The number of public elementary, junior high and high school students who need additional support to understand Japanese hit a record high in fiscal 2023, the education ministry announced on Aug. 8 

The 69,123 students increased by 10,816 compared to the last survey conducted in fiscal 2021. This was also the largest jump in the survey's history.

Schools are not currently equipped to accommodate this rapid increase.

The ministry compiled the number of students whose schools determined they needed language assistance, irrespective of nationality. 

Of the three levels of education, elementary schools made up the largest chunk with 46,132 children, or, 66.7 percent. This was followed by junior high schools' 15,967 students, or 23.1 percent.

High schools accounted for 8.1 percent with 5,573 students. 

Behind the numbers is the skyrocketing population of foreign nationals who call Japan home, many in the country to fill worker shortages amid the shrinking number of children.

The number of foreigners living in Japan was approximately 3.41 million as of the end of 2023, also a record high.

While the ministry's educational guidelines say teachers should give students struggling with the language barrier more detailed instruction, the reality is that this is not always possible.

About 10 percent, or 7,069 of the children, did not receive supplemental Japanese lessons or other forms of support.

Each municipality offered a number of reasons for this, one being the shortage of teachers. 

Additionally, although high schools accounted for the smallest percentage of the study, the dropout rate among students who needed language assistance jumped by 1.8 percentage points from the prior survey to 8.5 percent.

That far exceeded the average rate for overall high schoolers, which was 1.1 percent. 

Fewer of these students are also attending university or other higher education, down 5.2 percent to 46.6 percent. This is concerning as the average rate for high schoolers overall is 75 percent.

SMALL NUMBERS AND SPREAD OUT

A growing international population means individual municipalities are seeing small but notable increases in children who need supplementary language education. 

According to the education ministry, 1,080 municipalities or about 60 percent of the overall nation's 1,741 municipalities have children who need language assistance.

Of the 1,080 municipalities that comprise the majority, 409—or, 37.9 percent—have fewer than five students. 

In addition, 150 municipalities, or 13.9 percent, have more than five, but less than 10 of those children. 

One takeaway is that 559 municipalities, up 40 from the last survey, are home to fewer than 10 students struggling with Japanese.

Miho Yoshida, the chairwoman of a nonprofit organization in Aomori Prefecture that promotes support for children who need language assistance, highlighted two main issues. She said municipalities lack experience and, again, there is a shortage of teachers.

Only about 80 children in the entire prefecture need language support.

Many schools have only one student who is not fluent in Japanese. Due to limited experience working with a student through a language barrier, school staff often do not have the necessary knowledge to help them overcome it.

Students being more spread out also means it is less likely there will be an  outside organization nearby who can provide additional lessons.

To alleviate this, the Aomori NPO has been dispatching college instructors with Japanese teaching expertise to local schools and boards of education.

Instructors of the NPO create teaching plans in cooperation with a school and the board of education while also offering consultations with the teachers or teaching assistants.

However, not all areas have those assistant teachers in the area.

“It is not easy to secure enough number of language teachers,” said Yoshida.

Some organizations are trying to provide remote assistance to areas that are home to only a few students in need of help.

Youth Support Center, an NPO based in Tokyo, provides online lessons from qualified teachers to five municipalities.

Of these, 17 students participated in the class from Mie Prefecture this fiscal year.

Students can attend class for a maximum of five days a week, with each day's lessons lasting up to five hours.

However, the programs are provided only for a limited period of several months; if students want to continue supplemental lessons, more teachers are needed.

NATIONWIDE TEAMWORK

“If children remain weak at Japanese, they will be isolated and may end up disconnected with society,” said Yumiko Utsumi, a Japanese professor at Yamagata University. “Teaching Japanese will make it easier for them to grow accustomed to Japanese society.”

“If it is challenging for each municipality to secure individuals with specialized knowledge and establish a support system independently, they may be able to do it by collaborating with other municipalities," Utsumi said. "Or, they could have each prefecture take on a task. It is important to build support systems."