Whither is post-2020 Japanese-language education abroad going?
OGAWA Tadashi / Professor, Atomi University
November 21, 2019
There is a growing current in Japanese-language education abroad. This current may be a harbinger of structural changes of Japanese society. It is time for Japan’s policy on cultural exchange to face up to a new challenge.
The Japan Foundation recently published the preliminary report of the results of the 2018 Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad. It was confirmed that Japanese –language education was being implemented in 142 areas (countries and regions), which is the largest number ever. The number of institutions involved in Japanese-language education in the world was 18, 604 institutions, where 77,128 teachers were teaching Japanese to 3,846,773 learners. Both the number of institutions and that of teachers were the highest ever reached.
As for the number of learners of Japanese in the world, the peak number reached was 3,985,669 people in the 2012 Survey recorded 3,985,669 people. The number in the 2015 Survey, which was 3,655,024 people, marked the first decrease in the number of learners since the 1979 Survey. It appeared at the time that Japanese-language education abroad, which had consistently expanded until then, was beginning to decline. However, the latest Survey indicates that it has registered an increase of 5% over 2015.
Soft power, which is the power to attract others, does not lend itself easily to quantitative measurement. This Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad provides a tool for quantitative measurement of Japan’s soft power. As far as we can see from the latest Survey, Japan’s soft power is far fro being on the wane.
How do we see the new current of Japanese-language education that I mentioned at the beginning? It is the remarkable 37% increase in the number of learners at “other” educational institutions (primarily private Japanese-language schools) from 610,000 in the previous Survey to 830,000 people in the latest Survey, while the numbers of learners at secondary and higher education institutions, which used to constitute the bulk of Japanese-language learners, have decreased slightly. This boost in Japanese-language learning at “other” educational institutions is probably attributable to the policy for greater acceptance of foreign human resources launched by the Japanese government as a part of the steps to cope with projected manpower shortage.
In particular, the Specified Skilled Worker status was created to grant a new status of residence to workers in industrial sectors with acute labor shortage, whereby the applicants are required to take examinations to ascertain whether they have a certain degree of proficiency in the Japanese language. The Japanese government has concluded bilateral agreements (Memorandums of Cooperation) with nine countries whose nationals are likely to come under this status, and the number of educational institutions teaching Japanese other than secondary and higher education institutions has increased in all the nine countries. In seven out of the nine countries, the learners of Japanese other than those at secondary and higher education institutions have increased in number, with notable increases in Vietnam (from 34,266 to 114,957 people), Myanmar (from 10,539 to 32,616 people) and Indonesia (from 7,865 to 20,205 people).
The motives for overseas learners to learn the Japanese language have shifted from economic factors such as the demand to engage in business with Japan in the 1980s and 90s to cultural factors such as the popularity of anime and cartoons. Now there has arisen the new factor of the need to qualify for the status to work in Japan.
With respect to Japanese-language education, there has so far been a division of labor between the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Agency for Cultural Affairs being responsible for things “within” Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation being responsible for things “outside” Japan. As we accept more and more foreign human resources, this distinction between “in and out” will gradually lose its relevance. We will need to formulate a strategy for Japanese-language education from a more comprehensive perspective. The Japan Foundation has started a new approach including JFT (the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese) designed for those foreign workers seeking to qualify for the new visa status. It will probably need to collaborate further with institutions engaged in Japanese-language education within Japan.
One cause for concern is that we have yet to see the stance of the Japanese government on how it may tackle the problem after 2020. For example, what are we going to do about the “NIHONGO Partners” program of the Japan Foundation in the future? Under this program that started in 2013, 1500 Japanese volunteers have been dispatched to ASEAN countries in the course of five years, benefiting 1.35 million learners, thus providing a valuable underpinning to Japanese-language education in these countries. However, the budget of the Japan Foundation Asia Center, which is implementing the program, is to expire in 2020, and what may happen after that remains uncertain.
