Japan

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Japan
Teachers and teaching conditions (TALIS 2024)
  • In Japan, teachers are on average 42 years old, which is lower than the OECD average of 45 years. Since 2018, the share of teachers aged 50 and above has not changed.
  • Just over one-quarter of teachers, 26%, have non-teaching work experience (lower than the OECD average: 57%).
  • Schools where more than one in ten students have a first language different from the language of instruction employ 2% of teachers (lower than the OECD average: 25%). The share of teachers who feel they can adapt their teaching to cultural diversity “quite a bit” or “a lot” is 27% (lower than the OECD average: 63%).
  • Less than one-third of teachers, 28%, feel they can support students’ social and emotional learning “quite a bit” or “a lot” (lower than the OECD average: 73%).
  • At least one hybrid or online lesson in the last month was reported in schools where 43% of teachers work (higher than the OECD average: 16%).
  • Fewer than one in five teachers, 17%, report having used artificial intelligence (AI) in their work (lower than the OECD average: 36%).
  • Among novice teachers (with up to five years of experience), 41% have an assigned mentor (higher than the OECD average: 26%). This share has not changed since 2018.
  • A total of 40% of teachers report that the professional learning activities they participated in during the previous 12 months had a positive impact on their teaching (lower than the OECD average: 55%).
  • The most frequent forms of collaboration among teachers include: engaging in discussions about the learning development of specific students (53%), teaching jointly as a team in the same class (50%), and exchanging teaching materials with colleagues (41%).
  • In Japan, 30% of teachers “agree” or “strongly agree” that teachers are valued in society (higher than the OECD average: 22%). This share decreased by 5 percentage points since 2018.
  • Just over one-third of teachers, 37%, “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are satisfied with their terms of employment, excluding salaries (lower than the OECD average: 68%). Satisfaction decreased by 3 percentage points since 2018.
  • Less than one-third of teachers, 29%, “agree” or “strongly agree” that they are satisfied with their salaries (lower than the OECD average: 39%). This share decreased by 13 percentage points since 2018.
  • The most commonly reported sources of stress are: having too much administrative work to do (63%), addressing parent or guardian concerns (56%), and keeping up with changing requirements from authorities (43%).
  • The share of teachers who report that, all in all, they are satisfied with their jobs is 79% (lower than the OECD average: 89%). This share decreased by 3 percentage points since 2018.
  • Among teachers under age 30, 20% express their intention of leaving teaching within the next five years (similar to the OECD average: 20%). This share increased by 6 percentage points since 2018.
  • In Japan, the share of principals who report that, all in all, they are satisfied with their job is 83% (lower than the OECD average: 94%). The share of principals satisfied with their jobs decreased by 10 percentage points between 2018 and 2024 (the OECD average decreased by 2 percentage points during the same period).
  • Over 34% of principals are satisfied with their salary (lower than the OECD average: 49%). Between 2018 and 2024, the share of principals who are satisfied with their salary did not change (the OECD average increased by 6 percentage points during the same period).
  • 51% of principals are satisfied with their non-salary employment terms (lower than the OECD average: 66%). Between 2018 and 2024, the share of principals who are satisfied with their non-salary employment terms did not change (the OECD average did not change during the same period).
  • In Japan, 82% of principals observed instruction in the classroom ‘often’ or ‘very often’ in the 12 months prior to the survey (higher than the OECD average: 49%), and 55% gave feedback to teachers based on their observation (similar to the OECD average: 56%). Between 2018 and 2024, classroom observation by principals increased by 13 percentage points (the OECD average increased by 7 percentage points during the same period).
  • Around 65% of principals use teachers’ school- and classroom-based results as part of formal teacher appraisal (similar to the OECD average: 62%). Between 2018 and 2024, the use of school- and classroom-based results as part of formal teacher appraisal decreased by 14 percentage points (the OECD average decreased by 9 percentage points during the same period).
  • In Japan, 70% of principals report that students have opportunities to actively participate in school decisions (lower than the OECD average: 85%). Between 2018 and 2024, the share of principals reporting that their school enables students to participate in school decisions increased by 37 percentage points (the OECD average increased by 6 percentage points during the same period).

* Estimates for Alberta (Canada), the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway should be interpreted with caution due to higher risk of non-response bias.
| Country Note | Country Note on Principals | TALIS 2024 : The State of Teaching | The Value of School Principals in TALIS 2024 | TALIS 2024 Conceptual Framework | TALIS 2024 Conceptual and Assessment Framework | Japan in TALIS | Education policies: Teachers  | Education policies: Teachers  |

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The following list displays indicators for which your selected country shows the highest and lowest values among countries. The list can be sorted by level of education or by age group. All rankings are calculated including available data from OECD and partner countries. Find out more about the methodology here.

