Japan Data
Society
Education
Aug 18, 2025
A survey in Japan found that most teachers were working for an average of more than 10 hours each day.
Excessive Work
A survey conducted between May and June 2025 on a web platform for teachers run by the publishing company Shōgakukan, has found that more than 80% of school teachers in Japan reported working more than 10 hours each day on average. One in four teachers is working in excess of 12 hours a day. The results show that working beyond the legally mandated 8-hour workday has become the norm, with the average working time being 11.17 hours.
Among the teachers surveyed, 3,522, or 65.6% of the total, said that they take almost no breaks in the course of a day. The percentage shoots up to 85% when teachers who break for less than 15 minutes are included. The survey results show that a mere 1.5% of the teachers are taking breaks amounting to at least 45 minutes, as stipulated under Japan’s Labor Standards Act.
Many of the survey respondents said that they are not able to go to the bathroom at school because of the lack of breaks, and as a result some teachers have suffered recurrent bladder inflammation.
The survey also revealed that more than half of the respondents have to take work home at least three days a week. Many teachers surveyed commented that they “can’t concentrate at school, so it’s necessary to take work home” or that “there is simply no way to finish everything during school hours.” There were also grim comments such as the following: “Our workload keeps increasing, yet we’re encouraged to go home early. The result is that we have to take home a huge amount of work. I’ve had to give up on the idea of ever being happy since becoming a teacher.”
In addition, around 90% of the teachers surveyed do work on their days off, with 3,552 reporting that at least three or four days a month they have to do work on a weekend or holiday.
Despite such tough working conditions, around 70% of the respondents said that they continue to work as a teacher because they find joy and satisfaction in seeing students develop and connecting with them in the classroom.
Data Sources
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)
school
karōshi
teacher
AloJapan.com