Photo/Illutration An after-school classroom at an elementary school (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Exacerbating the shortage of educators across Japan, the number of teacher’s licenses issued in fiscal 2020 dropped below 200,000 for the first time on record.

A total of 196,357 teacher’s licenses were issued that fiscal year, which ended in March 2021, a decrease of 7,440 from the year earlier and the lowest number since comparable data became available in fiscal 2003, according to an education ministry survey released in June.

The declines in new teachers were particularly steep at junior and senior high schools.

The teaching profession has become notorious for its heavy workloads and long working hours.

A committee of the Central Council for Education, an advisory organization to the ministry, is now discussing measures to reduce the burden at teacher training courses to combat the decreasing number of applicants for the licenses.

The ministry plans to revise the system after it receives a recommendation from the committee later this year.

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According to ministry figures for fiscal 2020: 28,187 licenses were issued for elementary school teachers (a decrease of 146 from the previous year); 44,297 (1,712) for junior high school teachers; 52,629 (2,355) for senior high school teachers; 12,300 (1,094) for special-needs school teachers; and 44,225 (1,928) for kindergarten teachers.

The decline at senior high schools was the steepest, at nearly 40 percent from fiscal 2006 when a record high of about 83,000 licenses were issued.

The drop at junior high schools was at least 20 percent from fiscal 2006 when about 58,000 licenses were issued.

Licenses for elementary school teachers increased by about 4,000 from fiscal 2003 when they hit a record low. The figure has remained level in recent years.

Prefectural education boards issue teacher’s licenses to applicant students who have completed their teacher training courses at universities and other institutions.

Licenses for elementary school teachers can only be obtained at education departments and similar institutions attended mainly by students aspiring to become educators.

Licenses for junior and senior high school teachers are also available to students in science, engineering, literature and other departments. The number of these licenses issued is easily affected by the popularity of teaching careers and the employment situation in the private sector at the time.

The number of candidates for teacher employment examinations for public schools has been decreasing.

The figure for public senior high schools in fiscal 2021 hit a record low of 26,163, while junior high schools saw the eighth straight year of decline at 44,105.

“It seems that the sharp drop in the number of issued licenses has led to a decrease in the number of candidates for examinations,” a ministry official said.

The official noted that the decrease became particularly pronounced after fiscal 2017.

That year, an education ministry survey showed about 60 percent of junior high school teachers worked 80 or more overtime hours per month, putting them at risk of “karoshi” (death from overwork).

“It is possible that (the survey) had an influence,” the official said.

Another underlying cause of the decrease could be that students took advantage of increased opportunities to study abroad or joined extended internship programs, reducing their time to prepare for teacher training courses, the official added.

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