Michiko Fukuoka, director of Cantinho da Tia Chechela, a day care center in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, teaches children the names of facial features as they look into mirrors to draw their faces.
Cantinho da Tia Chechela is an unlicensed nursery school in Okazaki attended by about 30 Brazilian children. The language spoken at the facility is Portuguese to prepare the children to talk to their relatives before they eventually leave Japan and return to their home country.
Okazaki has been designated a “national strategic special zone” to make it easier for unlicensed day care centers with foreign students to hire nursery school teachers who were born and certified abroad. The move aims to create an environment where kids and caregivers can communicate in their native languages, and provide services for students who will eventually return to their home countries.
Fukuoka, who comes from Brazil, worked as a baby sitter after she gave birth. After receiving many applications from Brazilian parents, she founded Cantinho da Tia Chechela in 2016. Aiming to provide a high-quality programs for children, the nursery school plans its daily activities in accordance with standards established by the Brazilian government.
In response to the challenges faced by unlicensed day care centers with foreign students, the government eased requirements in fiscal 2023 for child care facilities where more than half the students are foreign nationals in municipalities designated as national strategic special zones. These facilities can now satisfy the requirements by having a certain number of nursery school teachers certified outside Japan and at least one teacher certified in Japan.
Fukuoka’s day care center met the requirements because it has been employing Japanese child care workers to read books aloud in Japanese for the last three years. Okazaki was designated a national strategic special zone in June, and the nursery school was deemed to have met the standards for unregistered facilities in July.
Fukuoka welcomed the new system, saying, “It also sends a message that Japanese society cares about us.”
5 Comments
Eugene Alta
Kudos to Michiko Fukuoka for her dedication and commitment to creating a nurturing environment for these children.
Noir Black
Instead of focusing on origins, shouldn't education focus on fostering shared values and understanding as global citizens?
KittyKat
It's wonderful to see how Cantinho da Tia Chechela creates a bridge between Brazilian and Japanese cultures through education.
Katchuka
Empowering unlicensed daycares with foreign students through eased requirements sets a positive example for inclusivity and cultural sensitivity.
Loubianka
I hope this doesn't set a precedent for further segregation and division within our communities.