Japanese Youth Conference petitions government to end compulsory after-school club activities

I remember back in early 90's, most students don't want to join these activities after school. Main reason - hairy legs.

How dare they seek control of their own lives;whatever next?

good for them! Nice to see the youth trying to actively take control of their lives and break this ridiculous cycle of child abuse.

Don't get me wrong- I was in the Aikido club at my high school ( the art teacher had previously taught in Osaka and had trained in Aikido) and we even now talk on facebook, BUT we had club activity 2x a week and at OUR behest he opened up a third class so we did club 3x a week. And it wasn't compulsory.

What they do here is for the birds. And neither the students nor the club teacher is happy about having to do this 7 days a week. Its ridiculous.

Being at a private high school, I have met many students who have no desire to join a club after their junior high school experience. It was often too much for them, both in time and expectations. I often encourage them, though, that if they have no specific hobbies, to at least consider a culture club that might only meet 2 -3 times a week. Clubs do give students opportunities to make friends. But it is their choice in my mind.

Unfortunately, many clubs are just another example of Japan's insistence of quantity over quality in my opinion. They are often way too long, and there is a lot of wasted time in the process. Also while some students may wish to play a sport seven days a week, mandatory practices shouldn't be so.

Fortunately for my school, clubs aren't compulsory. i'm glad for that since Japanese students have it rough in itself with school homework, followed by juku, along with the usual (taking a bath, eating dinner, getting ready for bed, etc.).

One of my girls has juku for math, swimming or calligraphy classes during the week, followed by dance classes on weekends. If she's fine with that, then okay. Otherwise, I tell her that she can slow down and rest.

Kids need to be kids with their own self-development. I told my wife (Japanese) this. I also teld her that our girls need to be kids. We both agreed on that. I also insisted that juku was in order only if they needed it (not a must). S

When I taught at a low level private school every student was forced to do a club as it was part of the school’s aim of creating a commitment; especially as the aim of the Kocho-sensei was that the students become good factory employees (human robots). Since then, I’ve only taught at academic public schools, and only about 50% of students do a club. Study time is seen by the school as being more important to their future at an academic school. However, none of the schools considered students leisure time and psychological health in their formula.

Good Luck to them.

My youngest daughter loves music and singing so joined the choir in jnr high school. She had images of a relaxed fun time.

Turned into 2.5 years of often nightmarish proportions.

Only the bare minimum of students - about 10 - and a teacher who was forced to take the choir, with her only credentials being she was in the choir in her school days.

5+ days of practice / week. Vacation times taken up with preparing for competitions. And my daughter as the "best" singer could never be absent. Tears often flowed as the pressure mounted and quitting could never be an option - not in groupist crazy japan.

Thank god when it all ended midway thru 3rd year.

One of the reasons I'll put my son in Int. School.

Everytime I witness kids/youths doing some kind of group activity (sports, dance etc.) instead of smiles, all I see is an adult/young coach with a pissed face yelling mean words toward the kids, everyone needs to act and dance exactly like the same, a wrong move in your break dance is the end of the world as we know it.

But if they did that... who would babysit for free?

Good on these youth. They'll never change the system here, but it's nice to see them standing up. Japan has far too long been a country that forces people from a young ago to do this kind of thing. Wake up, go to club before school, school, club, go home and eat quickly, juku, go home, homework. It becomes so ingrained and lasts so long that at 65 you have Ojisan retiring and literally not knowing what to do with their lives. So, shougaikyoiku. Ask kids how they are enjoying their summer vacations (after they've finished their homework for the summer), and many will say "hima" because they don't know what to do with the free time.

The reason why performance levels in Japan are becoming so poor is not because of the "yuttori kyoiku", but because there is very little work-life balance. Kids hardly study at all in school anymore, and save it for juku. Juku should be abolished, and I think clubs should exist, and should be encouraged, but should be 100% voluntary -- and kids can join more than one if they choose. People simply do not perform well when forced to do something, and forced to do it all the time.

 instead of smiles, all I see is an adult/young coach with a pissed face yelling mean words toward the kids, 

Exactly. It's not only the hours, it's the attitude. For Japan kids have to suffer in order to "learn"; therefore yelling coaches, 6am training and general bullying are common practice.

Never understood the “bukatsu” culture in Japan.

kids/teens often look angry or hate going to the clubs, and get so excited when they don’t have to go that day.

I ask them, why not just quit? “I can’t.”

When I was in high school in my home country, the last bell would ring, and the school would be completely empty of students within 15 minutes.

And unless one had detention on Saturday, NOBODY dared go close to the jhs or hs on the weekends.

Not only students, teachers also "volunteer" to get involved in school club activities as an amateur coach or oversight staff, usually with no or minimal overtime pay.

Although I do value and encourage communal activities in a general sense, people must have choice (and fair reward for their contributions). Burdens should also be shared with people outside school.

Good for them!

Great news for teachers. My Japanese high school teacher gets home at around 10:30pm, then has to mark lessons.

Jesus, if there’s no bukatsu schools are going to have to become places of actual learning. That’s a scary thought right there.

Was coach of a high school sports team for over 17 years here in Japan so know the bukatsu Bunka well. No weekends, loads of road trips for practice matches and tournaments. ( ended up driving the bus and refereeing too, got to go deep ) late home every night, but when I tried to negotiate and appeal the extra non-paid time ( maybe we got an extra 5000 yen a month or something, less than 100 yeah an hour when you do the sums ) on the job it of course fell on deaf ears. Could never get a straight answer from the bosses whether it was actually my official job or not. They avoided that question like the plague. The head kantoku used to say, just think of it as ‘volunteer’.

