A government advisory panel on education reform proposed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday steps to ease the workload on Japan's teachers and boost community and parent involvement with schools as concern about overwork grows.
The panel recommends introducing a "Teachers' Day" to get communities more involved in tasks handled by teachers as Abe pushes to reform the education system, a task he says is "essential" to building a stronger nation.
In its latest report to the prime minister, the Education Rebuilding Implementation Council, led by Waseda University President Kaoru Kamata, said teachers are overworked and "reaching the limit."