Powering the Diverse Labor Economy of the Future: U.S.-Japan Cooperation on Supporting the Integration of Immigrant Students and Families
Vivian Chen(Shimane, 2016-2018)
As globalization continues to shape the world economy, both the United States and Japan are experiencing profound demographic changes related to immigration. In 2023, the U.S. foreign-born population rose from 46.2 million to 47.8 million people, a 4 percent increase that counts as the largest annual increase since 2000. (1) In Japan, government data in 2023 showed that the number of foreign nationals residing in the country increased to a record 3.4 million, nearly 11 percent of the country’s total population. (2) Although immigration is enriching both Japanese and American societies, a critical issue is the integration of immigrant families and their children into educational systems, especially primary and secondary schools. This process has not only social implications, but also significant consequences for the U.S. and Japanese economies, which both face challenges due to aging populations and shrinking workforces.
The United States and Japan are making efforts to better integrate immigrant children into their respective educational systems. However, both countries grapple with complex issues in adapting their communities and educational institutions to increasingly diverse populations. These challenges are even more complicated in rural areas, which have fewer resources and services supporting nonnative families and their children. Last fall, I had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork with Japanese educators and nonprofit leaders in both Tokyo and Shimane. These interviews illuminated differences in how urban and rural vicinities in Japan are taking on the challenge of supporting immigrant students and their families. Policymakers in the United States and Japan need to seriously consider this urban-rural divide when creating laws and programs to support these new foreign residents. Accordingly, both countries would benefit from greater collaboration and learning from one another’s approaches to building more accessible, responsive, and sustainable educational systems.
Urban and Rural Immigrant Student Integration
United States
The United States has historically been more open to immigration, and many urban areas have successfully integrated immigrant students into their school systems. This success can be attributed to greater accessibility to and availability of capital, facilities, and resources dedicated to meeting the needs of immigrant students, such as bilingual education programs and English as a Second Language services. Major metropolitan areas like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City also often have a combination of municipal government, nonprofit, and private infrastructure to address immigrant population needs, including cultural sensitivity training for teachers, multilingual staff at schools, and specialized community outreach programs for immigrant families. (3) Additionally, the aforementioned cities have higher immigrant concentrations in their populations, which fosters more inclusive environments for social and academic adjustment. Yet, urban schools still deal with ongoing deficiencies like overcrowded classrooms, resource underfunding, and achievement gaps disadvantageously skewed towards immigrant students. (4)
On the other hand, rural areas in the United States face more of an uphill battle. Immigration to smaller cities and towns has been on the rise for a variety of reasons, including growing labor demands in the agricultural, construction, and meatpacking industries. Since the 1990s, immigrants have migrated to rural areas at unprecedented rates, accounting for 37 percent of overall rural growth from 2000 to 2018. (5) Immigrant students in these areas are frequently fewer in numbers and grapple with social isolation on top of attending schools that are less likely to host bilingual education programs, culturally responsive teaching, and tailored after-school programs. This lack of resources from the public, nonprofit, and private sector spaces can lead to lower academic performance and higher dropout rates among immigrant students. (6) Even though immigrant-supporting organizations like Immigrants Rising and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants aim to bridge the urban-rural divide, this disparity symbolizes the broader structural obstacles that make it difficult to address the needs of immigrant populations across the country.
Japan
In contrast to the United States, Japan has traditionally maintained restrictive immigration policies. However, over the past few decades, the country has gradually relaxed its position to introduce policies welcoming to Nikkei (foreigners of Japanese descent) and other foreigners who can help counteract problems stemming from an aging population, declining birth rate, and labor shortages. In 2019, the Japanese government ramped up its efforts by introducing the Specified Skilled Worker visa program, which seeks foreign workers to fill jobs in caregiving, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and other sectors. (7) While relatively small compared to the U.S. foreign-born population, Japan’s foreign resident numbers have skyrocketed. Furthermore, in 2024, Japan’s government announced that it planned to more than double the number of foreigners eligible for the visa to more than 800,000 over the next five years. (8) These accelerating policy changes reflect a Japan that is trying to resolve the issue of a dwindling native-born workforce, and both urban and rural areas of the country are grappling to adjust to this dynamic socioeconomic shift.
