To improve quality, teaching foreigners Japanese will require license

Japan to revamp language education as it relies more on workers from abroad

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A teacher gives a Japanese lesson to exchange students from overseas in Tokyo. (Photo by Mayumi Tsumita)

EUGENE LANG, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japanese-language instructors of international students will have to be certified under legislation passed Friday, with a goal of ensuring that foreign workers here receive adequate language education as they become more important to an aging society.

Japan has been opening its immigration doors a bit wider to bring in international talent to supplement its shrinking workforce, resulting in a significant increase in language schools. But teachers and schools have varied in quality, drawing criticism.

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