ALT

Nonregulars at record 35.2% of workforce

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The ratio of nonregular workers in the labor force in 2011 hit a record average high of 35.2 percent, excluding [Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima] the three prefectures severely affected by the March quake and tsunami, up 0.8 point from 2010, according to data compiled by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.

The average for the year hit a record for the second straight year, the ministry said Monday.

The rise appears to have stemmed from the growing tendency of firms to hire fewer young people as regular workers and rehire veteran workers on a contract basis after their retirement.

By age bracket, the ratio of nonregular workers came to a record 32.6 percent among people aged between 15 and 34, while that among workers aged 55 and over was 51.5 percent, also an all-time high, the ministry said.

Nonregular workers aged between 15 and 34 numbered 1.7 million, up 20,000, it said.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120222a3.html

Govt to limit 2nd-graders to 35 per class next year

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The government plans to limit the number of second-year students at public primary schools to 35 per class starting in the 2012 academic year, sources said Saturday.

The system was introduced for first-year students at public primary schools in the 2011 school year.

To realize the plan, the government plans to employ about 1,000 more teachers, appropriating the necessary outlay in the fiscal 2012 budget, without revising the current law.

The education and finance ministries have concluded that the government will not face a heavy fiscal burden if the number of teachers can be increased without revising the relevant laws.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111217003275.htm

Young teacher’s 2004 self-immolation caused by job stress, court rules

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On-the-job stress is what pushed an elementary school teacher here to commit suicide in 2004, the Shizuoka District Court ruled on Dec. 15.

Siding with plaintiff Kenji Kimura, 62 — father of teacher Yuriko Kimura, who was 24 at the time of her death — the court ruled against the Fund for Local Government Employees’ Accident Compensation, which had refused to recognize the suicide as a “job accident.”

According to the decision handed down by Presiding Judge Tsutomu Yamazaki, when Yuriko Kimura was hired in April 2004 and put in charge of an unruly class of fourth graders, she was “exposed to continued extreme stress and did not receive appropriate support,” causing her to develop symptoms of depression. Furthermore, “the students’ problematic behavior continued to occur frequently, and disrupted classes became the norm.” The court ruled that the severe depression caused by these circumstances led to her self-immolation later that year after receiving a written complaint from a parent.

The accident compensation fund argued that Kimura had abandoned class discipline and let the students run wild, and otherwise demonstrated a lack of social skills, claiming her subsequent depression was partly her own fault.

The court ruling also stated that the teachers and school administrators who criticized Kimura for poor teaching should have been more supportive, saying the lack of that support was “a very large problem.”

At a press conference after the trial, Kenji Kimura told reporters, “I want a thorough check on what’s going on at the school and measures to be put in place so this doesn’t happen again.”

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111216p2a00m0na003000c.html

Average winter bonus for gov’t employees goes up 4.1%

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The government’s rank-and-file employees received on average of about 617,100 yen in winter bonuses, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier, as the Democratic Party of Japan-led government failed to make deep cuts in wages.

The average bonus for a government employee is equivalent to 2.02 months pay, which is some 1,900 yen higher than if a 0.23 percent pay cut had been implemented. The authority’s proposal is designed to make up for the gap with pay from the private sector.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111209p2g00m0dm024000c.html

Joytalk ALTs Unionized

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Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union and its Tozen ALTs Branch recently declared the existence of its Joytalk Shop to management and submitted a slate of 28 collective bargaining demands.

組合加入通知並びに団体交渉申し入れ書

Declaration of New Members, Request for Collective Bargaining

拝啓　貴社におかれましては、益々ご繁栄のこととお喜び申し上げます。

We hope your business is doing well.

さて、このたび私たちは、貴社従業員の全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン（以下、「組合」という）ならびに全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン東ゼンＡＬＴ支部（以下、「支部」という）への加入を通知いたします。貴社は本日より、組合員の雇用・労働条件ならびに、その他労働条件に関連する事項について、当組合ならびに支部と協議決定する義務のあることを申し添えます。

We hereby inform you that some of your employees have joined Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (hereafter, “union,”) and Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union Tozen ALTs (hereafter, “local”). From this day forth, your company is obligated to negotiate with the union and local regarding union members’ employment, working conditions and all items related to working conditions.