Not for the feint hearted, but the plus side of club activities if done properly is you become a family of rotating members that become semi pro level athletes before they turn 18 and get to make lifelong bonds. Have met so many wonderful people through the experience and shared so much time with dedicated professional coaches and athletes that I don’t regret a minute of it. It’s hard to get fully accepted as a gaijin in the J school system and this was a huge ‘in’.

Also now believe the Japanese bukatsu would do well replicated overseas, if you can get the balance right. You just have to pay those doing it double or employ coaches separately , because it is an extra full time job! I’d be hesitant to support the end of bukatsu, maybe compulsory bukatsu, but those that wanna work hard should be able to. Think of what your kids would be doing for the few hours a day spent moving their bodies?

gamu and getting fat and entitled like western kids.

The stuff happening in the classroom though, woh….. now did that needs some work!

I was a distance runner in my school years. It was a lot of fun - hard work, but we played a lot, too. My son did distance at one of the premier running schools in Japan in JHS, and did quite well, winning some major competitions; by HS, he'd had enough and switched to student government.

I was initially disappointed at his decision but upon reflection realized it wasn't his decision I was disappointed in; it was the whole freakin' system that sucks whatever little enjoyment there may be out of everything. Anyway, he went on, as a "half," to become student body president.

Better than hanging around convenience stores, shoplifting, getting into trouble.

we might also wish to consider the benefits to clubs.

Making friends. Trying something new. Stops kids being bored. Better than latch key kids, supports parents who work, it’s Confidence building.Allows kids to practice taking leadership roles. look after younger students and spend time with a teacher outside class who sometimes may act as a support for kids who are on their own.

some rules need to be changed but we don’t need to throw then baby out with the bath water.

Clubs are great, but everyday and compulsory results in mostly a negative outcome.

These kids should be allowed to have some autonomy over their time.

I remember back in early 90's, most students don't want to join these activities after school. Main reason - hairy legs.

Hopefully these days, girls are in tune with their bodies.

One way to improve bukatsu is to free up the weekends unless there's a game/competition/match. No practice on weekends or holidays. Limit it till 5:30 on weekdays. Make all bukatsu voluntary. Encourage and destigmatize the option of trying out a different bukatsu each year. And, coaches, try to make it fun - lighten up!!

Let the students decide.

But if parents, especially dads, are not home when the kids get home and there's no family life to go home to, then you'll have problems with bored and directionless teens getting into trouble.

Amen.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with after school sports clubs per se, but doing them all year round. In North America, typically basketball season lasts from November to March, then its soccer season or track and field season. Students can even play multiple sports throughout the season if they want, rather than being stuck with only one for three years. Also, teachers can have a rest after a few months coaching instead of burning out year after year. I know many teachers who have quit teaching because they absolutely hate coaching soft tennis (for example) out in the hot sun or cold winter for an eternity.

Also, there should be more matches after school instead of the tournament format where if you lose a game you are knocked out (in basketball for example). Typically its the same schools year after year that get to play more games and thus improve while the smaller schools never have a chance.

Time to buy some stock in junk food snacks, play station and skateboards. This would work in the countryside but in the city, too many kids with too much time on their hands, and all that youthful energy has to be expended somewhere.

Not a lot of information on this group, definitely promoting gender stuff. Probably some Soros funding. ANTIFA has probably infiltrated these guys.

https://youthconference.jp/

"Japanese young people have a high interest in social issues, including gender equality, the income gap and climate change," said Yuki Murohashi, one of the group's organisers.

But if parents, especially dads, are not home when the kids get home and there's no family life to go home to, then you'll have problems with bored and directionless teens getting into trouble.

This is not the responsibility of the teachers. Maybe Japanese companies should also start to change the way they operate, so that their employees can spends quality time with their families.

But if parents, especially dads, are not home when the kids get home and there's no family life to go home to, then you'll have problems with bored and directionless teens getting into trouble.

One thing I've noticed about Japan is the lack of "babysitting". In North America, its something teen girls often do in their neighborhood. I guess it would be considered slave labor in Japan? I guess juku and afterschool clubs fill that role.

@MountainVPN,

You are making the right decisions.

I faced the same choices 18 years ago.

Wife is Japanese,etc.

My daughter studied the piano and had tennis lessons.

Other than that.......that was it.

She is a well-adjusted young lady and won a couple of tennis tournaments while she was studying abroad in NZ 6 years ago,

She will graduate from Waseda later this month and she spent a happy year at UCLA a couple of years ago.

Good on these kids. Push back against the system that seems hellbent on turning them into mindless, conformist robots who can't stand up for themselves because it's been systematically brainwashed out of them. While I'm all for extra-curriculars alongside a solid, well-rounded education, kids should be able to choose what clubs or activities they want to do and to strike a good balance between academics, extra-curriculars and just being a kid.

Germans had compulsary after school activities in the 1930's. It was called the Hitler youth, and every child was forced to attend. This may be a bit different, but it is also similar. Let children have free will in their free time. Educate well between right and wrong and show faith in their ability to make good choices.

Bukatsu never ends, it's part of japanese culture..

Nice try.. LOL !!..