Shrinking city in Miyagi turns to foreign students for revitalization
The 28 students take turns talking about their goals during the April 10 entrance ceremony at the Osaki City Japanese Language School in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture. (Ikuko Abe)
OSAKI, Miyagi Prefecture—Applause rang out at an elementary school here that shut down in March 2023.
The crowd was cheering for the 28 students aged between 18 and 63 from Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia who represent hope for the future of this city in the northeastern Tohoku region.
The occasion was the April 10 entrance ceremony for the Osaki City Japanese Language School, the second public Japanese language school in the country.
The positive reaction to the students was an indication that Osaki residents are losing their prejudicial feelings about non-Japanese residents.
The city government decided to establish the school after Yoshihiro Murai won his fifth term as governor of Miyagi Prefecture in 2021, pledging to accelerate efforts to receive talented individuals from overseas to replenish the declining population.
The Osaki City Japanese Language School classes, operated with the cooperation of public sector entities, are held at the former city-run Nishi-Furukawa Elementary School, which was closed due to a decrease in the number of students.
Using a microphone, the language students introduced themselves in Japanese and talked about their wishes and goals.
According to the basic resident registry, Osaki had a population of 128,718 in 2020. Since then, it has decreased by 7,492 over the past five years.
The percentage of people 65 and older was 32.1 percent in 2024, higher than the prefectural average of 29.5 percent and the national average of 29.3 percent.
The two-story school building was renovated using grants from the prefectural government and other funds.
Desks and other equipment were replaced with new ones, while the library has a collection of manga books.
There is also a prayer room for religious students.
'The school building where children's voices were once heard has been given a new life,' Toshimitsu Suzuki, 66, the school's principal, said in a congratulatory message during the ceremony. 'All you students revived the school.'
The enrollees will spend up to two years learning Japanese while mingling with local residents and experiencing farming.
They aim to acquire Japanese language skills equivalent to the second-highest N2 level on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test by the time they graduate.
After finishing school, students will be hired by companies in Osaki on referral from the local chamber of commerce and industry and other institutions.
'We want them to energize the community,' an Osaki city official said.
FOLLOWING PRECEDENT
Osaki is following the example of Higashikawa town in Hokkaido, which established the first public Japanese language school in the country in 2015.
Higashikawa has been promoting the community by increasing consumption among foreign students and taking other measures.
It had only 50 foreign nationals at the end of 2012 before the school was established, but the non-Japanese population climbed to 541 as of April this year, a more than tenfold increase.
The town's overall population has risen from 6,973 to 8,711.
Ishinomaki city, also in Miyagi Prefecture, is considering a municipal Japanese language school to revitalize the community.
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
The Osaki city government has stationed an official at Nishi-Furukawa Station near the school to support foreign students who use the JR Rikuuto Line to commute from their dormitory.
The deficit-ridden station had been unmanned since 2005 due to decreasing ridership. The students are now expected to help create a bustling atmosphere around the station.
'As the city's hub for multicultural inclusiveness, we have high expectations to meet,' said Suzuki, who responded to a public solicitation by the city government to serve as principal.
He started working in April 2024 during preparations to open the school.
During an explanatory session hosted by the municipality, Suzuki was surprised when residents expressed concerns that their children would be taking the same school route with the foreign students.
Suzuki says he invites residents to classes so that they can mingle with the students and ease such unfounded worries.
He feels the students have brought a fresh breeze into the community in the one month since the school opened.
'We will continue to deepen our mutual understanding and build an environment where students can learn at ease,' he said.
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