Japan's 400,000-student target and the new accredited-school law: what Bangladesh should do
In 2023 the Japanese government set a target of 400,000 international students by 2033; in May 2024 the number reached a record 336,708. At the same time, under the Act on the Accreditation of Japanese Language Education Institutions in force since 1 April 2024, only government-accredited (認定) schools will be able to enrol students on student visas by 2029. The opportunity for Bangladesh is large — on condition of school selection and student quality.
A draft in his style, built from his published positions; not yet approved by him. ‘We’ in the text is BSSAJ's position.
For years Japan pursued a ‘300,000 international students’ target and reached it in 2019. After COVID, in April 2023, the Council for the Creation of Future Education set a new one: 400,000 international students in Japan by 2033, and 500,000 Japanese students abroad. JASSO's survey counted 336,708 international students in Japan on 1 May 2024 — the highest ever.
The new accreditation law
In the same period Japan has become strict about language-school quality. Under the Act on the Accreditation of Japanese Language Education Institutions (日本語教育機関認定法), in force since 1 April 2024, only institutions accredited by the Minister of Education (認定日本語教育機関) may run ‘留学’ (study-abroad) courses; existing schools have a five-year transition, so a school not accredited by 2029 cannot enrol students on student visas. A national licence for registered Japanese-language teachers (登録日本語教員) was introduced alongside.
Two sides of the ledger for Bangladesh
- Opportunity: to reach 400,000, Japan's schools and universities are looking for new source countries. In the Ambassador's words, Bangladeshi students grew from 5,000 to 25,000 in four years; at the Tokyo and Sendai seminars we saw the schools' interest ourselves.
- Risk: students at unaccredited or weak schools may be stranded after 2029; and sending poorly prepared students pushes Bangladesh's COE refusal rate (now 15–20%) higher — dragging down the whole country's standing.
| Question | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Is the school on the 認定日本語教育機関 list? | MEXT's public list |
| What was the COE rate for Bangladeshi applicants in the last two years? | Ask the school directly; AJLIB members' experience |
| What share of students progress to university or college? | The school's published outcomes |
| Is there housing and part-time-work support? | Admission documents |
| Are tuition and other fees written and transparent? | The fee schedule |
| Is the city's cost of living within the student's means? | The cost table in our ‘28 hours’ brief |
Recommendations
Who does what — specific actions for governments and stakeholders, each of them checkable.
- 01An up-to-date list and partnership network of accredited (認定) Japanese language schools for AJLIB and BSSAJ; a policy of not sending students to unaccredited schools.
- 02An annual international education fair in Dhaka with the Bangladesh Embassy, where accredited schools interview applicants directly.
- 03A national standard of at least N5 and sound financial documents before a student visa — to bring Bangladesh's COE refusal rate (15–20%) down.
Sources
- Council for the Creation of Future Education (教育未来創造会議), second recommendation, April 2023 — 400,000 inbound international students by 2033
- JASSO — Survey on international students in Japan (as of 1 May 2024): 336,708 international students
- Act on the Accreditation of Japanese Language Education Institutions (日本語教育機関認定法), in force 1 April 2024; transition period to 2029
- Nagamatsu Faruk — memorandum to the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan, May 2025The source document behind the first five publications on this site.
Cite as: Nagamatsu Faruk (2026). Japan's 400,000-student target and the new accredited-school law: what Bangladesh should do. https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/japan-400000-students-accredited-schools