Urban Case Study: Nishitokyo
In the wake of an immigration wave, urban areas like the Tokyo Metropolitan Area are rising up to meet the demand to extend accommodation services to foreign residents, albeit with varying success and limited capacity. The foreign nationals population in Tokyo has skyrocketed to nearly 650,000 as of January 2024, equaling 4.6 percent of the total population in the prefecture. (9) The diversity of Tokyo’s population necessitates schools along with other facilities and infrastructure to be more prepared to aid immigrant students and their families unfamiliar with Japanese culture, language, and society. For example, bilingual education programs, cultural assimilation initiatives, and extensive social services are more readily available. However, many challenges exist even for urban centers like Tokyo, such as lack of capacity and resources in the face of overwhelming demand for individualized support, bullying and isolation of immigrant students in schools, and overall lack of institutional flexibility in the Japanese education system. (10)
Nishitokyo City, located in the western part of Tokyo, is taking proactive steps to help immigrant students and their families through various initiatives, serving around 5,200 registered foreign residents from seventy different countries, comprising 2.5 percent of Nishitokyo's population. (11) The city funds local nonprofit organizations working to provide services and support to foreign residents, such as the Nishitokyo Multicultural and International Center (NIMIC), through a subsidy program run by the Japanese government. (12) NIMIC organizes regular activities and services, including Japanese language classes at twelve facilities catering to different demographics from children to mothers and from group classes to individualized tutoring. (13) Furthermore, NIMIC dispatches interpreters, organizes multicultural events and exchanges, and hosts school enrollment seminars for foreign residents. (14) In my interviews with NIMIC staff last fall, they explained that despite finding success with these programs, obstacles still remain. While some NIMIC staff were paid stipends of ¥1,000 (about US$7) per day working at the center, they relied heavily on university students and volunteers for activity and event planning. The staff also mentioned that local government and school support for funding and staffing was constrained. Furthermore, they felt that Japanese teachers could do a better job of assisting immigrant students in the classroom on a day-to-day basis if they could undertake cultural sensitivity and multicultural training.
Rural Case Study: Izumo
Compared to urban Japan, rural Japan has faced more difficulties incorporating immigrants into their communities even as the boost in population has been key in filling job gaps in the industrial and manufacturing sectors as well as revitalizing depopulated areas. The need for foreign workers to bolster the labor economy was demonstrated by Japan’s revision of its “Comprehensive Measures for the Acceptance and Coexistence of Foreign Nationals,” with policy amendments that allow foreigners to permanently work and reside in Japan. (15) However, the lack of access to multilingual services and less visible representation of diversity in the Japanese countryside can make it harder for immigrants to feel they belong. Schools in less populated areas are often poorly equipped to deal with the needs of immigrant students with few bilingual teachers and a lack of cultural awareness among teachers and administrators. One notable example involves Nikkei Brazilians. In order to sustain Japan’s manufacturing sector, Japan implemented a policy that enabled Nikkei Brazilians to enter under relaxed visa rules for work since 1990. In the three decades or so since the loosening of this policy, over 300,000 Nikkei Brazilians have moved to Japan with large population clusters concentrated in rural areas, with one noteworthy location being Shimane Prefecture. (16)
Izumo City in Shimane Prefecture, a small city of 175,000, demonstrates the challenges in nonurban settings of integrating immigrants such as second- or third-generation Nikkei Brazilians. In 2022, Izumo had the largest proportion of foreign residents in the prefecture, and more than 3,000 of its 4,670 foreign residents were Brazilians. (17) Izumo’s municipal government has taken an effective role in supporting the integration of foreign residents into the community. It allocates a budget to subsidize Izumo companies’ Japanese language training courses for trainees in a program partnership with the Shimane International Center called “Japanese in the Workplace.” In operation since 2019, “Japanese in the Workplace” caters courses focused on language for daily life with the option to personalize curriculum by company, such as using photos of worksites as teaching materials upon request. (18) For Nikkei Brazilian students, Izumo has implemented tailored programming, such as its Children’s Support Project, which provides after-school programming and safe spaces for Nikkei Brazilian children to learn more about their heritage, speak Portuguese, and seek tutoring for classes. (19) While Izumo’s efforts offer a case study of successful ways to set up facilities and support services for foreign resident families, in my interviews with other immigrant-supporting organizations, including the Shimane Prefecture Foreigner Community Supporters and the Multicultural Union Association, representatives noted the disparity in capacity and resources between local governments in rural areas in Japan, which makes it harder for them to conduct sustained outreach to immigrant students and their families.
Policy Solutions and Collaboration Between the United States and Japan
As detailed above, the United States and Japan are addressing the demographic change brought by immigration that is irrevocably reshaping their respective societal and socioeconomic landscapes. The challenge of incorporating immigrants into educational systems is not just a moral issue, but also carries substantial economic ramifications, as both the United States and Japan figure out how to resolve ongoing economic pressures stemming from aging populations and shrinking workforces. With this increasing population diversification in both urban and rural areas, the two countries should consider innovative programs and collaborative approaches at the subnational and local government levels to better integrate immigrant children and their families into local schools and communities. Partnerships with nonprofit and private sectors should also be leveraged to help fill in the gaps of providing on-the-ground experience and knowledge for engaging with foreign residents and their children. The United States and Japan can partner in three key areas.
