Section 4. Well-Being of Japanese Nationals Overseas

 

 

1.  Education of Children

 

As of May, children of school age (elementary and junior high schools) living overseas totaled 39,393, an increase of about 1,400 from the previous year. Of them, 40% go to full-time Japanese schools and 38% go to local schools as well as Japanese schools for supplementary lessons, with the remaining 22% going to local and other schools only. The Foreign Ministry, in conjunction with the Education Ministry, has been making efforts to improve education for children of Japanese nationals residing abroad.

 

(1)  Assistance

The Foreign Ministry subsidizes construction of schools and leasing of school buildings and facilities and pays part of salaries for locally hired instructors and teachers, while the Education Ministry sends teachers from Japan and provides textbooks and other study materials. The Foreign Ministry spent about \1.5 billion on education of children overseas.

 

(2)  Japanese Schools

Two new Japanese schools were established in Barcelona, Spain, and Melbourne, Australia, in 1986, bringing the total to 80. The number of pupils and students enrolled at these schools totaled 15,811 and teachers dispatched from Japan numbered 968 as of May, 1986.

 

(3)  Schools for Supplementary Lessons

Supplementary schools provide Japanese language and other supplementary lessons, mostly on weekends, to children of Japanese nationals who go to local and other schools on weekdays. The number of these schools came to 112 as of May, with 15,086 children enrolled.

Instructors at supplementary schools, mostly Japanese residents, numbered 1,144 in 1986.

Full-time teachers are sent to supplementary schools with the enrollment of 100 or more or to those offering lessons similar to full-time Japanese schools.

 

 

2.  Medical Care of Japanese Nationals Overseas

 

Since 1972, the Foreign Ministry has been sending 12 itinerant teams of doctors a year to areas of poor medical conditions to support health care of Japanese nationals residing abroad. In fiscal 1986, these doctors went to some 70 cities in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the South Pacific to provide health counseling to nearly 4,000 Japanese. One team was specially assigned to give counseling on atomic bomb victims residing in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru.

In addition to a series of booklets on health care in tropical areas, published since fiscal 1981, the Foreign Ministry published "One-Point Advice" and "Prevention of Hepatitis" in fiscal 1986. In view of the spread of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), it also published a booklet titled "AIDS ABC" and distributed them among Japanese residents overseas.

 

 

3.  Family Registration and Nationality

 

Japanese nationals residing overseas, just as those living in Japan, are subject to the Family Registration Act.

In the event of birth, marriage or death, etc., Japanese nationals must report it to the authorities of the place of their legal domicile in Japan to get it recorded on the family register and also make a similar report to the nearest Japanese diplomatic office.

In fiscal 1986, diplomatic offices abroad received a total of 16,635 reports on family registration and nationality matters from Japanese nationals residing overseas, a substantial increase of 35% from fiscal 1984, when the former Japanese Nationality Act was still in force, apparently reflecting the revised act that allows the acquisition of a Japanese nationality of either a father or a mother. Of the total, 5,234 reports came from Japanese residing in the United States and birth reports accounted for 5,451.

 

 

4.  Certification

 

Japanese diplomatic offices abroad issue signature, residence and other certificates for the convenience of Japanese nationals living overseas. The number of such certificates issued in fiscal 1986 totaled 92,451, up 5.9% from the previous year. The issuance of these certificates is increasing steadily in keeping step with the increase in Japanese travelers abroad and the expansion of economic and trade relations with foreign countries.

 

 

to table of contents