The education ministry said Tuesday it is calling on boards of education nationwide to provide a holiday for overworked junior high and high school teachers, many of whom are exhausted from having to supervise extracurricular activities such as sports, even on weekends.
Compared with other countries, even though the length of class times are about the same, Japanese teachers work extremely long hours, education minister Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference Friday.
It is the extra tasks assigned to them, including club activities and counseling for students and parents, that cause teachers here to work longer than their counterparts in other countries, he said.