Expanding Cultural Competency and Diversity Training for Educators
Local governments in both the United States and Japan should create more opportunities for teachers to recognize and address the unique needs of students from various backgrounds, better equipping them to adapt their teaching methods and student interactions with nonnative students. Greater cultural awareness results in increased student engagement, participation, and motivation, for both nonnative and native students. Studies have shown that strengthening teachers’ cultural competency lends to more students’ strengths being recognized and utilized, which increases student self-esteem, engagement, and outcomes. (20) For this reason, it is important to expand opportunities for teachers to participate in training programs on cultural competence and diversity. Such training not only helps in the classroom, but also empowers teachers to share their knowledge with educational leadership and other staff to build a more inclusive school environment for all students.
Creating New International Exchange Programs for Teachers
Notable programs such as the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP) and the U.S.-Japan Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) could be referenced to create similar programming to expand professional development and training opportunities for teachers to learn how to better support their students. Since 2011, J-LEAP has offered two-year comprehensive training exchange programs for American and Japanese teachers for team-teaching growth and development. These trainings have contributed to stronger Japanese language programs in U.S. schools and ties between the United States and Japan with countless successful testimonies from participating teachers. (21) The ESD program was a complementary program supporting Japan’s increased focus on international education and exchange in advance of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. It allowed American educators to travel to Japan to learn about ESD efforts and curricula. Some significant achievements of this program included increased understanding between the peoples of Japan and the United States along with enriched ESD curricula in both U.S. and Japanese high schools. (22)
Based on these two models, new proposed international exchange programs could take place in or focus on specific countries beyond the United States and Japan, such as Brazil, Mexico, Nepal, and others from which many immigrants originate. These programs could equip teachers with the necessary experience and knowledge—specifically, cultural context and language—to support immigrant students in both countries.
Funding and Policy Support for Grassroots Organizations and Nonprofits
State/prefectural and municipal/local level governments in both countries should help channel more funding for grassroots and nonprofit organizations, which could close the gaps in resources and services for immigrants. Public-nonprofit partnerships—where government leaders engage with and seek guidance from on-the-ground grassroots organizations and nonprofits on what is necessary—should be considered or even required to reinforce collaboration in cultural integration, language education, and social services, such as specialized educators and teacher aides for immigrant families in urban and rural schools. Besides providing capital and resources, local governments could recruit policy experts and practitioners in these areas to help revise policies to better institutionalize effective practices, such as capacity building and teacher training.
Conclusion
The integration of immigrant students and their families into primary and secondary education systems is crucial for the United States and Japan, as both countries are facing a declining working population in the years to come. The two allies can collaboratively address shared challenges related to language barriers, cultural adjustment, and educational support. By focusing on teacher training related to cultural awareness and sensitivity along with diversity and inclusion, establishing new opportunities for international teacher exchange programs, and boosting funding and revising policies for immigrant-supporting grassroots and nonprofit organizations, the United States and Japan can bring about a more inclusive educational environment for immigrant children. More importantly, both countries’ futures are dependent on younger generations—generations that are evidently becoming more diverse. The United States and Japan can strengthen their positions as global leaders by starting in the classroom, where fostering open-minded, productive, and diverse generations for the future is indispensable.
About the Author
Vivian Chen was a JET Program ALT in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, from 2016 to 2018. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, she graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a dual B.A. in International Studies and Japanese Studies and obtained her M.A. in International Economy from Johns Hopkins University SAIS. After graduating with her master's degree, Vivian entered the federal government through the Presidential Management Fellows Program. In her current role, she supports U.S. cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region at the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of International Affairs. Before entering the civil service, Vivian worked in the nonprofit space at various organizations related to U.S.-Japan relations including the American Councils for International Education, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, and the TOMODACHI Initiative. She continues to stay connected to the JET alumni community by serving as a Country Representative for JETAA USA and volunteering as an Ex Officio Member for JETAADC. In her free time, she enjoys staying active, exploring art museums, and watching films to rate and debate on Letterboxd.
References
(1) Mohamad Moslimani and Jeffrey S. Passel, What the Data Says about Immigrants in the U.S. (Pew Research Center, September 27, 2024), https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/27/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/.