当組合ならびに支部は、良好な労使関係を確立するために、誠意をもって交渉に臨む所存です。貴社におかれましては、速やかに当組合ならびに支部との団体交渉に応じるよう要請いたします。なお、団体交渉を拒否することは、労働組合法第７条に違反する不当労働行為に該当することを念のために申し添えます。

Our union and local will negotiate in good faith in order to establish a positive labor-management relationship. Therefore, we ask that you promptly agree to collective bargaining with the union and local without committing any unfair labor practices. We also add that refusing collective bargaining is an unfair labor practice in violation of Article 7 of Trade Union Law.

以下の要求事項を議題とし、以下の日時・場所で、団体交渉を申し入れます。

We ask for collective bargaining regarding the demands listed below at the below date, time and venue.

なお、今回、要求事項が２８項目と多岐にわたりましたが、第1回団交でこのすべてについて話し合うことは到底できないことは承知しておりますので、どこから話し合うかという点についても、貴社と丁寧に協議を尽くしたいと考えています。組合員は、長期的に安定した雇用を確保し、引き続き貴社と良好な関係を築いていくことを望んでおります。当方の趣旨をお汲みとりいただきますよう、何卒宜しくお願いいたします。

We understand that it is impossible to discuss all 28 demands at the first collective bargaining session. We would like to negotiate these demands with you carefully and thoroughly. Union members hope to build and maintain a positive relationship with management based on long-term job security.

…

３．要求事項 Demands

安定した雇用について　　　On job security…

1. Management eliminate temporary employment status for all union members, recognizing open-ended employment with no deterioration in working conditions in order to give members job security.

会社は、安定した雇用を実現するため、全組合員に対し、労働条件を悪化することなく、有期雇用の雇用形態を廃止し、期間の定めのない雇用を認める。

事前協議について　　On prior consultation …

2. Management inform the local and union well in advance of any changes to working conditions, management, terms of employment or shugyo kisoku work rules. Management negotiate and obtain agreement with union and local before implementing any such changes.

会社は、組合員の従来の契約内容・労働条件を変更する場合、また就業規則を変更する場合、事前に時間的な余裕をもって組合ならびに支部に通知し、協議の上、同意を得て実施すること。

3. Management inform, negotiate with and obtain agreement from union and local before any transfers, disciplinary measures or dismissal (including all forms of employment severance against the wishes of the employee) of any union member.

会社は、組合員の人事異動、懲戒処分、解雇（本人の意思に反するあらゆる雇用終了を含む）を行う場合、事前に組合ならびに支部に通知し、協議の上、同意を得て実施すること。

4. Management inform and make a mutual arrangement with local members before visiting schools to observe classes etc. and that any such visit shall have a minimum of one month’s advance notice.

会社は、授業参観などの目的で組合員の学校へ訪問する場合、該当組合員に１カ月以上の予告をし、組合員の都合に合わせて訪問の日程を決めること。

5. Management obtain consent from any union member before scheduling work on weekends.

会社は、全組合員に対し、土日の勤務を組む場合、事前に該当する組合員の同意を得ること。

透明性について　　On transparency …

6. Management provide union and local with Japanese language and English language versions of their shugyo kisoku official work rules.

会社は、組合員に適用される就業規則の日本語版と英語版の両方を組合ならびに支部に交付すること。

7. Management immediately disclose and explain each year’s financial documents, including profit-loss statement and balance sheet.

会社は、毎年の損益計算書、貸借対照表などの財務諸表について、速やかに組合ならびに支部に公開し、説明すること。

8. Management immediately give to the union and local a copy of the contract between company and all school boards where members work.

会社は、会社と組合員が働いている全ての教育委員会との間に締結されている契約書の写しを組合ならびに支部に付与すること。

9. Management explain in writing to the union and local the terms of the contract (“haken” or “gyomu itaku”) for each member, and how the type of contract affects the member’s work.

会社は、会社と教育委員会との間で締結している契約（上記第７条を参照）が派遣なのか、業務委託なのかといった契約形態について、組合ならびに支部に文書で明らかにし、併せて組合員の労働環境に与える影響を説明した文書を組合ならびに支部に付与すること。

金銭要求　Financial Demands

10. Management pay full actual transportation costs to all members.

会社は、全組合員に対し、交通費の実費を支給すること。

11. Management increase the salary of union members to ¥290,000 per month.

会社は、全組合員の賃金を月２９０，０００円に引き上げること。

12. Management count the training days forced upon members during July as additional working days to be paid at an additional ¥15,000 per day and refund full actual transportation costs.

