Sep 28 (NHK) - Japan's education ministry says as many as 20,000 foreign children living in the country are believed not to be receiving school education.
The ministry identified 124,049 foreign children aged six to 14 who are registered as residents in municipalities across the nation as of May.
Among them, 1,000 were confirmed as not attending any elementary, junior high or international schools.
There were 18,654 children whose education status was uncertain. In some cases, municipality officials were unable to confirm their status either by phone, home visits or other methods. In other cases, officials failed to complete the survey during the set period.
An expert on the issue, Associate Professor Yoshimi Kojima of Aichi Shukutoku University said she was shocked to learn that nearly 20,000 children may have no access to education.
Kojima added that greater support for such children is needed as the number of foreign children in Japan is expected to rise under the government's policy of accepting more foreign workers.
