Tag - teachers

 
 

TEACHERS

Japanese teachers work significantly longer hours than their peers in other countries, with time spent on extracurricular activities being a heavy burden, an OECD study shows.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Teachers in Japan still work the longest hours, OECD survey finds
Teachers worked an average of over 50 hours per week, but much of it was spent on out-of-classroom work.
A teacher at a public elementary school in Yokohama, who has been indicted for voyeurism and indecent assault, admitted to the charges during a trial on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 1, 2025
Elementary school teacher pleads guilty to sharing child sex abuse images
The charges are "correct, and I'm very sorry," said Fumiya Kosemura, a teacher at a public elementary school in Yokohama.
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2025
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
This is the first time that Nihongo Partners under a program run by the Japan Foundation are dispatched to a South Asian country.
Police issued third arrest warrants on Thursday for two elementary school teachers involved in an online chat group that shared secretly taken images and videos of girls.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 12, 2025
Teachers arrested for allegedly sharing images of girls face more charges
The total number of children victimized by the group has risen to at least 25, according to the police.
Francisco Villarreal moved to Japan in 2014 to attend a teacher training program and has forged deep ties to the kindergarten in Tokyo's Asakusa district where he has worked since 2018.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 11, 2025
Kindred spirits, kindergarten connections: From Buenos Aires to east Tokyo
An Argentinian teacher finds echoes of his hometown in the working-class neighborhoods of eastern Tokyo.
A project to send cram school lecturers to public schools as substitute teachers is under consideration by the education ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2025
Cram school lecturers may teach at public schools in Japan
The ministry plans to include related expenses in its budget request for the fiscal year starting next April.
Oita Prefectural Kusu Miyama High School in the town of Kusu, Oita Prefecture
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 4, 2025
Two Oita towns to launch program to nurture aspiring local teachers
As the towns are facing population decline, there are few young aspiring teachers there.
Indian assistant language teachers pose for a photo with Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Ono (center) at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2025
Japan to regularly accept assistant language teachers from India
This marks the first regular dispatch of assistant language teachers from India under a government initiative to promote exchanges at the regional level.
A recent case involving teachers sharing voyeuristic images of schoolgirls has sparked national outrage.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025
Teachers sharing illicit student images raises question of systemic failure
Japan’s sluggish policy response and deep-rooted cultural resistance to the concept of consent sets it apart from other countries.
The Japanese version of the U.K.’s Disclosure and Barring Service aims to ensure a safe learning environment for children by facilitating checks for records of sexual offenses for those working in jobs involving contact with children such as education or child care.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 1, 2025
Japan expands scope of background checks amid child safety concerns
The expanded guidelines will apply not only to schools and kindergartens, but also to community spaces such as children’s cafeterias and talent agencies.
Investigators say the group chat members were using pseudonyms to hide their identities, suggesting they were largely unaware of each other’s true backgrounds.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025
Teachers sharing indecent photos of girls in a group chat elicits outrage in Japan
The coordinated voyeurism of the teachers came as a strong shock, undermining people's confidence in those in the role.
Aichi police have arrested two elementary school teachers for allegedly taking "upskirt" photos of children and sharing them through a private social media group.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2025
Two elementary school teachers arrested for sharing ‘upskirt’ photos of children
Investigators said the two were part of a group chat that included multiple teachers from elementary and junior high schools.
Students' opinions are being sought on a planned system for checking whether teachers have sexual crime records.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2025
Government to seek students' opinions for sexual abuse prevention
Around 12 students will be selected by lottery from volunteers to participate in the upcoming session.
A law on teachers' salaries was revised to gradually raise their pay and also help resolve the problem of long working hours, though some lawmakers say it's not enough.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2025
Japan enacts law to gradually boost teachers' pay
The revision also requires all prefectural and municipal boards of education to draw up and publish plans to manage teachers' workloads.
Tokyo Humanities Cafe was launched in 2017 by Laurence Williams (left) and Alex Watson, professors at Sophia and Meiji Universities, respectively.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 7, 2025
Tokyo Humanities Cafe feeds hungry minds
A free quarterly event invites everyone to explore what it means to be human.
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's  engagement with studying English and its benefits.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2025
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
An excessive focus on testing students' English ability is turning language learning into a chore, depriving children of the joy and opportunities of intercultural communication.
The education ministry hopes that creating a system in which people can obtain licenses without completing a training course at the undergraduate level would help midcareer professionals enter the field of teaching.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025
Japan to review teaching license system to help midcareer aspirants
It is currently impossible to obtain a license with credits from only graduate schools.
The government aims to reduce the average monthly overtime of teachers to 30 hours over the five years through the fiscal year beginning April 2029, down from the current 47 hours.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025
Japan weighs obligatory programs to cut teacher overtime
Education boards would be required to report on the current work hours of teachers and detail measures to improve their working styles.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will launch a program to support the repayment of student loans for those who will start working as teachers or technical civil servants in the capital.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2025
Tokyo to help teachers repay student loans
The metropolitan government also plans to start providing financial assistance to students who study abroad.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?