Why I moved to Malaysia from Tokyo and What I Learned from My Experiences So Far

In 2019, I published a book in Japan. This book is based on my own experiences and what I learned from Malaysia and its people in the past 20 years. This is a story about my son and me.

To make the long story short, when my son did not like the government school in Japan, I decided to withdraw and let him try the schools in Malaysia.

Many people asked, “Why Malaysia?”

Why Malaysia?

Actually, it was just a coincidence. In the 1990s, I was an editor of a computer magazine in Japan and had a kind of hypothesis that we can strike up friendships through the internet. So, I tried to use ICQ, a chat app, by myself and I found a Malaysian buddy — — even up to this day, we are still friends as we have been keeping in touch for more than 20 years.

My son was a handful when he was very small. His curiosity is too extreme and he was always asking questions again and again. So, to satiate his hunger for knowledge, I brought him to the National Museum of Science in Tokyo every week and he spent the whole day there until they closed it.

Thus, I knew that apparently he got bored from the Japanese government school, which, honestly speaking, the teaching method is very traditional and old-fashioned. He especially hated math workbooks and everyday homework. He especially hated math workbooks and everyday homework; they were a drag for him. However, in Japan, once you enter a school, it is difficult to change it unless parents move houses. I could not find any alternatives.

That being the case, I moved here, and the result was amazing. It gave him time and space to explore various pathways in education.

Before I came here, I thought Malaysia should be a good environment for kids since almost all children living in the country are diverse in terms of race and religion and most of them are multilingual. I know the people are amazing — most of the people I know are generous and friendly. My son learned how to behave as a global citizen and how to respect other people and cultures from many of his teachers and peers.

After that, I found that there are many approaches to education one can choose from.

International schools and homeschooling experience

In the beginning, I put him in several international schools in Malaysia. He was happy there for several years but got bored again. Then, I realized that he may have been born as a self-directed learner and he just really does not like the school system itself.

When he was twelve years old, he yearned for a STEM homeschool in Malaysia as he was so into mathematics and programming. Before that, he didn’t show any passion in the said subject but eventually, he has learned to love mathematics Youtube contents explained in English…now apparently some mathematical theories were a hoot and a half for him. This inclination was magnified when he went to the Singapore International Math Olympiad (SIMOC) as one of the Malaysian representatives.

By the way, in Japan, I had never heard of homeschoolers. After spending three years of being under homeschool education, he was still so into mathematics and physics and so I thought that he may have finally found his passion. Advantageously, once you have already learned English, there are a lot of free materials for independent learners so instructional activities were never a problem.

What I have learned so far…

It not only worked really well for my son, but it has also opened my eyes to a lot of things.

For me, living and working in Malaysia was full of surprises. There are two points.

Firstly, I learned about the mindset, the culture, and the habits practiced in the country and I learned to adapt as some of my friends taught me respect, amiability, open-mindedness, patience, and self-restraint. These are so useful pieces of advice once I tried to follow them and I found that they bring me happiness and peace of mind.

Secondly, I learned about the flexible system. In Japan, it is quite difficult to change your mind once you enter a school or join a company. Some big companies have a so-called lifetime employment system which allows you to enter a company once in a lifetime only — as soon as you graduate from school. It is a must to be extremely careful when choosing your company after you graduate from a university or a college, otherwise, you will notice that the ship has sailed. If you yearn for a full-time employment contract in prestigious companies like big banks, Toyota, Canon, whatever, after you worked for several companies, in most cases, it would just be a pipe dream.

However, in Malaysia, it’s the total opposite.

Of course, there are pros and cons. Strong system is good for some people who love constancy, but for people who found that they don’t like the job after they started working, it is harsh. I guess that is one of the reasons why some people commit suicide. I have learned a lot of things from my son and from these experiences so I decided to share and write about them.

To my surprise, the book was well read by educators and school teachers in Japan. Besides, it was cited in an exam paper in Ehime University and examination papers in some private tuitions.

Though we still have a long way to go in our learning journey, I am so far so very impressed and thankful to all the people in Malaysia.