'Urgent' proposal to reduce teaching hours for Japanese teachers

Reducing teaching hours is considered an urgent issue, as Japanese teachers have to work more than 120 hours of overtime each month.

The Central Council of Education under the Japanese Ministry of Education on August 28 proposed to examine class hours at all public elementary and junior high schools to reform teaching activities.

According to the standard, each student has 1,015 teaching hours per year. Each lesson lasts 45 minutes in elementary school and 50 minutes in middle school. After inspection, schools with more than this number of teaching hours per year (1,086 hours or more) will have to cut back, starting next year.

Reducing teachers' workloads and reforming working styles are "issues that need to be addressed immediately," the agency proposed.

A classroom in Japan. Photo: The Japan Times — A classroom in Japan. Photo: *The Japan Times*

A survey conducted by the Japan Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) Research Institute in 2022 found that teachers' average overtime hours were 123 hours and 16 minutes per month, far exceeding the "possible death from overwork" threshold (80 hours per month) set by the Japanese Ministry of Labor.

In Japan, schools are now considered "black" workplaces, with labor regulations often flouted. This is considered the biggest reason why many people do not want to apply to become teachers.

The proposal to reduce teaching hours is part of a series of emergency measures to reduce teachers' workload that the Central Education Council has submitted to the Minister of Education.

In mid-August, the agency discussed increasing overtime pay for public school teachers, which is currently 4% of their monthly salary. According to the Council, teachers’ jobs are so specific that they cannot be calculated the same way as other public employees.

Other measures include not opening school gates too early, adding staff to support teachers and school counselors.

Many localities have now applied a number of measures to reduce the work pressure of teachers.

In Gero City, Gifu Prefecture, all six junior high schools pushed their dismissal time from 6 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. last year. Teachers have earlier meetings in the day, which has significantly reduced their overtime hours. And Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is switching all extracurricular activities in junior high schools to community club activities by the summer of 2026.

Khanh Linh (According to The Japan Times)

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