Japan Eyes ‘Pre-Classes’ for Foreign Residents in Elementary, Junior High as Part of Language Education Reform
The education ministry has positioned the establishment of “pre-classes” to support foreign residents at elementary and junior high schools as part of its draft comprehensive package for expanding Japanese language education for foreign nationals living in Japan, it has been learned.
Japan is planning to introduce "pre-classes" for foreign residents in elementary and junior high schools as part of a broader language education reform, according to the country's education ministry. This move comes as the number of foreign residents in Japan has reached a record high of approximately 4.13 million, up from a mere 2 million a decade ago.
The draft comprehensive package aims to expand Japanese language education for foreign nationals, with the ministry proposing to allocate over ¥10 billion in budget for fiscal 2027 to support these initiatives. Currently, the establishment of pre-classes is limited to select municipalities with large foreign populations, such as Yokohama.
The ministry's strategy includes encouraging local governments to establish Japanese language education centers that cater to both children and adults. This initiative is intended to alleviate the strain on local governments, which have been unable to keep up with the increasing demand for supplementary Japanese language instruction due to funding and human resource shortages.
To support those aged preschool to adulthood, the ministry plans to establish both physical and online educational facilities nationwide. Additionally, prefectures and large cities will be tasked with forming Japanese language education centers. In regions with fewer foreign residents, the government will assign coordinators to aid municipalities and schools in creating effective language education systems in collaboration with universities and Japanese language schools.
The central government is also developing a Japanese language and life skills learning program, which will include a curriculum for Japanese language learning and its potential integration into the national certification exam for teaching at Japanese language schools. This reform aims to enhance Japanese language education in the broader goal of fostering a "society of well-ordered and harmonious coexistence" for foreign residents.
Written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
