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July 16, 2025
 

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James McCrostie
James McCrostie is a full-time university lecturer and part-time writer. He writes mainly about labor issues related to the English-teaching industry.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jul 4, 2018
Fukuoka's 'guest teachers' of English outstay their welcome
Job insecurity, excessive secrecy and legal curbs on dispatch teachers come under the spotlight as 120 teachers lose their classes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jan 28, 2018
Court cases shine a light on Japan's problem with paternity leave
Two cases currently before the courts show how the reality of Japanese workplaces can clash with government attempts to encourage fathers to help raise their children.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 27, 2017
Teachers and schools in Japan brace for icebergs in 2018
After a year of scandals and promises, the 'five-year rule' and demographic woes cast a shadow over education in 2018.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 15, 2017
Tokyo campus tie-up between Temple Japan and Showa Women's University could offer model for the future
Showa Women's University and Temple University, Japan Campus have announced a unique site-sharing agreement that could offer a model to other Japanese schools.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 4, 2017
Five-nation crackdown hits half of Japanese-language schools
New rules requiring greater scrutiny of applicants from five countries have landed Japanese-language schools with that little bit more paperwork.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 3, 2017
Some schools in Japan get air conditioning while others are left to nature's whim
Government data shows air conditioning is becoming standard in most Japanese public schools, but a handful of cities and prefectures are resisting the trend for questionable reasons.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Aug 9, 2017
More Japanese may be studying abroad, but not for long
Increasing numbers of Japanese are going abroad to study, but a close look at the data reveals that looser definitions are inflating the numbers — and that most students aren't spending much time overseas anyway.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jul 5, 2017
Spoken English tests among entrance exam reforms Japan's students will face in 2020
Upcoming changes to Japanese university admissions have students, parents and teachers raising their hands to ask questions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 31, 2017
School kitchens in Japan risk being swamped by food allergy claims
Data suggest Japan's schools are seeing a surge in food allergies among students, but are all the claims legitimate?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 3, 2017
As Japan's JET Programme hits its 30s, the jury's still out
Ambitious program has helped Japan meet the world, but does it have a role to play today?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 25, 2017
Education in Japan in 2016: new solutions and age-old problems, from teaching English to bullying
With schools well into their final term and the university academic year already winding down it's time to reflect on the most significant events in Japanese education this past year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
May 11, 2016
'Predatory conferences' stalk Japan's groves of academia
“Predatory conference” organizers now stalk Japan’s groves of academe, preying on unsuspecting researchers. These conferences are inferior events that contribute little to the field of academic knowledge but generate plenty of revenue for organizers’ bank accounts. Academics, some simply naive...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 16, 2014
Harassers exploit Gaba's 'man-to-man' lesson format
The first sign that Olivia's Gaba lesson would be anything but ordinary came when her student insisted during the warmup that he didn't like wearing clothes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 1, 2013
Berlitz union wins raise, bonus in suit settlement
The four-year legal battle between management and teachers at Berlitz Japan was declared over Thursday as both sides signed an agreement to end the company's lawsuit against union officials.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 6, 2012
Berlitz court ruling unequivocal on basic right to strike
After hearing more than three years of testimony, the judge took only a minute to read the court's verdict rejecting Berlitz Japan's ¥110 million lawsuit against striking teachers and their union and reaffirming organized labor's right to take industrial action.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 28, 2012
Threatened Goldman Japan workers unionize
The past year has been anything but business as usual for the financial industry. Faced with a frosty economic climate, financial service companies have been busy chopping dead wood. Last year, 200,000 financial service jobs ended up on the cutting block worldwide.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 12, 2011
Foreign students back but numbers look likely to fall
They're back. Worries that foreign students would abandon Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and accompanying fiasco at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have proven to be largely unfounded.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2010
Tomb tourism Saitama style
Crawling in and out of graves isn't everyone's idea of a good time. For those willing to give it a try, though, Yoshimi Hyakuana in Saitama Prefecture makes for an interesting day trip out of Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 19, 2010
Gaba teachers challenge 'contractor' status
Long accustomed to being ignored, being forgotten proved too much to take for unionized teachers at Gaba language school. On Oct. 4, the General Union registered an official complaint and request for an investigation with the Ministry of Finance's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC)....
COMMUNITY / ZEIT GIST: UPDATE
Jul 27, 2010
Talks drag on, teachers fired in Berlitz case
After 20 months of legal wrangling, neither side has managed to snag a win in Berlitz Japan's ¥110 million lawsuit against five teachers and their union, Begunto.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
Japanese scientists discover clue to why women burn more fat than men
Scientists say a recently-published study could help explain why women are typically less prone to weight-related conditions and may lead to new therapies that target calorie-burning mechanisms.
Music idol and anime fandom merch is big business
Businesses who cater to fandoms gathered at Tokyo Lifestyle Week for the second annual Oshikatsu — Merch Collection Expo, a trade show devoted to fandom goods.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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