Japan
Name of the qualification in original language
卒業証書(高等学校)
Translation in English
Graduation certificate (upper secondary school)
Transliteration in Latin alphabet
sotsugyo-shosho [kotogakko]
Awarding body
Each upper secondary school approved in accordance with the School Education Act.
Total number of years of schooling
12 years
Expiry date
There is no expiry date.
Verification information
It would be difficult to verify the qualification. Many schools may not respond to verification requests due to their privacy protection policies (schools may not even be able to send a certificate directly to a third party for the same reason). The most realistic measure would be to ask for a certificate in a sealed envelope obtained by the student in question and to keep it sealed until handed in.
Comments/Additional Information
A graduation certificate from upper secondary school is recognized as an entry qualification to universities (大学) and professional training colleges (専門学校) in Japan. There are two types of documents: 卒業証書 (sotsugyoshosho) is a certificate which is issued only once, whereas 卒業証明書 (sotsugyo-shomeisho) is a commonly used document to prove one’s qualification for further study and can be issued in multiple times. The latter, 卒業証明書 is, in most cases, available in English as well.
Subject: As of 2019, mandatory subjects include; Japanese; world history; either of Japanese history or geography; either of modern society, ethics or politics and economics; mathematics; two of science, physics, chemistry, biology, and geology; physical exercise and health; either of music, arts, crafts or shodo (Japanese calligraphy); one foreign language; home economics; and information. NB. subjects may vary in accordance with the Course of Study applicable to each year.
Grading: Each subject is graded in a 5-point scale from 5 to 1 where 5 is the highest score. The rule for failure depends on each school.
Awarding period: Upon completion of 3 years of study for full-time programs and 3 years and longer for part-time programs.
A list of upper secondary schools is usually available for each prefecture where an institution is located but in most cases only in the Japanese language.
An upper secondary school may be called a high school in English.