Inside Japan’s troubled classrooms.

Japan’s public school system is under growing strain. Teachers are burning out, working some of the longest hours in the developed world while juggling administrative work, club activities and large class sizes. At the same time, schools are facing rising pressure from parents, rapid changes driven by artificial intelligence and persistent staffing shortages.

More troubling still, a steady stream of cases involving sexual misconduct by teachers has exposed serious gaps in oversight and accountability. Despite the existence of national background-check systems, many schools have failed to use them, allowing offenders to move quietly between institutions.

In this episode of Japan Today Spotlight, we examine what is driving the crisis inside Japanese classrooms, how authorities are responding and why long-standing institutional weaknesses remain so difficult to fix.
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⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 Intro:
00:46 Burnout in Japan’s classrooms
02:35 Why teaching is breaking down in Japan
05:07 Monster parents in Japanese schools
06:27 AI meets Japan’s education system
07:37 Bad teachers in Japanese schools
11:12 Outro