Japan's Ministry of Justice has decided to introduce a training program for juvenile offenders having one parent of foreign origin in reformatories across the country.The Ministry foresees situations where the children have come to Japan from early childhood and are capable of understanding certain level of Japanese language, but find it hard to adapt to their way of life. The system will be operational by the end of Fiscal 2024, which begins in March. According to the envisaged plan, juveniles of foreign origin will be divided into smaller groups in order to discuss their thoughts and experiences. This seminar aims at giving participants the opportunity to express their feelings of isolation, due to their immigrant background, and learn more about the unity of different cultures.
As of July 2022, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Justice and Waseda University's graduate school in juvenile corrections nationwide found about 70 young people who did not have sufficient Japanese language skills to flourish in Japanese society, except for foreign nationals who could not speak Japanese at all.The legal instructors who are continuously in touch with the foreign detainees tell that 70% of 70 juveniles have the basic knowledge of japanese culture because they has attended the classes already present in curriculum of the instituition in their childhood. So there would not be any difficulty in implementing such program in reformatories.
The growing number of foreign residents in Japan will give rise to the numbers of young ones who find it hard to learn their native language and Japanese, due to a complex family environment. In view of these minors, the Ministry would like to increase correctional education and training for reformatories staff.
