By YUKI KAWANO/ Staff Writer
February 27, 2025 at 15:35 JST
Children paddle a canoe on Lake Yamanakako in Yamanashi Prefecture in August 2024. (Provided by Tokyo YMCA)
Children with foreign backgrounds who struggle to communicate in Japanese often face barriers in school and social life.
To give them a space where they can build friendships and fully participate, Tokyo YMCA hosts a free annual summer camp.
A survey by the education ministry found that 69,123 students in public schools required Japanese language support in 2023, doubling since 2012.
Children with international backgrounds not only contend with language barriers but are sometimes unable to participate in school or community events due to religious or cultural differences, according to a Tokyo YMCA representative.
For example, some events do not offer halal food, and group bathing customs can be unfamiliar to them.
Tokyo YMCA launched a free summer camp in 2023 that is designed so children of all nationalities, cultures and religions can take part.
Participants can look forward to activities such as ball games, canoeing, learning to build fires, lakeside walks, crafting accessories and campfires.
Volunteers of non-Japanese backgrounds or experience living in a country where they had to use their non-native language oversee the children at the camp.
Instructions are given in simple Japanese and supported with visuals.
The camp accommodates religious and cultural needs by offering halal meals and private bathing options.
Participants included children who fled Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion and those who discovered their own cultural roots thanks to the camp.
“I hadn’t been able to eat Japanese food because of halal restrictions, but at this camp, I got to try many different things,” one participant shared. “Thank you for welcoming Muslim children and treating us with kindness.”
In addition to the summer camp, Tokyo YMCA also organizes day trips to zoos and other places and provides academic support programs.
“We hope to help children build friendships through these activities and work toward creating a society where everyone feels safe and included,” the representative said.
To fund the summer camp and other programs, Tokyo YMCA is running a crowdfunding campaign: https://readyfor.jp/projects/sankaku2025.
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