Photo/Illutration The education ministry building in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan’s education ministry will start encouraging schools to hire Olympians and Paralympians as teachers as part of a move to nurture students with an obvious flair for sports.

The ministry notified education boards and other authorities across the country of the plan on Sept. 13.

Athletes, by their very nature, have “expert knowledge gained through experiences that got them to such a stage,” education minister Masahito Moriyama said at a news conference following a Cabinet meeting. “I think they can exert a positive influence on students and other teachers.”

The ministry operates a special teaching license system under which a license limited to a specific course is given by prefectural education boards to those who have a particular expertise, such as Ph.D. holders and athletes.

It means candidates do not have to be armed with teaching qualifications.

The ministry is promoting the system to help address a dire shortage of teachers and to secure diversity at schools.

In the 2022 academic year, special teaching licenses were issued to 500 individuals.

Athletes who have competed in the Olympics, Paralympics and Deaflympics, which is held for the hearing-impaired, will be eligible for a special teaching license.

The ministry will soon compile a list of eligible athletes who are interested in teaching and provide study materials for their training.

If publicly-run schools decide to hire them, it will also allow them to increase their hiring quota.

Ministry officials said they expect sports-oriented teachers to focus on health and physical education, in addition to giving guidance to students with competitive skills in sports and supervising extracurricular club activities at senior high schools.

(This story was written by Chika Yamamoto and Amane Shimazaki.)

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