Japan’s Ministry of Education to Examine Appropriate Teaching Methods in High Schools

From NHK

August 24 2025

TOKYO – With the number of students receiving tsūkyū shidō (“special needs support classes,” where some lessons are taken separately due to developmental disabilities or other reasons) exceeding 200,000 nationwide, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has decided to begin reviewing appropriate teaching methods for high schools starting next academic year.

Tsūkyū shidō allows students who struggle with reading and writing or have difficulty forming interpersonal relationships to remain enrolled in regular classes while attending some lessons in a separate room suited to their disabilities. In fiscal 2023, more than 203,000 students nationwide made use of this system, the highest number ever recorded.

However, use of the system has not spread among high school students to the same extent as in elementary and junior high schools. In response, MEXT has decided to examine appropriate ways of implementing tsūkyū shidō in high schools starting next year.

Specifically, the ministry will designate model schools and study ways to enhance special needs support with an eye toward students’ employment after graduation, as well as how best to raise awareness of the system.

In addition, it plans to conduct research on methods of sharing information between schools and disability support facilities using ICT (information and communication technology), and on improving teachers’ understanding of “severe behavioral disorders,” in which children frequently display self-injurious or aggressive behaviors.

Based on these studies, the ministry aims to provide appropriate instruction and support tailored to the needs of children with disabilities, and intends to include the necessary funding in its budget request for the next fiscal year.