Japanese society is currently undergoing major social changes. A declining birthrate, a rapidly aging society, an exponential growth in information, and globalization: all of these changes are having a major impact on Japanese schools, which are now trying new structures and programs to better meet the needs or our rapidly changing society. K-12 educational system from elementary school through high school For over the past fifty years, Japanese education has been structured as a stack of three self-contained systems: elementary, junior, and senior high schools. This system served us well when most students did not go on to college, and even high school was not universal. In modern Japanese society, however, the merits of this system are weakening as nearly all students go to high school and about half of high school graduates go on to college. Recognizing that the current system is obsolete, Tamagawa Academy has put into practice the concept of a "single school," or K-12 school that spans from elementary to senior high school and aims for curriculum which has a higher level of consistency (Aligned Curriculum) and serves the need of a society with universal K-12 matriculation. Education Responsive to Internationalization The European Union was primarily created to compete with the international economic activity of the USA, but its creation has also had a large internationalizing impact on education and has stimulated the groundswell known as Cross-Border Education in European universities. Many believe that the development of Cross-Border Education in Japan, which does not share a border with any other country via land, will require some time. However, Japanese schools are also feeling the pressure of socioeconomic internationalization, and not only colleges and universities but also secondary schools are feeling internationalization pressures. We have responded to this reality by creating a program at Tamagawa Academy called TRAC. Tamagawa students enter either E-TRAC or J-TRAC. J-TRAC is based on a Japanese curriculum but also meets international standards such as CITA. E-TRAC offers the internationally recognized IB (International Baccalaureate) education while allowing students to graduate with a high school diploma recognized in Japan. Completion of the IB program will allow students to successfully compete for spots in universities in Japan and throughout the major universities of USA and Europe. Education support system responsive to an advanced information society To increase the speed and availability of information, Tamagawa Academy established CHaT Net, which stands for Children, Homes, and Teachers Network. We established such a system much earlier than other schools. The sharing of information and usage of information technology has allowed Tamagawa parents and children to become accustomed to our advanced information society. The traditional teaching method has been the classroom where the students are facing the blackboard and the teacher. But Blackboard has a different meaning at Tamagawa University. We use the Black Board, or BB system, as an information communication technology. Almost half of all Tamagawa classes use this technology. One role of the university is teaching students the knowledge and skills that are necessary in a knowledge based era within a limited school attendance period. BlackBoard helps us to provide more information and interaction outside of classroom hours to meet the demand for more information. On Demand Education On Demand Education is education that is provided "any time, any place, and in any subject." By utilizing the high speed Internet, On Demand Education allows students to attend courses that they were unable to attend due to scheduling reasons. They can take these classes in locations other than the school building and at times outside normal school hours. This learning system, which is increasingly making the school building obsolete, is gaining popularity as the high speed Internet becomes more widely available. On the other hand, On Demand Education can also refer to education that responds to demands from outside of school such as the society or the economy. A central role of schools is to meet the demand of institutions that intake students at the next higher level. Giving elementary school children the skills necessary to successfully advance to junior high school, giving junior high school children the qualities demanded by high schools such as good learning habits, a sense of value towards learning, and academic ability, and giving high school children the academic skills that are necessary for success at the university level are examples. The higher level institution for universities, then, is society. On Demand Education for universities means that universities must meet the demands for qualified workers who can contribute in their chosen fields. From our founding, Tamagawa has incorporated what we know call emotional intelligence into our curriculum. Tamagawa seeks to develop individuals who are emotionally resilient and able to meet the challenges that face them. Even in our digital age of expanding knowledge, each and every one of us face basic questions that challenged humans since our beginnings, such as, "Who am I?" and "What does it mean to be human?" These are timeless issues. Cultivating those who use knowledge correctly and sending them out into society is the mission of Tamagawa. Profile of the President Yoshiaki Obara: born in Tokyo in 1946. Attended Tamagawa Academy Elementary Division and Lower Secondary Division, and then transferred to Roxbury Latin School in Massachusetts, the United States, when he was in 11th grade. He then graduated from Roxbury Latin, studied at Monmouth College. He also studied at the Graduate School of Arts and Education at Tamagawa University, and earned a Master's Degree in Analysis of Educational Policy from the Graduate School of Stanford University. He became Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Education of Tamagawa University in 1987. After functioning as Director of the International Education Office, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Education and Vice President of the University, he was appointed President of Tamagawa University, Tamagawa Academy and Chairman of the Tamagawa K-12 & University Board of Directors in 1994. He has also served as Manager of the University Ski Team, and is a keen sportsman who enjoys skiing through snowy hills and forests with his students. Even today, he participates in ski classes offered by the K-12 and University whenever possible. He studied in the United States from high school to graduate school, and today he has many close friends in the academic world from different parts of the world.