Japan to Conduct Probe into Career Guidance for Foreign Students; High Schools Nationwide to be Surveyed on Support Systems

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:01 JST, June 10, 2025

The government will this fiscal year launch a survey on career support for foreign students in high schools.

The number of high school students in need of Japanese language instruction has doubled in the past 10 years. At the same time, the percentage of those who chose to work part time or be unemployed after graduation is high, posing a challenge for career support while in high school.

According to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, 5,573 high school students needed Japanese language instruction in fiscal 2023, approximately 2.3 times the number of 2,410 in fiscal 2012, and the number is expected to increase further in the future. At the same time, 38.6% (3.1% of all students) of those who found jobs after graduation were in non-regular employment, and 11.8% (6.5% of all students) were unemployed, having neither pursued higher education nor found employment. The survey results indicate that many foreign students are having difficulty in developing their careers.

Some high schools offer visits from alumni students, take part in internship schemes and offer support from specialist staff. However, the government has been unable to ascertain how widespread these efforts have been. Therefore, the survey will seek to determine the systems in place across at high schools across the country for foreign students to support progression into employment and higher education.

Systems that have advanced will be introduced on a trial basis at model schools and a report will be produced and shared among educational institutions nationwide with the aim of strengthening support systems.