Japan survey finds language teacher shortage ahead of foreign worker program
Of 348 responding organizations, 125 said they lacked enough registered teachers and saw no prospect of securing them.
A Japanese government survey has found that organizations preparing to support foreign workers are struggling to recruit Japanese language teachers ahead of a new employment program scheduled to begin in April.
The Employment for Skill Development program will replace the Technical Intern Training program. Before working in Japan, foreign nationals must either pass a Japanese proficiency test at A1 level or higher, or complete at least 100 hours of Japanese language instruction.
The Immigration Services Agency and the labor ministry jointly surveyed organizations about teacher recruitment. They contacted 1,880 organizations on a mailing list maintained by the government-affiliated Organization for Technical Intern Training. Valid replies came from 348 organizations during a three-day period ending Oct. 7.
Among respondents, 125, or 35.9%, reported insufficient registered teachers and no prospect of filling the gap. Enough teachers had been secured by 51 organizations, or 14.7%, while 66, or 19%, expected to secure them. Another 106 said recruitment efforts were under way.
The responding organizations planned to receive 17,247 foreign workers during the program’s first year. Of those, 13,502 were expected to pass proficiency tests at A1 level or higher before arriving in Japan.
Respondents cited a lack of registered teachers and uncertainty about where to find them or seek guidance. Japan had about 20,000 registered Japanese language teachers as of August. An Immigration Services Agency official said the agency would work to improve awareness of the system and step up efforts to secure teachers.
