日语是日本的母语，但“日本语教育”并不指母语教育，而是指以日语为外语的第二语言教育。日本的母语课程称为“国语”，自１９００年“国语科”独立以来，日本国语教育不断发展完善。以民族文化为核心，以语言实用为原则，以国际理解为背景，已成为日本母语教育的鲜明特色。 Japanese is the mother tongue of Japan, but “Japanese language education” does not mean mother-tongue education but the second language education that uses Japanese as a foreign language. The mother tongue course in Japan is called “Mandarin”. Since the independence of the “National Language” in 1900, the Japanese language education has continued to develop and improve. Taking the national culture as the core, the principle of language and practicality, and the international understanding as the background, it has become a distinctive feature of Japanese mother-tongue education.