Educator Noriko Hazeki says the challenges non-Japanese children face in the Japanese school system begin even before they enroll.
She says some parents have been told that it will ¡°be hard for your child because their Japanese isn¡¯t good,¡± and that, actually, ¡°they don¡¯t have to go to school, so why push them?¡±
¡°Compulsory education in Japan is really only compulsory if your citizenship is Japanese,¡± she explains. ¡°Otherwise, it¡¯s up to the parents whether they want to put their children in school or not, and some schools even discourage them from doing so.¡±
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