What Is Nishiyamato Gakuen?

Nishiyamato Gakuen is a prestigious private all-male junior and senior high school located in Nara, the ancient capital of Japan (20 miles from Osaka). Founded in 1984, Nishiyamato has quickly become one of the top schools in southern Japan and has received national recognition for its high-quality graduates, the majority of whom go on to study at such top-ranked Japanese universities as the University of Tokyo and Kyoto, Waseda, and Keio universities. With heavy emphasis on the sciences and global awareness, the ninth grade class in Nishiyamato Junior High School has come to BYU and Utah each year since 2007. Group size has ranged from 211 to 265 students each year so far. Utah Valley host families arranged through Selnate each year as well as past BYU counselors and staff regularly comment how well-behaved and intelligent these students are.