Aichi Prefecture, where manufacturing businesses are heavily concentrated, currently has the largest number of young non-Japanese students in the country. There are 6,300 such students in the prefecture and the number of students requiring Japanese language support is increasing every year.
Aichi International Association has been providing support to language schools in the region using the Japanese Language Tuition Support Fund. The association has set a new target of collecting ¥150 million to add to the fund, which will otherwise be depleted by the end of fiscal 2015.
One of the key beneficiaries is NPO Manabiya@Kyuban, which was established by Yuko Kawaguchi and provides Japanese language support three times a week to children of foreign descent.