An important factor behind the expansion of Japanese-language education abroad up to now is the fact that the Japanese government’s steady approach based on a medium to long-term vision has borne fruit. This stance should be firmly maintained, and it is urgently necessary for the Japanese government to present to the world its vision and concrete policies for cultural exchange beyond 2020.
Tadashi Ogawa is Professor at the Department of Humanities in the Faculty of Letters, Atomi University.
The Japan Foundation recently published the preliminary report of the results of the 2018 Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad. It was confirmed that Japanese –language education was being implemented in 142 areas (countries and regions), which is the largest number ever. The number of institutions involved in Japanese-language education in the world was 18, 604 institutions, where 77,128 teachers were teaching Japanese to 3,846,773 learners. Both the number of institutions and that of teachers were the highest ever reached.
As for the number of learners of Japanese in the world, the peak number reached was 3,985,669 people in the 2012 Survey recorded 3,985,669 people. The number in the 2015 Survey, which was 3,655,024 people, marked the first decrease in the number of learners since the 1979 Survey. It appeared at the time that Japanese-language education abroad, which had consistently expanded until then, was beginning to decline. However, the latest Survey indicates that it has registered an increase of 5% over 2015.
Soft power, which is the power to attract others, does not lend itself easily to quantitative measurement. This Survey on Japanese-Language Education Abroad provides a tool for quantitative measurement of Japan’s soft power. As far as we can see from the latest Survey, Japan’s soft power is far fro being on the wane.
How do we see the new current of Japanese-language education that I mentioned at the beginning? It is the remarkable 37% increase in the number of learners at “other” educational institutions (primarily private Japanese-language schools) from 610,000 in the previous Survey to 830,000 people in the latest Survey, while the numbers of learners at secondary and higher education institutions, which used to constitute the bulk of Japanese-language learners, have decreased slightly. This boost in Japanese-language learning at “other” educational institutions is probably attributable to the policy for greater acceptance of foreign human resources launched by the Japanese government as a part of the steps to cope with projected manpower shortage.
In particular, the Specified Skilled Worker status was created to grant a new status of residence to workers in industrial sectors with acute labor shortage, whereby the applicants are required to take examinations to ascertain whether they have a certain degree of proficiency in the Japanese language. The Japanese government has concluded bilateral agreements (Memorandums of Cooperation) with nine countries whose nationals are likely to come under this status, and the number of educational institutions teaching Japanese other than secondary and higher education institutions has increased in all the nine countries. In seven out of the nine countries, the learners of Japanese other than those at secondary and higher education institutions have increased in number, with notable increases in Vietnam (from 34,266 to 114,957 people), Myanmar (from 10,539 to 32,616 people) and Indonesia (from 7,865 to 20,205 people).
The motives for overseas learners to learn the Japanese language have shifted from economic factors such as the demand to engage in business with Japan in the 1980s and 90s to cultural factors such as the popularity of anime and cartoons. Now there has arisen the new factor of the need to qualify for the status to work in Japan.
With respect to Japanese-language education, there has so far been a division of labor between the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Agency for Cultural Affairs being responsible for things “within” Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Foundation being responsible for things “outside” Japan. As we accept more and more foreign human resources, this distinction between “in and out” will gradually lose its relevance. We will need to formulate a strategy for Japanese-language education from a more comprehensive perspective. The Japan Foundation has started a new approach including JFT (the Japan Foundation Test for Basic Japanese) designed for those foreign workers seeking to qualify for the new visa status. It will probably need to collaborate further with institutions engaged in Japanese-language education within Japan.
One cause for concern is that we have yet to see the stance of the Japanese government on how it may tackle the problem after 2020. For example, what are we going to do about the “NIHONGO Partners” program of the Japan Foundation in the future? Under this program that started in 2013, 1500 Japanese volunteers have been dispatched to ASEAN countries in the course of five years, benefiting 1.35 million learners, thus providing a valuable underpinning to Japanese-language education in these countries. However, the budget of the Japan Foundation Asia Center, which is implementing the program, is to expire in 2020, and what may happen after that remains uncertain.