会社は、全組合員に対し、７月に働かされる研修の日を労働日とし、日給１５，０００円および交通費の実費を追加に支給すること。

13. Management pay a full salary for August 2011

会社は、全組合員に対し、２０１１年８月について、１カ月分の全額の賃金を支給すること。

14. Management refrain from deducting any wages from any member who participates in collective bargaining during work hours.

会社は、所定時間内に開催する団体交渉出席者の賃金カットを行なわないこと。

15. Management refund all costs for medical checks required of union members.

会社は、組合員に健康診断を義務付ける場合、その費用の全額を負担すること。

…

他の要求事項　Other Demands

18. Management give 10 days paid annual leave to union members who have worked for six months (12 after 18 months, etc. according to Labor Standards Law) to be used at their own discretion, and not as management dictates.

会社は、全組合員に対し、労働基準法に則り、６カ月勤続後１０日間、１８カ月勤続後１２日間等の年次有給休暇について、本人が自由に取得できることを認めること。

19. A substitute ALT is not sent to a school if there are no lessons.

会社は授業の無い日に代行ALTを派遣しないこと。

20. Management use teacher evaluations only to help teachers further improve their performance and not let evaluations affect pay. All evaluations submitted by the school to the company are shown to the union in their original form.

会社は、教員の評価を賃金などに一切反映させず、該当する教員の能力・技術等の改善という目的に限定すること。会社は教育委員会が会社に提出する評価書の写しを、組合並びに支部に付与すること。

21. Management change our payday from the 25th of the month to the 15th of every month, to coincide with monthly payments such as rent and utilities.

会社は、給与支払日を家賃や光熱費などの支払いに合わせて、現在の翌月の２５日から翌月の１５日に変更すること。

22. Management assign teachers with experience to run training sessions.

会社は、研修を行うトレーナーの任命については、ＡＬＴ経験を持つ人に限ること。

23. Management arrange for all union members to have lockers at their workplaces (schools).

会社は、全組合員に対し、職場である学校の中に個人用ロッカーを手配すること。

24. Management explain about their current shakai hoken deductions

会社は社会保険の控除の詳細について組合並びに支部に文書で説明すること。

労使の信頼関係維持について　　Maintaining Relationship of Trust between Management and Union

25. Management comply with all articles of all labor laws, particularly Trade Union Law, and refrain from discriminating against or harassing any union member.

会社は、労働組合法をはじめ全ての労働法規を遵守し、いかなる組合員に対する差別行為、いやがらせ行為などをしないこと。

26. Management permit a union representative be present at all members’ meetings with management.

会社は、経営側が組合員と面談をする場合、組合の代表する者の立ち会いを認めること。

27. Management permit the union and local to conduct a 30-minutes union orientation, including passing out information, at all training sessions. Management inform the union at least four weeks in advance of the date, time and venue for all such training sessions.

会社は、全ての研修会に、組合ならびに支部に、情報配布などを含めた３０分のオリエンテーション（説明会）を行うことを許可すること。なお会社は、研修を行う４週間前に、日時・場所などを組合ならびに支部に通知すること。

28. Management sign a labor-management agreement with the union and local on the above demands.

会社は、上記の要求事項に基づいて、組合ならびに支部と労働協約を締結すること。

以上

Teachers bolt jobs over mental angst

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Stress, depression behind twentyfold 10-year increase in resignations of first-year educators

The number of first-year teachers who left their job for health reasons has increased twentyfold over the past 10 years, with most citing apparent emotional issues, an education ministry survey has found.

According to the survey, conducted on 25,743 public school teachers who began working in fiscal 2010, 101 voluntarily left within a year for “health” reasons, mainly depression and stress, compared with five in fiscal 2000.

Ninety-one of the 101 who quit were suffering emotional issues such as depression, the ministry said Tuesday.

“We believe (those teachers) suffered from a gap between reality and what they imagined before they start working. . . . Some were believed to have trouble dealing with difficult parents. Some may have suffered from human relationships at their workplaces,” education ministry official Masashi Izumino told The Japan Times on Wednesday.

