Special-needs schools are popping up around Japan in rapid succession to keep up with the growing demand for a proper learning environment for children with disabilities.

Saitama Prefecture plans to open six new schools for students with special needs after fiscal 2021.

“There are more parents who want to have their children receive a much more professional education that fits their characteristics," said a representative of Saitama Prefecture’s education board.

The trend comes as the number of children in Japan has been on a steady decline, prompting schools to shut down or merge with one another.

But the number of children attending special-needs schools has increased about 20 percent in the past decade, as more parents want professional support.

During the three-year period since fiscal 2018, 17 special-needs schools opened in Tokyo and 11 prefectures, including Aichi.

Moreover, plans to open 36 more special-needs schools in Tokyo and 18 prefectures are under way. Along with the six new schools in Saitama Prefecture, another six are expected to open in Tokyo. Three are also planned in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Education boards in each prefecture cited a serious shortage of classroom space as the main reason to build new facilities.

In fiscal 2019, every prefectural education board reported at least one case of converting a meeting room or other types of space into a classroom for special-needs education.

The number of children attending elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan peaked in fiscal 1985 with 22.26 million, according to the education ministry.

But in fiscal 2019, the number had fallen to 12.8 million.

There were about 42,000 schools nationwide in fiscal 1985. In fiscal 2019, that number had dropped by 7,000.

On the other hand, the number of children attending special-needs schools totaled 117,000 in fiscal 2009. It increased over the years to reach 144,000 in fiscal 2019.

About 90 percent of these children have intellectual disabilities.

In fiscal 2019, there were 1,146 special-needs schools, 116 more than in fiscal 2009.

According to a survey conducted by the ministry in May 2019, special-needs schools still fell short of 3,162 classrooms needed in total.

A central government’s committee of experts on the issue has urged that standards be set for the minimum facilities that a special-needs school is required to have.

The central government in 2013 revised the School Education Law to promote a learning environment where children with disabilities can study alongside children without disabilities. Under the “inclusive education” slogan, the government has encouraged parents’ opinions to be reflected when choosing a “regular” school or special-needs school.

A disability becomes easily detected when a child ready to enter school has a health check-up. The number of children who attend a regular school and take special-needs courses on campuses has doubled in the past decade.

In a survey conducted in fiscal 2017, 70 percent of the 10,000 or so students who were judged capable of entering both regular and special-needs schools chose special-needs schools.

In particular, special-needs schools equivalent to a high school have seen an increase in students.

A representative of Osaka Prefecture’s education board said that special-needs schools offer courses to prepare students for entering the workforce. 

“Some parents hope their children find a job at a welfare facility and other places," the representative said. 

Hidetoshi Tsutsumi, an associate professor at Tsuru University who specializes in special-needs education, said such a school is “one of the important options for parents."

But he believes opening new schools is only a “stopgap measure and not a real solution to solving the shortage of classroom space."

“There should be an environment where parents feel safe about sending their children to, for instance, creating a class with a small number of students inside a regular school to accommodate each student’s uniqueness and characteristics,” Tsutsumi said.

(This article was written by Motofumi Watanabe and Taro Tamaki.)