Japan's domestic tourism lags surge in inbound visitors
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Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
Cram school lecturers may teach at public schools in Japan
The education ministry is considering launching a model project in fiscal 2026 to dispatch cram school lecturers and others with teaching qualifications to public schools as temporary teachers, in an effort to address the issue of teachers' excessive workload, ministry sources have said. The ministry plans to include related expenses in its budget request for the fiscal year starting next April. The project will send cram school lecturers and retired teachers, as well as corporate workers who hold teaching licenses but do not work in education, to public schools where vacancies have arisen due to teachers taking maternity, child care or sick leave. The plan is to establish a system in which universities with teacher training courses register teaching personnel in advance for dispatch to prefectures and major cities. The competition ratio for public school teacher exams has declined since peaking at 13.3 times in fiscal 2000, reaching a record low of 3.2 times in fiscal 2024. There are fewer cases of prospective teachers who failed the recruitment exam working as nonregular temporary teachers while preparing for the next exam, making it difficult for public schools to secure temporary teachers. With more teachers taking maternity and child care leave, it is said that other teachers are facing the problem of long working hours to cover for their absence, as schools are sometimes unable to hire replacement teachers. The ministry hopes to help public schools secure sufficient human resources and reduce the burden on teachers. In launching the model project, the ministry plans to use as a reference the British supply teacher system, in which local governments and companies dispatch registered personnel to schools as substitute teachers. By identifying issues through the model project, the ministry aims to create a system that enables public schools to quickly fill sudden teacher vacancies.
NHK
5 hours ago
- NHK
Japan to propose new economic zone at TICAD meeting
NHK has learned that the Japanese government is planning to propose a new economic zone spanning India to Africa when it hosts a conference on African development this month. The Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, will take place in Yokohama City for three days from August 20. The Japan-led meeting is held every three years. The Japanese government intends to advocate the initiative as it thinks the region stretching from India through the Middle East to the African continent has the potential to become the center of economic growth. It hopes to build a free and fair economic zone and strengthen inter-regional connectivity based on a free and open Indo-Pacific that it has been promoting. The government also aims to boost ties with the Global South, including African countries, and provide support to Japanese businesses in their efforts to expand trade and investment in the proposed zone. A Foreign Ministry source noted that some Japanese companies are making inroads into Africa from bases in India and the Middle East. The source said the government plans to pursue an extensive approach by strategically combining policy tools.
NHK
5 hours ago
- NHK
NHK: 20% of historic WWII monuments lost in past 3 decades
NHK has learned that about 20 percent of facilities and sites in Japan that serve as legacies of World War Two have been lost in the past three decades. As of some 30 years ago, 660 such places had been reported by municipalities as war monuments to the Cultural Affairs Agency. They included facilities used by the former Imperial Japanese military and underground air raid shelters. This year marks 80 years since the end of World War Two. NHK queried municipalities across Japan about the state of preservation and use of the monuments. The survey results show that 14 percent of all relics were intact and 44 percent were mostly preserved. Meanwhile, 13 percent were mostly lost and 8 percent were entirely lost. As for 15 percent of the monuments, it was not known what condition they were in. This indicates that about 20 percent of the war remains have been lost. Regarding usage of the sites, 34 percent of the relics were being shown to the public to pass on memories of the war, 28 percent were not being utilized and 27 percent were being used by public offices, private businesses or individuals. On the reason why the monuments were lost, 36 percent were torn down for development, and 14 percent were taken down because they posed safety hazards. The reason was unknown for 26 percent. The Cultural Affairs Agency has been surveying the places because a significant number are believed to be at risk of demolition for urban redevelopment. Agency officials say sites that are considered important to understand Japan's modern history should be properly protected. Professor Yamada Akira of Meiji University, an expert on military history, says it is important to pass on the legacies of war, but there is a limit to what can be relayed person to person. He says it is extremely important to learn about wartime directly through the buildings and other structures that characterize that period. Yamada says war monuments recount history and should be passed on.
