the high school in advance when a returnee or foreign student plans to apply.
2. Fill in the special consideration form for returnees and foreign students. This is Form 9-2 (特別配慮申請書【帰国生徒及び外国人生徒用】). Write the student’s nationality, how long they have been in Japan and what support you ask for. The form is in Japanese.
3. Hand it in through the junior high school as early as possible before applying. The form covers the special selection, the first round, the second round and the autumn round.
4. Wait for the decision notice. The high school sends a notice (特別配慮決定通知書) to the junior high school, which passes it to you.

The school may also hold an interview with a returnee or foreign student if it sees a need. In the selection, the school takes the student’s experience abroad fully into account, according to the rules. The Board’s pages do not say whether anyone can help in English; ask the junior high school first. Form 9-2 (PDF, Japanese)

6. Can my child apply if we are moving to Yamaguchi?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

For full-time prefectural high schools, students apply to schools in the area where their parent or guardian lives, and that area is the whole of Yamaguchi Prefecture. A student whose family lives anywhere in Yamaguchi can apply to any full-time public high school in the prefecture.

A student applying from another prefecture needs approval from the Board’s superintendent first. The rule allows this only when there is a special reason, and the superintendent decides each case. The request (高等学校入学志願承認申請, koto gakko nyugaku shigan shonin shinsei) goes through the junior high school and the high school, between Monday, January 4 and Friday, February 5, 2027. For the special selection, finish it in time for the application deadline on February 2. High schools run by Shimonoseki City have a similar approval rule.

Students who finished 9 years of school abroad can also apply, under a national rule (Article 95 of the School Education Act Enforcement Regulations). Students who cannot apply through a junior high school use another method set by the Board. The rules do not explain how this works for families moving from abroad; ask the Board before January.

7. How do the online application and fees work?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

The exam fee is ¥2,200 for full-time courses and ¥700 for part-time courses, and it is not refunded even if you cancel. After paying, you cannot change the school, course or department.

1. Enter the student’s details and choice of school in the online application system. The system is called the Yamaguchi Prefectural Public High School Online Application System (山口県公立高等学校入学者選抜WEB出願システム).
2. Pay the exam fee through the same system.
3. Submit the application through the junior high school principal. The junior high school also sends the school report to the high school through the system.
4. Receive the admission ticket from the junior high school.

The rules say the details of the system are set separately. The 2027 instructions and the system’s web address were not on the Board’s pages as of October 12, 2026, so ask the junior high school how and when to log in.

8. Which school has a different schedule?

Suo-Oshima High School

Suo-Oshima High School attached to Yamaguchi Prefectural University holds its exams earlier: January 20, 2027 for the special selection and February 12 for the general selection. It has no school district, so students from inside or outside the prefecture can apply. It takes 90 students in its general course, with 40 places in the special selection.

Selection	Online entry	Exam	Results
Special	Dec 14, 2026–Jan 5	Jan 20	Jan 26
General	Jan 18–28	Feb 12	Feb 19

Online entry closes at 10:00 on the last day. Papers are due by 10:00 on Friday, January 8 for the special selection and by 10:00 on Wednesday, February 3 for the general selection. The general selection has a 5-subject exam with no listening test, plus an interview. Students can choose to take it as their only choice (専願, sengan) or alongside another school (併願, heigan). According to the school’s announcement, a student who passes can wait for the public high school first-round results before enrolling.

The exam venue can be the school or Yamaguchi Prefectural University. The school’s rules do not mention separate support for students from abroad; ask the school. Suo-Oshima High School: entrance exams (Japanese)

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9. Who can I ask?

Yamaguchi Prefecture

Start with your child’s junior high school, because applications and support requests go through the junior high school. For questions about the rules, the contact listed in the detailed rules is the High School Education Division (高校教育課 普通教育班) of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education. Its pages do not say which languages it handles.

Private high schools set their own dates; check each school’s guide. The Board’s school introduction site (中学生のための学校紹介) has an overview of each public high school in Japanese. School introductions for junior high students (Japanese)

Address: 1-1 Takimachi, Yamaguchi City (Yamaguchi Prefectural Office). Phone: 083-933-4627. Google Maps

Common questions

If my child does not get an offer in the special selection, can they try the same school again?

Yes. They can apply in the first round, including to the same school. The exam fee must be paid again, and the junior high school sends the school report again.

Can we change the school after applying?

No. After the exam fee is paid, the school, course and department cannot be changed.

Is the furigana and extra time given automatically to foreign students?

No. You ask for it with Form 9-2 through the junior high school, and the high school principal decides after talking with the Board.

Can my child bring a phone on exam day?

In principle, no. If there is a special reason to bring one, it must be switched off and kept out of the exam room.

Sources (checked October 2026)

3 pages we checkedShow

• Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education: 2027 admission outline (July 7, 2026), outline PDF, 2027 places PDF, 2027 detailed rules (October 2, 2026), detailed rules PDF, Form 9-2 for returnees and foreign students, school introductions
• Suo-Oshima High School attached to Yamaguchi Prefectural University: entrance exams, 2027 announcement (July 7, 2026)
• e-Gov Law Search: School Education Act Enforcement Regulations, Article 95