Japan's education ministry research shows foreign students that have difficulty in everyday conversations or understanding lessons in Japanese have doubled over about 10 years.

The ministry released 2023 results Thursday showing 69,123 public school students fit that category, compared with about 33,000 in 2012. The survey is done every two years.

The research focuses on public elementary, junior and senior high schools.

The number is up 19 percent, or more than 10,000, from 2021.

The latest survey also shows that public schools with students that need Japanese language help rose to 11,123.

The ministry says that local governments have pointed out that foreign children requiring help with their Japanese are scattered across multiple schools. They say this makes it difficult to secure enough teachers to help them all.

The ministry says local governments have also reported a recent increase in the number of foreign children who speak languages that are very rare in Japan.

The ministry says the steep rise in the number of children requiring language help is likely due to a recent increase in the number of children brought to Japan by their parents.
After social activity restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic were eased in Japan, their parents came to the country to find more work opportunities.

The ministry says it plans to step up efforts to help those children by deploying more teachers who can speak their native languages. It will also plan to encourage schools to use digital translation devices.