The government is planning to require aspiring Japanese language teachers for foreigners to complete practical classroom training as part of the process of acquiring an official qualification, a move aimed at improving the quality of Japanese language education, it has been learned.
A subcommittee of the Cultural Affairs Agency's Council for Cultural Affairs settled on the plan on Thursday. Under it, the qualification would be awarded to people who pass a newly established exam on Japanese language education and meet conditions such as graduation from university.
The subcommittee compiled a "basic approach" report encompassing the plan the same day. It will continue discussions with the aim of creating a detailed design for the system during fiscal 2019.
The "basic approach" said the new qualification would be awarded to "people working to become Japanese language teachers for the first time." The subcommittee will consider exempting people who majored in Japanese language education at university and some others from part of the written exam.
It will decide whether the qualification will be awarded to people already working as Japanese language teachers based on factors such as their teaching competency, activities and achievements.
Many current Japanese language teachers are volunteers, and there is said to be wide variation in teaching abilities and content in the field. The Justice Ministry calls for teachers working at Japanese language schools attended by students from abroad and others to meet certain requirements, but there is no official qualification.
The new qualification would be deemed official, but further discussion is needed on whether it will be a national qualification, like that for doctors and lawyers, or a public qualification, such as the official business skill test in bookkeeping offered by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The government will accept more foreign workers into Japan from April. It will require companies and other entities to provide Japanese language education to these foreigners, so demand for teachers is expected to grow.
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