Egypt’s education ministry said on Thursday two new Japanese schools will open in New Valley and South Sinai governorates this academic year, according to a statement by the Egyptian-Japanese schools unit, an affiliate of the education ministry.

With the two new schools, Egypt will be operating 43 Japanese schools in 24 governorates.

The project was agreed during Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to Japan in February 2016. Under a cooperation protocol signed between Egypt and Japan in 2017, Japan is providing the necessary technical support for the project.

The state has an ambitious plan to build 100 Japanese-style state schools all over the country.

The two new schools are located in the New Valley's Al-Kharga city and South Sinai's Sharm El-Sheikh.

The ministry said registration for kindergarten and first grade will open online as of Friday for 15 days on https://ejs4students.moe.gov.eg

The beginning of the new school year in Egypt was pushed back to 17 October on the back of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Japanese schools are a promising experience. They focus on building pupils' characters in line with the Japanese style,” the statement quoted education minister Tarek Shawki as saying.

He added the experience also takes heed to the activities part, as well as building high-quality premises, equipping laboratories and training teachers.

The Japanese schools teach the same Arabic-language curriculum as other state schools, while adopting the Japanese "whole child education" system known as Tokkatsu.

Tokkatsu's course is meant to achieve a balanced development of intellect, virtue and body by ensuring academic competence, rich emotions and healthy physical development.

The fees of Japanese schools are set at EGP 10,800 ($680) per year, according to the education ministry’s website.