In the 1960s, when NHK Gakuen Correspondence High School started, the enrollment rate of high school education in Japan was less than 40%. At that time, the important role of this school was to spread high school education farther and wider for those who could not go to ordinary high school due to economic or other reasons. In recent years, the enrollment rate comes up to more than 97%, but there are still a certain member of people who cannot go to high school regularly; some students cannot find a high school suitable for them, some others cannot adapt to school.

NHK Gakuen is always ready to open to anyone. We have contributed to provide all the people with the opportunity for high school education.

Students study 74 credits over three years in this course. Finishing all the provided subjects, the students are officially certificated as high school graduates. They have to participate in three major activities; studying with TV and radio, making reports and attending school for classroom instruction. Students learn with NHK TV and radio programs and are provided textbooks based on high school curriculum, send in reports on each subject once a month or so, and the teachers of NHK Gakuen correct, evaluate and return them to each student. Instructors also do their best to encourage students not to drop out. Perseverance is the most effective tool for learning.
Not only by mail but also by telephone students can get in touch with teachers for close and direct instruction. In addition to communication by mail, NHK Gakuen has introduced a new system of learning, 'e-learning' . As soon as students put in their answers to the assigned questions on each subject they are studying, they find their answers checked against the marking criteria installed by the teachers. When they cannot understand or have questions, they can ask their teachers on the internet and quickly obtain answers for the questions. This quick response to students and immediate instruction help students at home to understand their subjects and make progress and avail themselves of various information provided by the school on the internet. Therefore, this is a very effective method of long-distance learning.
Students are also required to attend some fixed hours of schooling once a month. It is held at NHK Gakuen in Kunitachi, Tokyo and 33 cooperating high schools in each district all over Japan. NHK Gakuen also opens intensive schooling twice a year for those who cannot attend monthly schooling.

The number of youth who have moved abroad with their parents is increasing recently. This is a course for such students who want to continue studying the Japanese high school curriculum preparation for their return to Japan.