Like many athletes, former long-distance runner Tatsunori Hamasaki once believed that he was not cut out for teaching. 

In 2017, after retiring from competitive running, Hamasaki became a city employee in Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture, and later co-founded a local athletics club.

As he began coaching children, Hamasaki's view on being a teacher changed.

“Seeing the kids improve based on what I taught them made me realize how rewarding teaching can be,” he said.

A growing number of former athletes in Japan such as Hamasaki are pursuing careers as physical education teachers despite the profession being demanding due to classroom responsibilities and extracurricular coaching duties. 

These former competitors are working full time while studying to earn their teaching certification, aiming to pass on their skills and life lessons to the next generation.

At a university gym in Saitama Prefecture on a weekend in June, about 20 men and women in their 20s and 30s gathered for a volleyball class.

They are enrolled in Seisa University, the only distance-learning institution in Japan offering both junior high and high school teaching licenses in health and physical education.

Although most of their coursework is done online, students gather periodically for hands-on training and group work.

Among them was Hamasaki, 37, a public employee from Okinawa Prefecture, who once dreamed of competing in the Olympic marathon when he was a track athlete.

At a university, where he twice competed in the prestigious Hakone Ekiden, a two-day road relay race between top university teams, he focused on running and didn’t have time to pursue teaching credentials.

After graduation, the situation remained the same as he continued to prioritize his athletic career.

Now serving as an external coach for a private high school track team, Hamasaki is working toward obtaining his teaching license.

He acknowledges that balancing work, study and coaching is challenging both in terms of time and finances. Still, he hopes to become a teacher so that he can use his experience to benefit students.

Seisa University welcomes students ranging from 18 to their 50s. For university graduates like Hamasaki, obtaining a PE teaching license typically requires 60 credits over two to three years.

The program attracts a wide range of students–professional athletes, former Olympians, teachers of other subjects, child care workers and hotel staff.

Some had previously dropped out of teacher training programs to focus on their sports careers, only to return to the path later in life.

“Many of them are retired athletes, now pursuing teaching as a second career,” said Satoshi Shibuya, professor of physical education at the university.

‘MY TURN TO GIVE BACK’

Former Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pitcher Yosuke Shimabukuro, 32, is one such case.

Before his college baseball and subsequent professional career, he led Okinawa’s Konan High School to a historic sweep of both the spring and summer titles at the National High School Baseball Championship in 2010.

As his playing career neared its end, he began to consider life after baseball.

“I’ve been coached and guided by so many people over the years. Now it’s my turn to give back,” he said.

In 2020, Shimabukuro returned to Konan High School as an administrative staff member and enrolled at Seisa University. Adjusting to an academic life after years of playing sports wasn’t easy.

“I didn’t even know how to write a proper report,” he said. “I had to learn everything from scratch.”

While also working as a baseball coach and finishing practice sessions as late as 8 p.m., Shimabukuro would stay up late into the night studying.

He traveled to on-site sessions in Tokyo, Fukuoka and Hokkaido--sometimes even during Okinawa’s high school baseball tournament season.

“Meeting athletes from other sports really broadened my perspective,” he said.

After five years of study, Shimabukuro finally earned his teaching license in March 2025. He now teaches health and physical education at his alma mater.

“The best part of teaching is seeing students grow right before your eyes,” he said. “I want to keep growing as a teacher myself.”

REFORM EYED AMID TEACHER SHORTAGE

Becoming a certified junior high or high school physical education teacher in Japan typically requires earning a standard teaching license through a university program. For working adults without prior teacher training, this process can take several years.

To address the nationwide teacher shortage and bring more diverse expertise into schools, the education ministry is considering reforms.

Proposed changes include reducing the number of required credits and establishing new teacher training programs at the graduate level.

The ministry is also encouraging greater use of special teaching licenses, which can be granted by prefectural education boards to individuals with specialized skills in specific subjects, such as former athletes.