Over half of junior high school teachers risk health through overwork

And they just realized this just now!? Couldn't they just find out by themselves throughout the decades that teachers could give more quality education if they dedicated more time to the actual lessons and had more time of their own?

Whatever happened to decreasing number of children (hence students)? Would not that naturally increase the number of teachers? Or is it an educational way of wasteful hours at work devoted to showing presentism?

This is not difficult to understand. Most teachers do 'club' training before and after school and on Saturdays. If you are working 12-14 hours every day and then a further 8 hours on Saturdays, 60 hours comes up very quickly. Many of the teachers are starting at 6am for and finishing at 6 or 8pm every day for their respective sports clubs. The article states it is because of the extended class hours, which I'd total malarkey! This comes directly from the teachers becoming proxy parents. And, by the way, if the teachers are working 60 hours a month, how many hours are the students working? They have club before and after school every day and on weekends. They also get a truck load of homework that would involve a further 15-20 hours a week. They are concerned about the teachers getting sick, but what about the students? Particularly in junior high

An education should not involve overwork by staff or students. To realise in 2017 that teachers are working illegal amounts of hours just shows the ineptitude of the ministry. And to form a panel of teeth sucking Old people to revise the policies they have held onto for a decade or more is comical but indicative of why this happened in the first place. Or I might be ignoring the training for overwork rather than actual education. Or time spent after hours on bayonet practice.

The figures "confirm that the situation cannot be overlooked," Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirokazu Matsuno said in a news conference.

He called on a ministry advisory panel to study measures to reduce the teachers' working hours.

And what's going to be done about it? Absolutely nothing.

A government panel headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled last month an action plan for broad labor reforms including cutting long working hours.

*The plan said the maximum overtime work hours a month should not exceed 100 hours, even during busy seasons.*

That's some kind of joke, isn't it?

Teachers raising other people's children while other teachers their children. Is that even possible. Any American ALT who has experienced the junior high system in Japan immediately recognizes that the Japanese parents expect schools to supervise their children from early in the morning until late afternoon. Then, a quick meal and the cram school supervises the children. If teachers had more time to prepare lessons or had more training such as two week visits to the USA for English teachers or Europe for history teachers and, more importantly, no sport supervision on Saturdays and Sundays, then this problem is less likely to occur. Teachers in the USA have sports events on Saturdays, but it is their choice when they agree to coach the sport that only last one third of the school year, not all year. The problem will probably be resolved as the population drops and the teaching staff ages. Anyone university graduate will probably choose teaching as the last job until the government and the public changes their attitude about the value of teachers and family.

Quote, Education critic Naoki Ogi said: "If reforms in the way teachers work, such as increasing the number of teachers, are not implemented, education...in the long run could be affected," ...

Er, hello!? How many good junior high school teachers have quite or committed suicide? Nothing 'long run' about it. It has been an emergency situation for years.

On top of all that work, kids still have to spend countless hours at juku (and their families countless man-en). Honestly, about the only thing that would bring about real change in any part of Japanese society is another SCAP with 7 years to wield a wrecking ball.

Yoyogi59,

When there are fewer students the geniuses that run boards of education close or combine classes. If there are two classes with 50 students total, rather than make two classes of 25, they make one class of 35 and disperse the other 15 into other classes. Then move the redundant teacher to another school or 'promote' him or her into a supervisory position.

Imagine if there were two classes with a total student enrolment of 30. Would they make two classes of 15 (and improve education) or 'promote' one teacher and make one class of 30? You guessed it.

Getting a teachers licence requires attending a juku or similar and passing a test that has nothing to do with teaching. Then being in charge of a sports club again with no knowledge of that particular sport other than being able to count 1,2,3 and work on a Saturday or after the the official hours. And all overseen by a Government Department who you wold think know the laws, except they have no idea as their education extended to passing the test not actually being trained for the job. Pathetic staff, pathetic training, and skills, when I'm 70+ I'm pretty sure I could be in charge of education with a joint in one hand and a whisky in the other and still do a better job while vomiting.

Wonder why ? Public Schools now forcing needless homework upon kids whose parents have been forced to send their kids to Jukyu's simply because the standard of education at public schools is abysmal ?

Nothing will be done about it. They already have to clock in on days off, weekends, and holidays to babysit for parents (also called "school club"), and stay until the wee hours of the night in many cases -- at least the ones I know. TIJ

Some classic under-reporting of hours worked here btw. It's no wonder the teachers end up with physical and, worse yet, mental problems that are then passed on to the students. Though no fault of the students, JHS's in Japan are disgusting places of military-esque brainwashing and social slavery where no one seems inerested in or capable of instigating positive change. Education is the last thing on MEXT's mind. It's purely about civil obedience.

It's not just a problem in Japan. The UK is just as bad, where they're even proposing shortening the School week to 4 days... here in Japan it's 6 days at least once per month!

I pity the School Teacher. They are the 2nd most important person to the Parents yet the Government and some parents ignore that fact... shame on them all. If it were not for the Good School teachers, most of us would not be online today.

Something needs to be done in order to determine what makes a Teacher good, and then reward them accordingly (hint: $).

Japan, could take the lead here... as, have many noted, the Public Education system does have a lot of room for improvement.

And what will jhs teachers be doing during the long awaited Golden Week? Yup, you guessed right. Taking care of club activities (bukatsu). Seriously, if people doing this surveys still haven't figured out what could be done about teacher's overtime... I don't know. They might never find out.