ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the view that Japanese language represents the culture and people whose mother tongue is Japanese. It analyzes government publications and relevant documents by applying Critical Discourse Analysis as an analytical tool. Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) population began to decline in around 2005, Japan signed EPAs with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Issues relating to foreigners' Japanese language skills, including the provision of support and training, are handled by various government bodies as part of Japan's so-called policy on foreign nationals. The government has made efforts to increase the pass rate for the national nursing exam in order to make the scheme viable, including modifying the language used in the exam. It also analyzes the surveys on the national language conducted by the Agency of Cultural Affairs (ACA) in order to investigate how perceptions of foreigners' Japanese language skills have changed over the past two decades.
