An Education Ministry advisory panel has warned against introducing foreign language studies too early, arguing that concentrating on the study of Japanese until around age 10 is essential to master the mother tongue, it was learned Monday.

A draft report by a committee of the Council for Japanese Language said knowledge of the native language is the basis for learning other languages, or using words necessary for abstract or intellectual expression.

This is the first time the council has expressed its stance on foreign language learning amid intensifying interest in teaching English at an early age at kindergartens and private language schools.

In January, former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's panel on Japan's goals in the 21st century recommended that the nation debate whether to make English an official second language for Japan.

Primary schools will be able to teach English from April 2002 under a new "comprehensive studies" course in which each school is free to teach any subject.

The council's draft report said the basic intellectual framework for learning the mother tongue is established by the age of around 10. The committee warned that teaching children foreign languages at an early age might be detrimental to their mastery of their native language.

As there was no opposition to the draft from council members, its contents are expected to be adopted in the body's final report to be released at the end of the year.

The council has been discussing the role of Japanese language in the age of globalization.