is a Japanese term meaning "
non-attendance of
school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
". Fushūgaku refers to students in Japan, primarily foreigners and non-citizens, that are not currently attending school. However, the term is generally used for people that never registered for school instead of people that registered but are not attending.
Characteristics
There are numerous reasons as to why these children do not go to school. There are many cases where they cannot understand the
Japanese language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
. In other cases they may be able to understand both Japanese and their own
native language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
, but their level of conversation is insufficient to participate in class lessons. Bullying by native Japanese students may also contribute to their choice not to attend school. In other cases, the children have parents who both work to support the family, and the children end up being left at
home alone
''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hea ...
. In these families, they spend time together late at night after their parents stop working. On their parents' day off, they go out late at night together (shopping, etc.) They pass their time at autonomous Japanese language classrooms that were built for the children of foreigners. These parents are usually
blue-collar workers.
Other reasons are that the parents of ''fushugaku'' children want their children to go to a school where they would use their native language. However, such schools cost between 30,000 and 50,000 yen per month, so parents cannot afford to send their children.
It is required by law that Japanese students go to school for nine years covering elementary through junior high school. However, this requirement does not exist for children with foreign citizenship living in Japan. For this reason it is not uncommon for these children to not go to school.
In May of 2019, an
MEXT
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
survey found that 15.8% of eligible foreign students are not attending Japanese elementary and junior high schools.
See also
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Brazilian schools in Japan
are schools that specifically cater to Brazilians living in Japan. Many students who attend such schools are , or children who do not attend public schooling. This is either due to parents wanting their children to attend school in their native ...
*
Brazilians in Japan
There is a significant community of Brazilians in Japan, consisting largely but not exclusively of Brazilians of Japanese descent. Brazilians with Japanese descent are known as Nikkei Brazilians. They constitute the largest number of native Por ...
*
Hikikomori
, also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' ha ...
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Homeschooling
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School refusal
School refusal is a child-motivated refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in class for the full day. Child-motivated absenteeism occurs autonomously, by the volition of the child. This behavior is differentiated from non-child-motivated ...
*
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not refe ...
References
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Brazilian diaspora in Japan
Japanese words and phrases
Society of Japan
Education in Japan
Education issues
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