Starting in fiscal 2009, the ministry began investigating the mental health of teachers who quit within a year. In the first survey, 83 of 86 who quit did so reportedly due to such apparent psychological troubles.

Of the 91 teachers last year who quit for such reasons, Tokyo had the highest number, with 29, followed by Chiba Prefecture with six and Aichi Prefecture with five.

Stress has been an issue not only among new teachers but veterans as well in recent years.

According to an education ministry report last year, 8,627 public school teachers took a leave of absence for health reasons in fiscal 2009. Of these, 5,458, or 63.3 percent, did so due to psychological problems.

The number of teachers taking temporary leave for mental health reasons has been steadily rising since fiscal 2000, the report said. While 0.24 percent of public school teachers took a leave of absence in fiscal 2000, the percentage rose to 0.60 in fiscal 2009, it said.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111110a5.html

Borderlink ALTs Unionized

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On Friday, September 30th 20011, Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union and its Tozen ALTs Branch declared the existence of its Borderlink Shop to management and submitted a slate of 34 collective bargaining demands.

組合加入通知並びに団体交渉申し入れ書

Declaration of New Members, Request for Collective Bargaining

拝啓　貴社におかれましては、益々ご繁栄のこととお喜び申し上げます。

We hope your business is doing well.

さて、このたび私たちは、貴社従業員の全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン（以下、「組合」という）ならびに全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン東ゼンＡＬＴ支部（以下、「支部」という）への加入を通知いたします。貴社は本日より、組合員の雇用・労働条件ならびに、その他労働条件に関連する事項について、当組合ならびに支部と協議決定する義務のあることを申し添えます。

We hereby inform you that some of your employees have joined Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (hereafter, “union,”) and Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union Tozen ALTs (hereafter, “local”). From this day forth, your company is obligated to negotiate with the union and local regarding union members’ employment, working conditions and all items related to working conditions.

当組合ならびに支部は、良好な労使関係を確立するために、誠意をもって交渉に臨む所存です。貴社におかれましては、速やかに当組合ならびに支部との団体交渉に応じるよう要請いたします。なお、団体交渉を拒否することは、労働組合法第７条に違反する不当労働行為に該当することを念のために申し添えます。

Our union and local will negotiate in good faith in order to establish a positive labor-management relationship. Therefore, we ask that you promptly agree to collective bargaining with the union and local without committing any unfair labor practices. We also add that refusing collective bargaining is an unfair labor practice in violation of Article 7 of Trade Union Law.

以下の要求事項を議題とし、以下の日時・場所で、団体交渉を申し入れます。

We ask for collective bargaining regarding the demands listed below at the below date, time and venue.

なお、今回、要求事項が３４項目と多岐にわたりましたが、第1回団交でこのすべてについて話し合うことは到底できないことは承知しておりますので、どこから話し合うかという点についても、貴社と丁寧に協議を尽くしたいと考えています。組合員は、長期的に安定した雇用を確保し、引き続き会社と良好な関係を築いていくことを望んでおります。当方の趣旨をお汲みとりいただきますよう、何卒宜しくお願いいたします。

We understand that it is impossible to discuss all 34 demands at the first collective bargaining session. We would like to negotiate these demands with you carefully and thoroughly. Union members hope to build and maintain a positive relationship with management based on long-term job security.

…

２．団体交渉日時・場所・議題 CB Date, Time, Venue, Agenda

日時　２０１１年１０月２１日（金）　１９：００～２１：００
場所　当組合本部事務所内　Venue: Our union ＨＱ office
　　　　　〒１６２－０８０１東京都新宿区山吹町２９４　小久保ビル３Ｂ
議題　下記の要求事項 Agenda: Union demands listed below.

３．要求事項 Demands

安定した雇用について　　　On job security…

1. Management eliminate temporary employment status for all union members, recognizing open-ended employment with no deterioration in working conditions in order to give members job security.

会社は、安定した雇用を実現するため、全組合員に対し、労働条件を悪化することなく、有期雇用の雇用形態を廃止し、期間の定めのない雇用を認める。

事前協議について　　On prior consultation …

2. Management inform the local and union well in advance of any changes to working conditions, management, terms of employment or shugyo kisoku work rules. Management negotiate and obtain agreement with union and local before implementing any such changes.