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Who the teachers are

Compared to other TALIS countries, a smaller proportion of teachers in Japan are female. (40.9 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Who the principals are

Compared to other TALIS countries, a smaller proportion of principals in Japan are female. (7 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Principals in Japan are on average older than principals in most other TALIS countries. (58.1 %, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Initial and induction training of teachers

The proportion of recent lower secondary teacher graduates in Japan who reported that their initial education prepared them well for teaching in a multicultural or multilingual setting was among the lowest across countries with available data. (16.6 %, rank 53/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the percentage of recent lower secondary teacher graduates who felt well prepared by their initial education to use digital resources and tools for teaching was among the lowest across countries with available data. (37 %, rank 53/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' practices

On average, teachers in Japan report spending less hours per week teaching. (17.8 Hours/week, rank 52/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The proportion of lower secondary teachers in Japan who feel confident supporting students’ social and emotional learning “quite a bit” or “a lot” was among the lowest across countries with available data. (27.7 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The proportion of lower secondary teachers in Japan who indicated a high level of need for approaches to individualised learning was among the highest across participating countries. (44.9 %, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the share of novice lower secondary teachers indicating a high level of need for approaches to individualised learning was among the largest across participating countries. (53.5 %, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the share of lower secondary teachers who reported fulfilling their lesson aims “quite a bit” or “a lot” across all seven TALIS areas was among the lowest across countries with available data. (17 %, rank 54/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The proportion of novice lower secondary teachers in Japan who reported fulfilling their lesson aims “quite a bit” or “a lot” across all seven TALIS areas was among the lowest across countries with available data. (16.8 %, rank 54/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

ICT for teaching

The percentage of lower secondary teachers in Japan working in schools where at least one lesson was taught hybrid or online in the last month was among the highest across countries with available data. (43.4 %, rank 4/54 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the share of lower secondary teachers reporting that they have used artificial intelligence (AI) in their work was among the smallest across countries with available data. (17.4 %, rank 54/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teaching students with special needs

A larger proportion of teachers report a high level of need to develop their skills to teach students with special needs. (44.3 %, rank 5/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the percentage of lower secondary teachers who feel “quite a bit” or “a lot” they can design learning tasks to accommodate students with special education needs was among the lowest across countries with available data. (29.2 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The proportion of novice lower secondary teachers in Japan who reported a high level of need for teaching students with special education needs was among the highest compared to other countries. (53.5 %, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teaching in multicultural settings

Japan has a smaller share of teachers feeling they can cope with the challenges of a multicultural classroom "quite a bit" or "a lot" in teaching a culturally diverse class. (27.1 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, less teachers have at least 10% of students whose first language is different from the language of instruction in their class. (1.9 %, rank 52/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teacher leadership and autonomy

The percentage of lower secondary teachers in Japan who “agree” or “strongly agree” that their school encourages staff to lead new initiatives was among the lowest across countries with available data. (64.6 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Principals' practices

In Japan, the proportion of lower secondary principals who agree that the school provides students with opportunities to actively participate in school decisions is among the lowest across countries with available data. (69.7 %, rank 51/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' autonomy, collegiality and collaboration

Compared to most other TALIS countries, Japan has a lower proportion of teachers who participate in collaborative professional learning in their school at least once a month. (5.7 %, rank 53/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The percentage of lower secondary teachers in Japan who reported working with colleagues to ensure common standards in evaluations for assessing student progress at least once a month was among the lowest across countries with available data. (25 %, rank 51/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the share of lower secondary teachers who “agree” or “strongly agree” that their principal has good professional relationships with staff was among the smallest compared to other countries. (79.9 %, rank 52/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers' satisfaction with their jobs

A smaller proportion of teachers are satisfied with their job relative to most other TALIS countries. (78.8 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Compared to most other TALIS countries, Japan has a low proportion of teachers who, apart from their salary, are satisfied with the terms of their teaching contract/employment. (37.3 %, rank 55/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Status of the teaching profession

The share of lower secondary teachers in Japan who “agree” or “strongly agree” that teachers are valued by parents and guardians was among the smallest across countries with available data. (45 %, rank 53/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Principals' satisfaction with their jobs

A smaller proportion of principals are satisfied with their job relative to most other TALIS countries. (83.4 %, rank 54/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teachers’ working conditions, mobility and risk of attrition

The average number of hours worked per week by full-time lower secondary teachers in Japan was among the highest across countries with available data. (55.1 Hours/week, rank 1/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

The average time spent on administrative work by full-time lower secondary teachers in Japan was among the longest across countries with available data. (5.2 Hours/week, rank 2/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

Teacher stress factors

The proportion of lower secondary teachers in Japan reporting stress from addressing parent or guardian concerns was among the highest across countries with available data. (56.4 %, rank 3/55 , 2024) Download Indicator

