Ishikawa Tomoko

As globalization progresses, the importance of multicultural education has increased. This study examines Yamaguchi Prefecture and the city of Shimonoseki—regions　characterized by a low enrollment of foreign-national students—as case studies to analyze policies, community initiatives, and school practices, as well as the challenges they face, from a sociological perspective on education. The factors underlying the emergence of educational challenges in these regions are examined from three perspectives: the historical discontinuity with conventional education for foreign residents in Japan, the institutional absence of clear educational guidelines for foreign-national students, and the need to cultivate school cultures that support multicultural education. The study concludes that improving multicultural education in regions with small numbers of foreign-national students requires three key approaches: (1) integrating and inheriting existing educational resources based on the historical accumulation of education for foreign residents in the local community; (2) developing educational guidelines that reflect the specific characteristics of such regions; and (3) fostering a school and community culture that promotes comprehensive multicultural education, including respect for students’ home languages and cultural backgrounds, in order to address the structural challenge that this form of education has not yet become embedded in school culture.