会社は、組合員の従来の契約内容・労働条件を変更する場合、また就業規則を変更する場合、事前に時間的な余裕をもって組合ならびに支部に通知し、協議の上、同意を得て実施すること。

3. Management inform, negotiate with and obtain agreement from union and local before any transfers, disciplinary measures or dismissal (including all forms of employment severance against the wishes of the employee) of any union member.

会社は、組合員の人事異動、懲戒処分、解雇（本人の意思に反するあらゆる雇用終了を含む）を行う場合、事前に組合ならびに支部に通知し、協議の上、同意を得て実施すること。

4. Management inform and make a mutual arrangement with local members before visiting schools to observe classes etc. and that any such visit shall have a minimum of one month’s advance notice.

会社は、授業参観などの目的で組合員の学校へ訪問する場合、該当組合員に１カ月以上の予告をし、組合員の都合に合わせて訪問の日程を決めること。

5. Management inform the union member of their working schedule in writing at least 1 month in advance.

会社は、 各組合員に対し、１カ月以上前にスケジュールを通知すること。

6. Management obtain consent from any union member before scheduling work on weekends.

会社は、全組合員に対し、土日の勤務を組む場合、事前に該当する組合員の同意を得ること。

透明性について　　On transparency …

7. Management provide union and local with Japanese language and English language versions of their shugyo kisoku official work rules.

会社は、組合員に適用される就業規則の日本語版と英語版の両方を組合ならびに支部に交付すること。

8. Management immediately disclose and explain each year’s financial documents, including profit-loss statement and balance sheet.

会社は、毎年の損益計算書、貸借対照表などの財務諸表について、速やかに組合ならびに支部
に公開し、説明すること。

9. Management immediately give to the union and local a copy of the contract between company and all school boards where members work.

会社は、会社と組合員が働いている全ての教育委員会との間に締結されている契約書の写しを組合ならびに支部に付与すること。

10. Management explain in writing to the union and local the terms of the contract (“haken” or “gyomu itaku”) for each member, and how the type of contract affects the member’s work.

会社は、会社と教育委員会との間で締結している契約（上記第７条を参照）が派遣なのか、業務委託なのかといった契約形態について、組合ならびに支部に文書で明らかにし、併せて組合員の労働環境に与える影響を説明した文書を組合ならびに支部に付与すること。

金銭要求　Financial Demands

11. Management end its policy of paying pro-rated salaries, with previously pro-rated salaries backdated fully to April 1, 2011.

会社は、賃金の比例配分をやめ、毎月全額を支給する。なお、２０１１年４月１日から現在までの比例配分された賃金と全額の賃金の差額を支給すること。

12. Management pay full actual transportation costs to all members.

会社は、全組合員に対し、交通費の実費を支給すること。

13. Management increase the salary of union members working at elementary schools to Y260,000 per month and of union members working at jr. high schools to Y290,000 per month.

会社は、小学校に勤務している全組合員の賃金を月２６０，０００円に、中学校に勤務している全組合員の賃金を月２９０，０００円に引き上げること。

14. Management put all “performance bonuses” into members’ salaries.

会社は、全組合員に対し、「皆勤手当」（”performance bonus”）を止め、その分を通常の賃金に振り替えること。

15. Management count the training days forced upon members during July as additional working days to be paid at an additional Y15,000 per day and refund full actual transportation costs.

会社は、全組合員に対し、７月に働かされる研修の日を労働日とし、日給１５，０００円および交通費の実費を追加に支給すること。

16. Management pay a full salary for August 2011, in addition to any accrued “bonuses” taken from members’ regular salary.

会社は、全組合員に対し、２０１１年８月について、他の月の未払い分を振り替えられた賃金（”bonus”）の他に、１カ月分の全額の賃金を支給すること。

17. Management pay weekend work by members at a rate of Y20,000 per day, or part thereof.

会社は、土日の労働に対し、日給２０，０００円または、その比例配分の賃金を支給すること。

18. Management refrain from deducting any wages from any member who participates in collective bargaining during work hours.

会社は、所定時間内に開催する団体交渉出席者の賃金カットを行なわないこと。

19. Management refund all costs for medical checks required of union members.

会社は、組合員に健康診断を義務付ける場合、その費用の全額を負担すること。

特定の組合員についての要求事項　Demands related to Individual Members

…

他の要求事項　Other Demands

23. Management give 10 days paid annual leave to union members who have worked for six months (12 after 18 months, etc. according to Labor Standards Law) to be used at their own discretion, and not as management dictates.

