Networking Events for Nursery Teachers, Japanese Language Classes for Foreigners, and Farming for the Socially Withdrawn—Who Supports Those Who Support Others?

Nursery teachers watch over children, volunteer instructors teach Japanese to foreign children, and local farmers work alongside socially withdrawn youth in the fields. In every setting, there are “supporters.” So, who supports those individuals?

What emerged from examining three support settings in Hiroshima Prefecture was a story about a structure that cannot operate solely on goodwill or a sense of mission. Whether the work of supporting people can continue is determined not by individual effort but by the depth of the underlying system.

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Networking Events for Nursery Teachers—The Weight of the Phrase “It’s a Fun Workplace”

Recently, the “Private Kindergarten and Certified Childcare Center Festival” was held in Hiroshima City. Organized by the Hiroshima Prefectural Private Kindergarten Federation, the event featured a networking session where current childcare workers and students studying childcare could exchange words directly. Approximately 200 participants attended. The students visited booths to hear firsthand about the atmosphere and working conditions at various facilities.

One nursery teacher reportedly said, “Everyone is friendly, and it’s a fun workplace. We’re waiting for you.”—Though a short phrase, consider what lies behind it.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the effective job openings-to-applicants ratio for nursery teachers is about 2.5 nationwide (as of 2023). This means there are more than two job openings for every job seeker. It is estimated that there are about 950,000 “latent nursery teachers” in Japan—those who hold qualifications but are not working in the field. The reasons for this include a salary level that is said to be about 50,000 yen lower than the average across all industries, long working hours, and the burden of paperwork.

In other words, that “It’s a fun workplace” is not just a recruitment slogan. It is a message intended to convey to the students in front of them the reasons why they are still holding back. The networking event functions as a conduit to communicate the “temperature of the field” that cannot be filled by improvements in systems or treatment alone.

However, for such events to be meaningful as an entry point for securing personnel, there must be a designed exit point—namely, support for retention after employment. Whether students who are moved by the event will still be at that workplace three years later is a perspective that will become a future challenge to consider as part of a single system.

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Japanese Language Classes for Foreign Children—The Invisible Structure Supporting One-on-One Instruction

In Higashihiroshima City, Japanese language classes are operated for foreign children. The instruction is conducted on a one-on-one basis. Volunteer Japanese instructors select materials tailored to each child’s proficiency and engage with them several times a week during after-school hours.

Higashihiroshima City is home to many educational and research institutions, including Hiroshima University, and has a significant population of foreign residents, including technical trainees and families of international students. According to city statistics, there are about 9,000 foreign residents (as of the end of 2023). The number of children is also on the rise, and participation in Japanese language classes has been increasing year by year.

The one-on-one format provides a safe learning environment for children. However, conversely, it means that one instructor is needed for each child. If there are 50 participating children, then 50 instructors are required. Moreover, many of these are unpaid volunteers.

This reveals a structural fragility. Issues such as the aging of instructors, a lack of personnel with expertise in Japanese language education, and the burden of transportation and material costs accumulate, and a system that relies solely on goodwill will eventually reach its limits.

Starting in the 2024 fiscal year, a certification system for Japanese language education institutions will be implemented, introducing a new national qualification framework for registered Japanese language teachers. It remains to be seen how this system will impact local volunteer settings. However, at the very least, taking a step toward formally recognizing the expertise of “teachers” could serve as a foundation for supporting the field.

The question is, who will support the time and effort of instructors who face children one-on-one, and in what form will that support come?

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Farming Activities for Supporting the Socially Withdrawn—What Makes “Going Outside Once a Week” Possible

In Onomichi City, a farming program supports socially withdrawn individuals. Under the guidance of local farmers, participants engage in farming activities once a week, getting their hands in the soil. In the 2023 fiscal year, about 30 participants were involved. The tasks primarily involve planting and harvesting seasonal vegetables, which do not require special skills.

“It had been a while since I talked to someone other than my family”—a participant’s words encapsulate the essence of this program. The farming itself is not the goal. It serves as a medium to restore connections with others through an activity that yields visible results and allows for recoverable mistakes. This is the intent behind the design.

According to a Cabinet Office survey (2023), it is estimated that about 1.46 million people nationwide are in a broadly defined state of social withdrawal. This equates to roughly one in fifty people aged 15 to 64. In light of this significant figure, the support available is overwhelmingly insufficient.

Supporting the Onomichi program are the local farmers providing the space, staff facilitating transportation and outreach, and municipalities and grant organizations contributing funding. For 30 participants, there are usually 5 to 6 staff members involved. The estimated annual cost per participant, including personnel, materials, and transportation expenses, amounts to several hundred thousand yen.

Here too, the same question arises. Who supports the time and effort of the staff watching over participants in the fields, and through what mechanisms? Grants often require annual applications and reviews. Whether they can stand in the same fields next year depends on a single piece of paperwork each year—this precarious balance underpins someone’s “going outside once a week.”

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Common Structures Across the Three Settings—The Sustainability of “Supporters”

Networking events for nursery teachers, Japanese language classes for foreign children, and farming for the socially withdrawn. These three settings differ entirely in their subjects and methods, yet when lined up, a common structure becomes visible.

In each setting, there are “supporters,” and these individuals persist amidst low compensation, unstable funding, and person-dependent operations. What enables their persistence is not the systems or budgets, but often the personal dedication of individuals who are indispensable.

This is not a heartwarming story. It serves as a warning indicating the absence of a system.

The training and employment system that began in the 2024 fiscal year is being highlighted as a new framework for the integrated acceptance and development of foreign personnel. The institutionalization of Japanese language education is positioned as part of this effort. In the childcare sector, improvements in treatment are being gradually advanced, while in the support for the socially withdrawn, the “Multi-layered Support System Development Project” is spreading to municipalities nationwide.

Systems are in motion. However, it takes time for these systems to reach the field. Filling that gap are nursery teachers who say “We’re waiting for you” at networking events, volunteer instructors preparing materials after school, and farmers tending to the fields.

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Future Points of Interest

The questions that emerge from these three settings ultimately converge into one: To what extent is a system designed to support “supporters”?

Three key points to watch are:

• Childcare Sector: Whether “entry” measures like networking events connect with “exit” measures such as retention support after employment. Verification of whether the improvement in treatment is felt on the ground.
• Japanese Language Education Sector: How the registered Japanese language teacher system impacts local volunteer settings. Will the qualification lead to an increase in personnel, or will it raise barriers instead?
• Support for the Socially Withdrawn: How “place-based” support like farming activities is positioned within the Multi-layered Support System Development Project. Will there be changes in the annual funding structure?

All of these questions cannot be answered by the wording of systems alone. They can only be verified by continuously observing what is happening in the field.

The work of supporting people quietly fades away if left unattended. As long as someone’s goodwill continues, the problems remain hidden, and it is only when that person collapses that we realize the size of the gap—this is a structure we have seen many times before.

Systems cannot replace individuals. However, they can be designed to enable individuals to continue.