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.

Sixty children use the center now, ranging from elementary to high school students. Forty of them are non-Japanese, of which 80 percent are from Brazil. The NPO receives ?20,000 from the fund each month, all of which goes to renting a room. All other expenses are paid out of Kawaguchi¡¯s pocket.

¡°Some of the children speak Japanese fluently but they don¡¯t have a quiet place to study, and some of them require help with their Japanese, too,¡± Kawaguchi said.

The center provides school and career guidance to the children, as well as advice to parents. The older children also help the younger ones with their studies and play with them.

However, Kawaguchi said the center will have to charge a participation fee if it does not receive further funding.

According to Aichi Prefecture Government, the fund was started in 2008 with ?245 million donated from 140 individuals, companies and groups.

It was used to help 60 language schools each year, as well as provide teaching materials to international schools.

Before the fund was introduced, there were only four language schools in the prefecture. ¡°The fund has helped increase the Japanese language proficiency of foreign children and created a ¡®home¡¯ for them,¡± a prefectural government official said.

For inquires or to donate, please contact the association on 052-961-1409.

This section, appearing Tuesdays, features topics and issues from the Chubu region covered by the Chunichi Shimbun. The original article was published on Oct. 29.