会社は、全組合員に対し、労働基準法に則り、６カ月勤続後１０日間、１８カ月勤続後１２日間等の年次有給休暇について、本人が自由に取得できることを認めること。

24. Management use teacher evaluations only to help teachers further improve their performance and not let evaluations affect pay.

会社は、教員の評価を賃金などに一切反映させず、該当する教員の能力・技術等の改善という目的に限定すること。

25. Management change our payday from the last day of the month to the 15th of every month, to coincide with monthly payments such as rent and utilities.

会社は、給与支払日を家賃や光熱費などの支払いに合わせて、現在の翌月の月末日から翌月の１５日に変更すること。

26. Management assign trainers with ALT experience to run training sessions.

会社は、研修を行うトレーナーの任命については、ＡＬＴ経験を持つ人に限ること。

27. Management schedule ALT meetings only between 8:30am and 3:30pm and outside lunch breaks.

会社とＡＬＴとの面談の時間は昼の休憩時間を避け、午前８時３０分から午後３時３０分の間に限ること。

28. Management arrange for all union members to have lockers at their workplaces (schools).

会社は、全組合員に対し、職場である学校の中に個人用ロッカーを手配すること。

29. Management refrain from the practice of asking for original documentation, such as university degrees, etc.

会社は、大学の卒業証明書などの書類の原本を従業員に求める慣習を廃止すること。

労使の信頼関係維持について　　Maintaining Relationship of Trust between Management and Union

30. Management apologize to the union and local in an email to all Borderlink employees in Japanese and English for Mr. Satoshi Okubo’s defamatory speech against unions on the second day of training (July 26, 2011).

会社は、２０１１年７月２６日に行われた研修の第２日目にオオクボ・サトシ氏が労働組合に対し誹謗中傷的な発言をしたことについて、会社の全従業員へ、日本語と英語の両方の言葉での電子メールによって組合ならびに支部に対し謝罪をすること。

31. Management comply with all articles of all labor laws, particularly Trade Union Law, and refrain from discriminating against or harassing any union member.

会社は、労働組合法をはじめ全ての労働法規を遵守し、いかなる組合員に対する差別行為、いやがらせ行為などをしないこと。

32. Management permit a union representative be present at all members’ meetings with management.

会社は、経営側が組合員と面談をする場合、組合の代表する者の立ち会いを認めること。

33. Management permit the union and local to conduct a 30-minutes union orientation, including passing out information, at all training sessions. Management inform the union at least four weeks in advance of the date, time and venue for all such training sessions.

会社は、全ての研修会に、組合ならびに支部に、情報配布などを含めた３０分のオリエンテーション（説明会）を行うことを許可すること。なお、会社は、研修を行う４週間前に、日時・場所などを組合ならびに支部に通知すること。

34. Management sign a labor-management agreement with the union and local on the above demands.

会社は、上記の要求事項に基づいて、組合ならびに支部と労働協約を締結すること。

以上

Japan’s ratio of education spending to GDP lowest among OECD nations

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Japan’s expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product in 2008 remained the lowest among 31 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the organization said in a report released Tuesday.

Japan’s ratio of educational expenditure to GDP in 2008 stood at 3.3 percent, the lowest among the 31 of the OECD’s 34 members with comparable data. Japan’s ratio was also the lowest in 2005 and 2007, and the second lowest in 2004 and 2006 in the annual OECD studies.

Meanwhile, private spending on education as a proportion of total educational expenditure stood at 33.6 percent in Japan, the third highest among 28 countries with comparable data, following Chile at 41.4 percent and South Korea at 40.4 percent.

The average number of students per class at Japanese elementary schools in 2009 stood at 28.0, compared with the average of 21.4 for 25 countries with comparable data. The average class size at junior high schools was 33.0, the second largest class size among the 25 countries, following South Korea at 35.1, the OECD said.