(2) “Record 3.4 Million Foreign Residents in Japan as Work Visas Rise,” Kyodo News, March 22, 2024, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/03/d72c3226dfb0-record-34-million-foreign-residents-in-japan-as-work-visas-rise.html.
(3) Jeanne Batalova, Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States (Migration Policy Institute, March 13, 2024), https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states-2024.
(4) Jonathan Kozol, “The Desolation of America’s Urban Schools,” The Nation, February 26, 2024, https://www.thenation.com/article/society/austerity-public-education-schools-investment/.
(5) Kim Parker et al., “1. Demographic and Economic Trends in Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities,” in What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities (Pew Research Center, May 22, 2018), https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/demographic-and-economic-trends-in-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/.
(6) Leah Shafer, “Newcomer Students in Rural and Suburban Communities,” Digital Promise, September 10, 2018, https://digitalpromise.org/2018/09/10/newcomer-students-rural-suburban-communities/.
(7) “Japan Enacts Laws for New Foreign Worker Scheme Amid Labor Crisis,” Kyodo News, June 14, 2024, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/06/5e8e7231c30d-japan-enacts-laws-for-new-foreign-worker-scheme-amid-labor-crisis.html.
(8) Taishu Yuasa, “Japan to Double Cap on Skilled Foreign Workers from Fiscal 2024,” Nikkei Asia, March 5, 2024, https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-immigration/Japan-to-double-cap-on-skilled-foreign-workers-from-fiscal-2024.
(9) Christian Mancini and Tetsuya Kaneko, A Closer Look at Tokyo Demographics (Savills Research, June 25, 2024), https://www.savills.co.jp/research_articles/167577/216715-0.
(10) Tomoko Tokunaga, Possibilities and Constraints of Immigrant Students in the Japanese Educational System (Global Education Monitoring Report, 2018), https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000266211.
(11) “Introduction to Nishitokyo City,” Nishitokyo City Guidebook, March 28, 2021, https://www.city.nishitokyo.lg.jp/english/guidebook.files/1page.pdf.
(12) “Japan Public Schools Unable to Meet Demand for Japanese Language Support,” The Mainichi, August 18, 2024, https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240815/p2a/00m/0na/024000c.
(13) NPO Nishitokyo Multicultural & International Center, Japanese Classes (by Volunteers) in Nishitokyo, city map, April 2024, https://www.city.nishitokyo.lg.jp/english/class.files/202404annai.pdf.
(14) “About NIMIC,” NPO Nishitokyo Multicultural & International Center, 2024, https://www.nimic.jp/en/about-nimic/.
(15) River Akira Davis and Hisako Ueno, “In Japan’s Countryside, Century-Old Firms Learn to Embrace Foreign Workers,” The New York Times, October 3, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/business/japan-immigrant-workers.html.
(16) Recruiting Immigrant Workers: Japan 2024 (OECD Publishing, June 30, 2024), https://doi.org/10.1787/0e5a10e3-en.
(17) “More Firms in West Japan Providing Language Training to Foreign Workers,” The Mainichi, September 14, 2023, https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230914/p2a/00m/0na/016000c.
(18) Vivian Kieko, “Mais empresas no Japão oferecem formação linguística aos trabalhadores estrangeiros” [More Companies in Japan Offer Language Training to Foreign Workers], Dia a Dia, September 15, 2023, https://diaadia.jp/blog/mais-empresas-no-japao-oferecem-formacao-linguistica-aos-trabalhadores-estrangeiros/.
(19) “こどもサポートプロジェクト(山陰教区神門組真宗寺)「日本で暮らす外国の子に居場所を」 [Children’s Support Project (Shinshuji, Kandozo-gumi, Sanin-kyo) A Place for Foreign Children Living in Japan],” 浄土真宗本願寺派 [Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji Sect], December 6, 2022, https://www.hongwanji.or.jp/project/report/001951.html.
(20) Pamela Sanchez, Cultural Competency: Educating the “Whole” Student, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), policy brief, 2020, http://chci.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pam-Sanchez-FINAL-DRAFT.pdf.
(21) “J-LEAP 米国若手日本語教員,” The Laurasian Institute, 2025, https://www.laurasian.org/jleap.
(22) “Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development,” The Institute of International Education, 2025, https://www.iie.org/programs/esd/about.
About JETs on Japan
JETs on Japan is a partnership between USJETAA and Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA that features JET alumni perspectives on US-Japan relations. on a variety of topics relevant to US-Japan relations. The publication elevates the awareness and visibility of JET alumni working across diverse sectors and provides a platform for JET alumni to contribute to a deeper understanding of US-Japan relations from their fields.
*Published articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of USJETAA or Sasakawa USA.