In Japan, the percentage of lower secondary teachers who reported stress from having too much work on diversity and equity issues was among the highest across countries with available data. (42.1 %, rank 4/55 , 2024) Download Indicator


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General findings

                        

                            

                                
  • Teachers are aging in many education systems. While the average age of teachers is around 45 years old, more than one out of two teachers are 50 or older.
  • Prior non-teaching work experience is more and more common for teachers. In around half of the education systems, at least one out of two teachers have prior non-teaching work experience.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teachers | 

                            

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  • Around one in three teachers report having used artificial intelligence (AI) in their work, on average across OECD education systems.
  • Many teachers – especially female and experienced teachers – report meeting key lesson aims, though supporting students' social and emotional learning remains challenging.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher practices | Education policies: Learning time and Disciplinary climate | Education policies: Special needs | Education policies: Migrant background | Education policies: Digital divide | 

                            

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  • The large majority of teachers are satisfied with their profession, which indicates that most teachers find meaning and personal fulfilment in their work. Almost nine in ten teachers report that they are satisfied with their jobs overall.
  • Administrative workload remains a considerable demand for teachers. About half of teachers report excessive administrative work as a source of work-related stress, particularly those with more than ten years of experience.
  • Discipline and behaviour issues as sources of stress are important predictors of teachers’ fulfilment of their lesson aims, their well-being, job satisfaction and their intention to leave teaching. About one in five teachers report experiencing significant disruptive noise and disorder in their classrooms, and the share of time spent on maintaining discipline has increased since 2018.
  • Teachers are spending more time working together compared to 2018. Full-time teachers report spending around 3 hours per week participating in teamwork and dialogue with colleagues. Teachers who report good professional relationships with principals, other teachers, parents and guardians, and students tend to report higher well-being and job satisfaction.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher working conditions | 

                            

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  • Administrative workload remains a considerable demand for teachers. About half of teachers report excessive administrative work as a source of work-related stress, particularly those with more than ten years of experience.
  • Discipline and behaviour issues as sources of stress are important predictors of teachers’ fulfilment of their lesson aims, their well-being, job satisfaction and their intention to leave teaching. About one in five teachers report experiencing significant disruptive noise and disorder in their classrooms, and the share of time spent on maintaining discipline has increased since 2018.
  • Teachers’ satisfaction with their terms of employment (including salary) has increased in many education systems since 2018.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher working conditions | Education policies: Class size & Student-teacher ratio | 

                            

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  • Mentoring is gaining popularity. About one in four novice teachers (teachers with up to five years of teaching experience) has an assigned mentor.
  • While nearly all teachers participate in continuous professional learning, not all of them find that doing so has a positive impact on their teaching. Just 55% of teachers report that the professional learning activities they participated in during the 12 months preceding the survey had a positive impact on their teaching.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher initial education | Education policies: Teacher professional development | 

                            

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  • Teachers are spending more time working together compared to 2018. Full-time teachers report spending around 3 hours per week participating in teamwork and dialogue with colleagues. Teachers who report good professional relationships with principals, other teachers, parents and guardians, and students tend to report higher well-being and job satisfaction.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: School leadership | Education policies: Teacher practices | 

                            

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  • Feedback and appraisal are common features of teachers’ professional lives. On average across OECD education systems, 88% of teachers report receiving feedback from their school principal, 61% from assigned mentors and 55% from external individuals or bodies. At the same time, principals report that only less than 6% of teachers are never formally appraised.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher appraisal | 

                            

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  • Across OECD countries, 93.8% of principals in lower secondary stated that they were satisfied with their job. However, only 49% reported being satisfied with the salary they receive for their work and 66% with their term of employment (excluding salaries).
  • On average, principals in lower secondary education are around 52 years old in OECD countries, and women represent 54.7% of them.
  • Principals can be quite stressed by administrative work. Indeed, 68.5% stated that it was the source of "quite" or "a lot" of stress.

                            

                            

                                | Education policies: Teacher appraisal | 

                            

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				Key
            

            Diagram of funding flows - Japan
            

            

        



        
		

            

			Click on the coverpage to see the full OECD iLibrary version
			

				Key
            

            Country Reviews for Japan
            

            

			

        

		
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
        

            Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple
            most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, 
			such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important
            areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website
            for each publication.

            All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/members-partners.html
            


			
            Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some 
			countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. 
			However, OECD averages from Education at a Glance coming from the OECD database are the averages for the indicator reference year appearing in the Education GPS and may differ from averages in the book where averages can include data from multiple reference years, based on countries' data availability.
			


			To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2026 for school year 2025/2026 in the Northern Hemisphere.
			


	    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. 
		This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS averages.
		Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and 
		Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes 
		of EAG 2025 for more details about the data collections.
		


        For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.