Besides efforts by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to reduce class sizes, the OECD report pointed out that “other factors that influence the quality of education need to be taken into account,” such as improving teachers’ salaries and working conditions in Japan.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110914p2g00m0dm003000c.html

Expats in Japan face hard choices

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Oregonians living in Japan like me have taken a hard look at our futures since the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and the unfolding nuclear and economic crises. Radiation leaks, contaminated crops and water, plutonium released into the air and ocean, have made expats in Japan question whether to stay or head back home, especially in the face of pressure from family and loved ones.

Relatively few Americans live in Japan, fewer still from Oregon. Through work, I’ve become friends with a few Oregonians who share the same circumstances and tough choices.

I’m from Portland, 42, and live in Inuyama. I’ve been in Japan for 10 years, mostly teaching English, but also freelancing as a photographer, writer and video producer.

My two friends and I have a number of things in common. We enjoyed our lives in Oregon, but things weren’t panning out as well as we had hoped and we sought a new adventure, which America-friendly Japan provided. Living here has been a series of trade-offs, exchanging one set of headaches and concerns for different ones.

The question is, in the face of health concerns and financial hardship, is it time to trade them back again?

Stay or go?

Keary Doyle of Florence, 57, lives by himself in the rural town of Yamagata. He has been in Japan since 2000, and while he’s mulled a return home in recent years, the unemployment rate stops him. He worked as a logger and in the mills, but those jobs dried up.

“I don’t see the prospects of me going back being very economically viable,” he says.

Even though Japan’s job market is challenging as well, there are always teaching positions for native English speakers like Doyle. But going back to America expecting to teach English, especially without a college degree in education, is almost impossible. Like me, he wonders, “If I went back, what would I do for work?”

Keary lives approximately 300 miles from the reactors, a relatively safe distance, but it’s difficult to feel at ease. Simply because the nuclear crisis isn’t in the daily headlines doesn’t mean the radiation danger is any less real for those living near it.

Jeff Kreuger of Gladstone, 34, has greater reason to worry. He lives in Nagano prefecture, 200 miles from the reactors, and has a wife and 1-year-old daughter.

“A lot of family and friends were saying ‘Get out of there quick,'” he says about the beginning of the crisis. “I wanted solid information on how dangerous it was here in Nagano.”

He found a Japanese website with real-time monitoring of radiation and another showing winds blowing airborne radiation to sea.

“I haven’t found evidence yet that would lead me to think we should evacuate,” he says. “And if we did go to Oregon, how would we live? Would I be able to find a job and support my family?”

He wonders if things would pan out because when he returned to Oregon in 2004, before he was married, he only managed to get a part-time job at a coffee shop, which came without health care and other benefits.

“For me, it was a hardscrabble existence,” he says. “I was living from paycheck to paycheck,” and found it difficult to pay for rent, food, car repairs and general living expenses.

When his previous employer in Nagano wanted him back to continue teaching English at the junior high school, tempting him with a rent-free apartment, car and no taxes on his generous salary, the decision was easy. Three years later, he married his Japanese girlfriend, Miho.

Whether it’s career, love life or vacation and employment benefits, we all have far greater potential to have those things here than in Oregon, which has brought us all to the same conclusion: The relatively minimal danger here while the disaster is brought under control, compounded by the grim economic forecast, is far less risky than a permanent move back to Oregon in the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, we all pine for the Northwest: the absence of sweltering summer humidity and the friendliness of everybody everywhere. Instead, we visit our loved ones and friends as often as we can.

We have to settle for the sight of the Cascade Range when flying in, the Columbia River and all those green trees and grass, and wide open spaces.

http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2011/08/expats_in_japan_face_hard_choi.html

An Immigration Stimulus for Japan

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Allowing in more foreign workers would boost growth, especially in quake-ravaged areas.

Recent economic data showed that Japan was slipping into recession even before the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11. In the aftermath of that natural disaster, putting the country back on an economic-growth track is doubly important as the government and businesses try to finance reconstruction. Given the urgency of the challenge, any and all pro-growth policy options should be on the table. That includes a controversial but important measure: immigration reform.

Population is a central problem confronting Japan. A falling birth rate and an aging population mean that the country has far too few young, productive workers. This will become even more noticeable as the current working generation begins to retire. Unless radical policies are implemented, it is simply a matter of time before manufacturing, consumption, tax receipts, fiscal health, the pension and welfare system, and the very ability of people to make a living will all collapse under the inexorable dual pressures of rapid aging and rapid declines in the young working population.

