Japan will introduce a new national accreditation system for Japanese-language schools from April in an effort to ensure their quality meets the needs of the country's growing foreign population.
Under the new system, Japanese language schools will have to meet certain requirements on staffing and curriculum to receive the accreditation, while instructors at accredited schools will need to obtain new national qualifications for teaching Japanese.
The changes come as the number of foreign nationals residing in Japan hit a record high of over 3.4 million in 2023. Despite there being some 220,000 Japanese learners as of fiscal 2022, standards among the around 2,700 Japanese-language schools in Japan vary greatly.
The new system will require schools to report to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on the content of their lessons and other details every fiscal year. If a school's management is deemed inappropriate, it will be subjected to a corrective order.
Japanese-language schools that can currently accept foreigners with student visas, and wish to continue to do, will need to get national accreditation after a transitional period of five years following the law's enforcement.
The names of accredited schools will be disclosed on the education ministry's website.
To qualify as a registered Japanese language teacher, an applicant will need to pass a national exam that measures the degree of knowledge and skills required for Japanese-language education, followed by practical training. Instructors will need to obtain this qualification within five years to teach at an accredited institution.
The education ministry will accept applications for school accreditation from May, with the first exam to become certified as a registered Japanese language teacher scheduled for November.
Makoto Murakami, director of the Aoyama International Education Institute in Tokyo's Minato Ward, views the new system in a positive light as it "will improve both the quality of schools and teachers."
The institute, which is preparing to apply for accreditation, currently has about 350 international students from countries including China and Vietnam who are aiming to advance to universities and vocational schools.
But some, like the institute's acting director Yukinobu Nishihara, have voiced concerns that stricter requirements for full-time teaching staff may create challenges in securing teachers for schools.
Japanese-language education for foreign workers and residents will remain unchanged even with the introduction of the new accreditation system. The education ministry plans to partner with the Immigration Services Agency and other entities to address the language support needs of foreign workers in the future.
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