Japan to launch language support project for foreign children

The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025. The education ministry plans to launch a model project in fiscal 2027 to provide basic Japanese-language instruction for school life and classes to children of foreign nationals living in Japan. In response to an increase in the number of such children, the ministry aims to establish guidelines for effective language lessons through the project. The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction, including those who are unable to communicate adequately in daily Japanese conversation, reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025, which ended in March this year. The number doubled over the past nine years, according to the ministry. Of those students, about 10% were not given sufficient instruction at their schools due to staff shortages and other reasons.