The only solution is to import more workers. I estimate that Japan needs to welcome some 10 million immigrants over the next 50 years to avoid the negative consequences of population decline. That would bring immigrant numbers to about 10% of the population, the level in the U.K., France and Germany.

Such numbers would spur growth because new markets and demand would arise for clothing, food, education, labor, finance, tourism and information. Robust immigration policies would encourage foreign investors to reassess long-term economic prospects, starting another virtuous cycle of interaction with the outside world.

Immigration will be critical to reinvigorating Japan’s most important industries. Take farming: The farming population of Japan declined by 750,000 between 2005 and 2010, bringing it to merely 2.6 million, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The average age of a farmer is 65.8 years.

This makes it a certainty that in 10 years, the farming population will decline by roughly half. The fishing industry faces the same fate. The population of fishermen and the volume of their catches are headed in the same direction: down, rapidly.

This demographic trend was already afflicting areas such as the rice-growing areas in Miyagi Prefecture that are now reeling from the March 11 disaster. Unless radical reform is implemented, the decline will only accelerate as older farmers balk at rebuilding and younger workers continue to flee. It will simply not be possible to rebuild local industries using only Japanese employees that have only a few more years in the workforce left.

Nor is the list of regions in need of immigration confined to those affected by the disaster. Aichi Prefecture, the heart of Japanese industry and home to iconic companies such as Toyota, is a case in point. The population that supported the economy in these areas in the past has declined. For instance, in Aichi prefecture not only did the total population decline between 2000 and 2009, but the percentage of working-age persons (age 15-64) dropped to 65.5% from 69.8%. Similar rapid trends have affected Niigata Prefecture, a rice-growing center, and the Sanriku Oki area, one of the finest fishing grounds in the world.

The problem extends deeper than mere numbers of workers. One consequence of a shrinking population is that visionaries and risk-takers—entrepreneurs in business, politics, education, journalism and the arts—become scarcer and scarcer. That compounds the phenomenon that a society that was highly homogeneous to begin with has educated its people with standardized content in a culture that discourages too much free thinking. Lack of fresh faces makes the country seem increasingly sterile.

Because Japan has traditionally been such a homogeneous place, many have feared the prospect of greater immigration. Yet a pro-immigration policy doesn’t have to undermine Japanese values or culture. If policy makers have the will to encourage greater immigration, they can find ways to do it well.

The centerpiece of any immigration policy would be to ensure the country attracts highly skilled workers and provides them with a clear path to integrate into Japanese society. To start, Japan needs a total overhaul of its system for foreign students and trainees. Currently those students have few or no prospects for staying permanently. Only 30% of foreign students graduating from Japanese universities stay in Japan. That number must be closer to 70%.

Not only must the government do more to attract students in a wider range of fields, including vocational areas such as agriculture, but policy makers must make it easier for those workers to stay permanently. A country with a declining population does not need guest workers. This would involve simplifying the procedure for gaining permanent residency and even citizenship. At a minimum, any foreign worker in steady employment should be able to apply for permanent status.

In some respects, boosting immigration can seem like a daunting task. The government needs to reform the pension system to cover workers who immigrate in mid-career; landlords must be more willing to accept non-Japanese tenants; citizenship laws need to offer citizenship from birth to the children of immigrants. Policy makers also will need to work to change the culture within companies. For instance, foreign workers often are discriminated against in terms of salary and promotion opportunities. Government should press the private sector to end this sort of practice.

These reforms would be significant, but none would require sacrificing the best features of Japanese life. For instance, government should actively encourage immigrants to master the language—and everyone should remember that children born to immigrants likely will grow up fluent if we ensure they’re allowed to integrate into society. And despite caricatures of frightening or violent foreigners in the popular imagination, immigration won’t compromise public safety as long as Japan is attracting highly skilled, employed immigrants and allowing them and their families opportunities for social and economic advancement.

Japan must recognize that globalization is here to stay, and should stake its very survival on accepting people elsewhere in the world as its brethren, and transforming itself into a much more multicultural, diverse society. It will be a large task, but Japan is past the point where easy solutions will do.

Mr. Sakanaka is executive director of the Humanitarian Immigrant Support Center in Tokyo. He previously served as the Chief of Entry and Residence at the Nagoya and Tokyo Immigration Bureaus.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303714704576384841676111236.html