05-05-2025
Editorial: Urgent action needed on worsening working conditions in Japan's public ed system
Public education has long underpinned the foundations of Japanese society. Yet today, exhaustion among teachers who directly face and support children at schools has reached critical levels. Immediate measures to address this crisis are a must.
Japan maintains impressive standards in terms of children's intellectual abilities. Students in Japan have consistently ranked among those in the top countries in the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international survey conducted every three years to evaluate the scholastic abilities of 15-year-olds, since 2000, when the survey began.
PISA measures students' ability to practically apply knowledge and to think across three core competencies: mathematical literacy, scientific literacy and reading proficiency. According to the latest 2022 survey, among the 37 participating member nations, Japanese students ranked first in both mathematics and science and second in reading skills.
Although there is a trend internationally for students from economically advantaged households to earn higher scores, even students from economically disadvantaged households in Japan achieve high math scores, indicating narrower educational inequalities compared to their peers in other countries.
Japan also ranks highly in areas beyond academics. For instance, Japanese students' sense of belonging at school is the sixth highest among OECD countries, surpassing Nordic educational frontrunners including Finland. This indicates that many children find schools to be welcoming spaces.
Mounting pressure to deliver results
Most elementary and junior high schools handling the education of children up to age 15 in Japan are public. It can thus be said that the comprehensive strength of Japan's public education has laid the foundation for the impressive abilities exhibited by Japanese students.
Teachers not only handle subject instruction but also oversee student guidance in daily areas like meal provision through school lunch programs, classroom cleaning and school events. The shared value underpinning Japanese public education has long been the idea that "no child should be left behind."
However, the reality at schools is becoming increasingly severe.
"Teachers are unable to engage in meaningful, essential education work that fosters children's growth. Instead, they are becoming exhausted, overwhelmed by tasks that bring no joy or sense of purpose," says Takashi Kubo, a former principal at Kikawaminami Elementary School in Osaka. In 2021, Kubo submitted a proposal detailing these realities to then-Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui. Although Kubo was initially protesting the chaos caused by the sudden mandatory introduction of online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the deeper message in his statement expressed alarm about the future state of Japan's public education.
In Osaka Prefecture and the city of Osaka, education reforms promoting competition have been pushed forward by leaders from Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party). According to reports, schools were repeatedly pressured to increase their students' scores on nationwide academic achievement tests, resulting in prolonged hours working on administrative tasks including paperwork, frequently requiring staff to labor late into the night.
Nationally, educators' burdens continue to grow. Recent revisions to national curriculum guidelines have increased the educational content required to be taught. Additionally, teachers must implement new methods in the classroom, including the increased use of IT equipment. Educators are also experiencing mounting pressure to address social issues, notably rising student truancy and bullying cases.
To preserve the high quality of Japan's public education, concrete steps must be taken now to improve the continually deteriorating working conditions of teachers.
The national government has already outlined relief policies for teachers, such as raising allowances provided uniformly in lieu of overtime pay, increasing teacher numbers and limiting junior high school class sizes to 35 students, following similar measures for elementary schools.
However, Japan's public expenditure on education remains comparatively low internationally. In fact, the nation's education spending is among the lowest among OECD member states.
Reforming teachers' working conditions is an urgent priority
When Kubo retired three years ago, class sizes at his school had already fallen below 25 students. Compared to when there were 30 or more students per class, teachers had more leeway to give each student individual attention.
"Engaging in shared activities with children, like playing soccer together, is valuable," Kubo emphasizes. "Rather than pursuing competitive results and outcomes, creating comfortable schools for children is what will improve true academic performance."
Although the number of children continues to decline due to Japan's falling birth rate, there is an increasing need to provide carefully tailored education to a diverse student body, including children with disabilities and those with foreign roots. Creating workplaces with greater flexibility and less pressure would also help address the ongoing decline in individuals pursuing teaching careers.
Amid numerous unresolved issues facing educational institutions, the government has launched measures to waive tuition fees at senior high schools. Although these policies aim to reduce the financial burden on families, some experts have expressed concerns that they may instead lead to a weakening of the foundations of public high schools.
In Osaka Prefecture, where high school tuition-free policies have already been implemented, the increased popularity of private high schools has resulted in about half of public high schools failing to meet their enrollment quotas. Prefectural high schools have consequently been closed one after another under prefectural ordinances requiring they either merge or shut down after years of continued under-enrollment. Similar scenarios may soon unfold in other metropolitan areas, including the Tokyo region.
Public education has supported Japan's economic growth and societal stability. As the country grapples with its declining birth rate and advances in digitalization, we must collectively consider ways to preserve and sustain public education's inherent value.