An important factor behind the expansion of Japanese-language education abroad up to now is the fact that the Japanese government’s steady approach based on a medium to long-term vision has borne fruit. This stance should be firmly maintained, and it is urgently necessary for the Japanese government to present to the world its vision and concrete policies for cultural exchange beyond 2020.
Tadashi Ogawa is Professor at the Department of Humanities in the Faculty of Letters, Atomi University.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
2020年以降の海外日本語教育のゆくえ
小川 忠 / 跡見学園大学教授
2019年 11月 21日
海外の日本語教育に新たな潮流が生じている。この潮流は、日本社会が構造的に変化する兆しかもしれない。日本の文化交流政策は、新たな挑戦に取り組む時を迎えている。
このほど国際交流基金は2018年度海外日本語教育機関調査結果の速報値を発表した。今回の調査では過去最多142か国・地域で日本語教育が行われていることが確認された。全世界18,604機関において、77,128人の教師が、3,846,773人の学習者に日本語を教えている。日本語教育機関数、日本語教師数も過去最多である。
全世界の日本語学習者数についていえば、2012年度調査では過去最多の3,985,669人を記録したのが、2015年度は3,655,024人と1979年の調査以来はじめて減少した。ここまで右肩上がりで増えてきた海外日本語教育は退潮に転じたかに見えた。しかし、今回再び2015年度比５％の増加に転じた。
他者を魅了する力であるソフトパワーを定量的に計測するのは難しい。そのなかで海外日本語教育機関調査は日本のソフトパワーを定量的に測る一つの材料を提供している。今回の調査で見る限り、日本のソフトパワーの勢いはまだまだ衰えていない。
冒頭で触れた海外日本語教育の新たな潮流とは何か。それは、これまで日本語学習層の主柱であった中等教育、高等教育がわずかながら減少するなか、学校教育以外（いわゆる民間日本語学校）の学習者数が前回の61万人から83万人、と37％増加していることだ。学校教育以外での日本語学習が盛んになっている背景にあるのは、日本政府が人手不足対策の一環として始めた外国人材受け入れ拡大政策の影響と考えられる。
特に深刻な労働不足の産業分野に関し、日本政府は新たな在留資格を付与する「特定技能資格制度」を創設した。この制度では一定の日本語能力があるかどうか試験で確認することとなっている。この制度の主な対象として日本政府が二国間取り決め（MOC）を結んだ全9か国において学校教育以外の日本語教育機関数が増加した。この9か国中の7か国で、学校教育以外の学習者数も増加し、特にベトナム（34,266→114,957人）。ミャンマー（10,539→32,616人）、インドネシア（7,865→20,205人）が顕著な伸びを示している。
これまで海外の学習者が日本語を学ぶ動機は、80～90年代日本とのビジネス等経済的要因から、2000年代以降アニメ・漫画人気等文化的要因へと変遷をとげてきた。ここに来て日本国内での就労資格取得のためという新たな要因が出てきたのだ。
これまで日本語教育は、国内は文科省・文化庁、海外は外務省・国際交流基金、と役割分担が行われてきたが、今後外国人材受け入れが拡大すると「ウチとソト」という区分けは意味を失ってくるだろう。より包括的な視野に立った日本語教育の戦略が必要となる。国際交流基金は新たな在留資格取得をめざす外国人のための「日本語基礎テスト」を開始するなどの取り組みを始めているが、今後一層国内日本語教育との連携が求められることになろう。
