Background and history of activities in Gifu Prefecture

The number of foreign workers is increasing rapidly in Japan, particularly since the amendment of the Immigration Control Act in 1990. The children of those foreign workers in Japan accompany their parents and are educated in Japan. Of the population of more than 100,000 people in the city of Kani, Gifu Prefecture, foreign residents account for about 7.9%, or 8,057 people (as of May 1, 2020). Some of the children of these foreign residents are unable to advance to high school after completing compulsory education because of such factors as language barriers and differences in educational systems. In addition, in many cases, they accept unattractive job choices due to a lack of career role models.

Together with the Kani International Exchange Association, an NPO that assists children with foreign ties in the city of Kani, Gifu Prefecture, and who have finished compulsory education to advance to high school, Group employees (FY 2018: 15 employees; FY 2019: 12 employees) participated in the career-building project for young people with foreign roots through a CITIZEN First Watch Project workshop.