is a Japanese term meaning " non-attendance of

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

". 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 the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

. In other cases they may be able to understand both Japanese and their own

native language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

, 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 The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dar ...

. 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 worker A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labour, manual labor or Tradesman, skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, Warehouse, warehousing, mining, ...

s. 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, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

survey found that 15.8% of eligible foreign students are not attending Japanese elementary and junior high schools.

References

* Brazilian diaspora in Japan Japanese words and phrases Society of Japan Education in Japan Education issues {{japan-edu-stub

Characteristics

See also

References