ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines Japan’s language education policy situation in view of its corpus, status, acquisition, and enrichment planning efforts extended to languages in the Japanese archipelago. School education policy, and national language education in particular, has seen gradual reform based on the changing social and economic situations. One of the unique aspects of Japan’s language education policy is the distinction drawn between national language education and Japanese-language education. As far as implementation is concerned, Japanese language teaching is prioritized and the children’s first language is regarded as a tool to assist effective acquisition of the host language. The institution publishes Japanese language learning materials, provides Japanese language teacher training, and offers the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Some foreign residents in Japan worry about sending their children to Japanese schools, fearing their children will become deeply assimilated into Japanese culture, and therefore are motivated to start their own schools.