気がかりなのは、2020年以降の日本政府の取り組み姿勢が未だ見えないことだ。たとえば「日本語パートナーズ派遣」事業の今後をどうするかだ。2013年から始まった同事業はこれまで5年間で1500人の日本語ボランティアをアセアン諸国に派遣し、この事業効果によって135万人が裨益者となり、これらの国々の日本語学習の基層を下支えしてきた。しかし同事業を実施している国際交流基金アジアセンターの予算は2020年度までの期限付きで、その後どうなるのか将来が不透明なのである。
これまでの海外日本語教育の広がりの一因は、中長期的なビジョンに基づいた政府の安定的な取り組みが功を奏したことにある。今後もこの姿勢を堅持し、早急に日本政府は2020年以降の文化交流へのビジョンと具体策を世界に示すべきである。
筆者は跡見学園女子大学文学部人文学科教授
このほど国際交流基金は2018年度海外日本語教育機関調査結果の速報値を発表した。今回の調査では過去最多142か国・地域で日本語教育が行われていることが確認された。全世界18,604機関において、77,128人の教師が、3,846,773人の学習者に日本語を教えている。日本語教育機関数、日本語教師数も過去最多である。
全世界の日本語学習者数についていえば、2012年度調査では過去最多の3,985,669人を記録したのが、2015年度は3,655,024人と1979年の調査以来はじめて減少した。ここまで右肩上がりで増えてきた海外日本語教育は退潮に転じたかに見えた。しかし、今回再び2015年度比５％の増加に転じた。
他者を魅了する力であるソフトパワーを定量的に計測するのは難しい。そのなかで海外日本語教育機関調査は日本のソフトパワーを定量的に測る一つの材料を提供している。今回の調査で見る限り、日本のソフトパワーの勢いはまだまだ衰えていない。
冒頭で触れた海外日本語教育の新たな潮流とは何か。それは、これまで日本語学習層の主柱であった中等教育、高等教育がわずかながら減少するなか、学校教育以外（いわゆる民間日本語学校）の学習者数が前回の61万人から83万人、と37％増加していることだ。学校教育以外での日本語学習が盛んになっている背景にあるのは、日本政府が人手不足対策の一環として始めた外国人材受け入れ拡大政策の影響と考えられる。
特に深刻な労働不足の産業分野に関し、日本政府は新たな在留資格を付与する「特定技能資格制度」を創設した。この制度では一定の日本語能力があるかどうか試験で確認することとなっている。この制度の主な対象として日本政府が二国間取り決め（MOC）を結んだ全9か国において学校教育以外の日本語教育機関数が増加した。この9か国中の7か国で、学校教育以外の学習者数も増加し、特にベトナム（34,266→114,957人）。ミャンマー（10,539→32,616人）、インドネシア（7,865→20,205人）が顕著な伸びを示している。
これまで海外の学習者が日本語を学ぶ動機は、80～90年代日本とのビジネス等経済的要因から、2000年代以降アニメ・漫画人気等文化的要因へと変遷をとげてきた。ここに来て日本国内での就労資格取得のためという新たな要因が出てきたのだ。
これまで日本語教育は、国内は文科省・文化庁、海外は外務省・国際交流基金、と役割分担が行われてきたが、今後外国人材受け入れが拡大すると「ウチとソト」という区分けは意味を失ってくるだろう。より包括的な視野に立った日本語教育の戦略が必要となる。国際交流基金は新たな在留資格取得をめざす外国人のための「日本語基礎テスト」を開始するなどの取り組みを始めているが、今後一層国内日本語教育との連携が求められることになろう。
気がかりなのは、2020年以降の日本政府の取り組み姿勢が未だ見えないことだ。たとえば「日本語パートナーズ派遣」事業の今後をどうするかだ。2013年から始まった同事業はこれまで5年間で1500人の日本語ボランティアをアセアン諸国に派遣し、この事業効果によって135万人が裨益者となり、これらの国々の日本語学習の基層を下支えしてきた。しかし同事業を実施している国際交流基金アジアセンターの予算は2020年度までの期限付きで、その後どうなるのか将来が不透明なのである。
これまでの海外日本語教育の広がりの一因は、中長期的なビジョンに基づいた政府の安定的な取り組みが功を奏したことにある。今後もこの姿勢を堅持し、早急に日本政府は2020年以降の文化交流へのビジョンと具体策を世界に示すべきである。
筆者は跡見学園女子大学文学部人文学科教授
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