东京——总务省的数据显示，2025年，日本非日本籍新生儿的比例达到了3.3%，在聚集了大量外国工人的制造业重镇，这一比例甚至更高，促使当地城镇纷纷调整针对家庭的支持措施。
TOKYO -- The share of non-Japanese children born in Japan reached 3.3% in 2025, with even larger figures in manufacturing-heavy areas with many foreign workers, pushing towns to adjust the support they provide to families.
总务省的数据显示，在总共693,302名新生儿中，外国儿童占了22,835人。
Foreign children accounted for 22,835 out of 693,302 overall births, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows.
群马县的这一比例最高，达到7.5%——约为每13个孩子中有1个，其次是爱知县的5.3%。这两个地区都是积极接纳外国工人的制造业枢纽，当地政府和非营利组织很早就开始行动，帮助移民学习语言和文化。
Gunma prefecture had the highest share at 7.5% -- about 1 in 13 -- followed by Aichi at 5.3%. Both are manufacturing hubs that have embraced foreign workers, and local governments and nonprofit organizations there moved early to help immigrants learn the language and culture.
在爱知县丰田市——丰田汽车总部所在地，4岁及以下儿童中有7.2%是非日本籍。
In the Aichi prefecture city of Toyota, home to the headquarters of Toyota Motor, 7.2% of children aged 4 and younger are non-Japanese.
在最近对当地一家幼儿园面向外籍儿童开设的日语班的走访中，发现了一些发育迟缓的迹象。好心但用不流利的日语与孩子交谈的父母，反而会阻碍孩子学习母语和第二语言。
During a recent visit to a Japanese class for children with foreign roots at a nursery school there, there were signs of underdevelopment. Well-intentioned parents speaking to their children in broken Japanese can hinder learning of both their native and second languages.
京都教育大学研究日语教育的教授滨田麻里（Mari Hamada）表示：“尤其是出生在日本的儿童，经常会从支持网络中漏掉。他们表面上看起来日语流利程度没有问题，这反而会使问题变得更加严重。”地方当局已委托非营利组织“儿童之国”（Children's Country）在全市10个地点开设课程，教授基本的日语和习俗。一位兼任讲师的董事会成员说：“我们特别强调让他们输出所学内容，并倾听他们的发言。”
"Children born in Japan in particular often slip out of support networks," said Mari Hamada, a Kyoto University of Education professor who studies Japanese-language education. "They seem outwardly to have no issues with Japanese fluency, which can allow the problem to become more serious." Local authorities have commissioned the nonprofit Children's Country to hold classes at 10 locations around the city to teach basic Japanese language and customs. "We make a point of having them output what they've been taught, and listen to what they say," a board member who also works as an instructor said.
出生在日本的外国儿童人口变得日益多元化。包括中国人在内前四大国籍的占比，从2000年的81.3%下降到2024年的62.8%，而越南人和尼泊尔人等其他国籍的比例则在上升。
The population of Japan-born foreign children has become increasingly diverse. The top four nationalities, including Chinese, dropped from 81.3% of the total in 2000 to 62.8% in 2024, with such others as Vietnamese and Nepali gaining ground.
群马县伊势崎市安排口译员陪同3岁及以下儿童接受健康检查。该市自2025财年起将越南语列为可用语言之一，全年共使用70次。该市还利用翻译服务，确保儿童发育情况以及家长担忧等信息能够得到有效传达。
In Gunma prefecture, the town of Isesaki has interpreters attend health checkups for children aged 3 and younger. It added Vietnamese to the list of available languages in fiscal 2025 and saw it used 70 times in a year. The town is also using translation services to ensure that information about children's development as well as parents' concerns are communicated.
滋贺县每年为从事日语教育相关工作的人员举办培训课程。当地小学的日语教师介绍教学方法，参与者分享各自的做法和面临的挑战。
Shiga prefecture holds annual courses for people involved in Japanese-language education. Japanese teachers at local elementary schools talk about their instructional methods, and participants share their own practices and challenges.
挑战依然存在。关东地区北部一所小学——关东是东京周边地区，但范围远超首都——推出的清真菜单据称引发了排外言论和因误解而产生的批评。
Challenges remain. An elementary school in the northern Kanto region -- Kanto is the area surrounding Tokyo but extends quite far beyond the capital -- that offered a halal menu reportedly faced xenophobic remarks and criticism based on misunderstandings.
“随着今后外国人口进一步增加，认为只要教他们日语就足够的做法，最终会触及极限。”滨田说，“我们还应思考提供包容性教育的必要性。”
"With the foreign population set to grow further going forward, the idea that just teaching them Japanese is enough will eventually reach its limits," Hamada said. "We should also think about the need for inclusive education."