Japan Press Weekly

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2015 January 28 - February 3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Teachers taking sick leave due to mental fatigue on the rise

The number of public school teachers who took sick leave due to emotional stress in FY 2013 increased by 118 to 5,078 from the previous year, the Education Ministry revealed on January 30. Excessively heavy workloads impose severe stress on teachers, unions contend.

This is the result of a survey conducted by the ministry involving 920,000 teachers of public high, junior high, elementary and special support schools across the country.

Yoneda Masayuki of the All Japan Teachers and Staff Union (Zenkyo) commented on the survey result as follows:

The increase in the prevalence of mental health problems among teachers has stemmed from the education ministry’s policy causing intense competition between schools to raise student scores in the nationwide achievement tests, the number of students who pass university entrance exams, and student performances in sporting events at both the national and local levels. In addition, teachers feel more pressured by the education authority’s tighter control over teachers through the introduction of various measures, including a performance-based salary system.

The education ministry should take the survey result seriously and improve teachers’ working conditions based on opinions from unions and labor experts. It should also increase the number of teachers and refrain from interfering in classrooms so that teachers can teach more effectively.

Past related articles:
> Many school teachers suffering from mental distress [December 25, 2012]
> 5,000 teachers take sick days due to emotional distress [December 18, 2013]