Foreign children in Japan to receive expanded language support

People in Japan in 2018. Photo by Unsplash

Japan's education ministry plans to launch a pilot program in fiscal 2027 to provide basic Japanese-language instruction to children of foreign nationals, as a growing number of students require support to navigate school life and classroom learning.

The initiative aims to help foreign children acquire the language skills needed for daily communication and academic success while laying the groundwork for national standards on Japanese-language education, The Japan Times reported.

Under the program, the ministry will collaborate with selected local governments to identify effective teaching methods and support systems. The findings will be used to develop standardized guidelines and teaching materials for schools nationwide.

A ministry survey found that a record 84,759 students at public schools required special Japanese-language support in fiscal 2025, which ended in March. The number has doubled over the past nine years. However, about one in 10 of those students did not receive sufficient instruction due to teacher shortages and other resource constraints.

The survey assessed support provided to students who lack the Japanese proficiency needed for everyday communication. It found that 12,668 public schools, or 39% of the total, had at least one student requiring language assistance, while 4,329 schools (13%) enrolled five or more such students, according to Asahi Shimbun.

Support programs currently vary significantly across Japan. While some local governments, particularly in urban areas with large foreign populations, offer dedicated language instruction, the quality, duration and accessibility of these programs differ widely.

In municipalities with high concentrations of foreign students, children from multiple schools may be brought together at designated schools or public facilities for language lessons. In rural areas, online classes are increasingly being used to reach students who might otherwise have limited access to support.

The push for expanded language assistance comes as Japan's foreign population continues to grow. Foreign nationals accounted for about 3.2% of the country's population as of June 2025, with their number reaching a record 3.95 million, according to the Immigration Services Agency.