Expat children in Japan risk falling behind in Japanese lessons

Location matters: Student-teacher ratio three times as high in Chiba as in Tokyo

20210914N Yokohama school children

Yokohama provides daily Japanese classes to children who have been in the country for less than half a year. (Photo by Chuni Kim)

CHUNI KIM, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- The teaching of Japanese to children of foreign nationals in Japan varies widely across the country, with some areas lacking enough teachers for proper instruction, government data obtained by Nikkei shows.

Tokyo, for example, has just 11 students per teacher, while neighboring Chiba Prefecture has nearly three times as many, with 32, according to materials from the education ministry.

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