Plenary Speaker

Japan as a multilingual society and language education

Japan’s foreign language education is often evaluated as unsuccessful, with the generally low English proficiency of Japanese people cited in criticism. This is seen as detrimental to national interests, and there is a strong demand from the business community in particular for improvements in English education in schools. However, is the problem with Japan’s foreign language education limited to low English proficiency? Could there be bigger problems hidden behind the shadow of English education? Is Japan’s language education adapting to the realities of society?
The foreign population in Japan accounts for just over 2% of the total population. However, the number of immigrants entering the country each year is not small, even ranking consistently high in recent OECD comparisons. The impact of these foreign workers and tourists on the Japanese economy is not insignificant. Most foreign nationals are immigrants from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America, and the number of people who speak English as their first language is extremely small.
Tourists often speak English as their second language, and it is possible to communicate in English. However, there is also great demand for Chinese and Korean, and we often see major electronics stores providing support in these languages, too. Foreigners working in Japan, as seen in convenience stores and ramen shops, basically work in Japanese. In manufacturing, agricultural, and fisheries industries, it is almost unthinkable to use any language other than Japanese.
Despite this situation, Japan’s foreign language education remains focused solely on English, and there has been no change: diversity in language education has not been ensured, and non-English education in secondary education remains limited. Only 1.4% of students in high school are learning languages other than English. Asian languages are often ignored or underrepresented, though the situation is changing with the increasing influence of Korean dramas and pop music. Rising interest in Asian languages is a major challenge for language education in Japan today, as it is necessary for Japanese speakers to learn “easy Japanese” to accommodate newcomers.
In this talk, I hope to shed some light on issues in language education in Japan today and to link them to future improvements in education here.