Japan considers pre-arrival Japanese lessons for foreign residents
A Justice Ministry team proposes online study before entry, continued support in Japan and learning records for residency screening.
- Japan's Justice Ministry is considering a program to offer online Japanese language lessons to prospective foreign residents before they arrive in the country.
- The initiative is part of a broader government adaptation program designed to help foreigners adjust more smoothly to life in Japanese society.
- The program would also cover administrative procedures and rules for daily life, with learning continuing after arrival.
- A person's progress in these studies could be used by authorities when assessing their qualifications for residency.
Japan’s Justice Ministry is considering giving prospective foreign residents the chance to study Japanese before they enter the country, using information and communications technology as part of a wider plan to help them settle.
The proposal was set out in a report released by a ministry project team on Friday (July 3). The report forms part of work on a government adaptation programme designed to help foreign residents adjust more smoothly to life in Japanese society.
Under the plan, people seeking residency in Japan would be offered Japanese-language learning before arrival and a system allowing them to continue their studies after entering the country. The team also proposed that information on their learning progress be used when authorities assess whether they qualify for residency.
Japan’s Justice Ministry is considering giving prospective foreign residents the chance to study Japanese before they enter the country, using information and communications technology as part of a wider plan to help them settle.
The proposal was set out in a report released by a ministry project team on Friday (July 3).
The report forms part of work on a government adaptation programme designed to help foreign residents adjust more smoothly to life in Japanese society.
Under the plan, people seeking residency in Japan would be offered Japanese-language learning before arrival and a system allowing them to continue their studies after entering the country.
The team also proposed that information on their learning progress be used when authorities assess whether they qualify for residency.
The scheme follows the government’s basic policy on foreign people, issued in January, which called for the creation of the adaptation programme.
Discussions on the details were led by Mamoru Fukuyama, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Justice.
The report says the central government should be responsible for providing the programme, while also expanding learning support offered by host institutions and reducing the burden placed on local governments.
Foreign nationals would use the programme before and after entering Japan to learn basic Japanese and gain knowledge of administrative procedures and rules for daily life.
The report also says local governments should be encouraged to consider face-to-face lessons covering the specific characteristics of their regions.
The programme would target a broad range of medium- to long-term residents.
It would also offer learning opportunities to their family members and allow participants to choose content suited to their progress at different stages of life.
With the ruling Liberal Democratic Party seeking to test the programme in fiscal 2028, the government plans to speed up work on the remaining details, based on the project team’s report.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
