Language Gap: Two in Five Municipalities Have No Japanese Language Classes for Foreign Residents

A Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology survey revealed that, as of November 2023, there was no provision of Japanese language classes for foreign residents in 737 municipalities in Japan, equating to 38.9% of all local authorities. Compared to last year, this was an improvement of 5.2 percentage points.

In total, there were 141,309 foreign residents living in areas where with no classes available. At 21,039, Tokyo had the largest number of such residents, 4.7 times more than the 4,509 the previous year. With high numbers also recorded in Okinawa and Hokkaidō, it indicated that some local governments were unable to keep pace with the increase in foreign residents when providing Japanese language classes.

Okinawa had the largest ratio of areas with no classes at 85.4%, followed by Aomori with 75%, and Hokkaidō with 69.7%. Hyōgo, on the other hand, had no such areas.

Since the easing of the COVID-19 entry restrictions into Japan, Japanese language learners have been on the rise. In 2023, the number reached 263,170, recovering to the pre-pandemic level. The highest number of learners were from China with 76,425 (29%), followed by Nepal with 37,348 (14.2%), and Vietnam with 33,971 (12.9%).

The survey was conducted by sending questionnaires to approximately 8,300 local authorities and universities nationwide. The response rate was 60.6%.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)