Ringo Kai, also known as the Japanese School of Detroit, officially opened in Novi Friday morning. Previously located in Birmingham, the school will use 40 classrooms in on Saturdays to offer classes to more than 700 Japanese students from Novi and surrounding communities.
The school, which has with the for classroom and office space, was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday morning.
Mayor David Landry welcomed the school to Novi in his address at the ceremony.
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"Ringo Kai is entrusted with passing on the history and culture of Japan to young people," Landry said. "This is a role the city of Novi and the Novi Community School District not only recognizes, but more importantly, respects. To the president, to the administrators and the teachers of Ringo Kai, welcome to Novi. Welcome home!"
Ringo Kai President Yashuhiko Amari expressed his appreciation for the welcome the school has received from the City of Novi.
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"This is a very nice area for us to be. Novi is a beautiful city and there are many, many Japanese people living in the Novi area," Amari said.
Kuninori Matsuda, consul-general of Japan, said the students will learn about Japanese history, language, geography and many other topics that are studied in a traditional Japanese classroom.
Ringo Kai will also occupy seven classrooms daily from Tuesday to Saturday in the Instructional Technology Center building, primarily for office space.
