Japan's 4,317 Teacher Shortage — Why No One Wants to Teach
Japan's teacher shortage has grown approximately 1.7 times in four years, according to MEXT's latest survey. Three structural factors — declining recruitment competition, exhaustion of substitute teacher pools, and surging demand from special support classes — are eroding the foundation of public education.
TL;DR
- Teacher shortages in public schools grew from 2,558 in FY2021 to 4,317 at the start of FY2025 — approximately 1.7x in four years
- Competition ratios for teacher recruitment exams have fallen to historic lows, signaling a shrinking pipeline of prospective teachers
- The rapid expansion of special support classes has increased staffing requirements, while the pool of temporary substitute teachers has dried up
What Is Happening
Teacher shortages have grown approximately 1.7x in 4 years, with 2,828 schools starting the year without full staffing.
In March 2026, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released its FY2025 Teacher Shortage Survey, laying bare the crisis facing public education. At the start of the 2025 school year, 4,317 teaching positions across public elementary, junior high, high schools, and special support schools went unfilled, affecting 2,828 schools nationwide. Principals serving as classroom teachers and vice-principals taking on regular classes are no longer exceptions — they are the norm.
Shortage at start of year grew ~1.7x in 4 years (2,558 → 4,317).
As of May 1, the figure improved to 3,827, partly due to mid-year hiring of temporary teachers. But compared to the same date four years earlier (2,065), the shortage has grown by approximately 1.85 times.
By school type (as of May 1): elementary schools 1,699; junior high schools 1,031; high schools 508; and special support schools 589. The shortage rate for special support schools stands at 0.71% — the highest among all school types.
Special support schools have the highest shortage rate (0.71%), driven by rapid growth in special support classes.
Children starting a new school year without a homeroom teacher assigned. This fact alone reveals that the teacher shortage is not an abstract statistical problem, but a crisis directly affecting individual learning.
Background and Context
Declining exam competition, substitute teacher pool exhaustion, and special support class expansion form a triple structural crisis.
Declining Recruitment Competition — A Profession No Longer Chosen
At the root of the teacher shortage lies a shrinking applicant pool. The overall competition ratio for public school teacher recruitment exams peaked at 13.3x in FY2000, then fell steadily to a record low of 3.4x in FY2022. For elementary schools, some municipalities have seen ratios drop below 2x.
This decline is not simply about "less competition." It carries the risk of being unable to maintain the quality of new hires. As private-sector starting salaries rise and recruiting timelines move earlier, teaching has become associated with "long hours and low pay," dropping in priority among university graduates' career choices.
The Japan Teachers' Union has also reported a decline in students aspiring to become teachers. Some teacher training programs at universities are failing to fill their enrollment quotas, indicating that the shortage begins at the training stage.
Depletion of Temporary Teachers — The Buffer Has Broken
Japan's public school staffing model assigns regular (full-time, permanent) teachers to established positions and fills gaps from maternity leave, sick leave, and other absences with "temporarily appointed teachers" (rinji-teki nin'yō kyōin). These temporary teachers have become the direct bottleneck of the shortage.
Historically, candidates who failed the regular teacher recruitment exam often served as temporary teachers while awaiting another opportunity. However, as competition ratios fell, a higher proportion of candidates secured regular positions, shrinking the temporary teacher "pool." Furthermore, the unstable conditions of non-regular employment — annual contracts, no retirement benefits, pay disparities — have pushed potential candidates toward the private sector.
A report by the House of Councillors Research Office (Teacher Shortage and Responses, 2024) identifies the difficulty of securing temporary teachers as the primary driver of shortages. Even if regular hiring increases, it simultaneously shrinks the temporary pool — a structural dilemma.
Surging Special Support Classes — A Shift in Demand
A third structural factor is the expansion of special needs education. Enrollment in special support classes has roughly doubled over the past decade, requiring corresponding increases in teacher allocations.
Approximately one-quarter of special support class homeroom teachers are temporary appointees. The reliance on non-regular staff in a domain demanding specialized expertise presents serious quality concerns.
Reading the Structure
The shortage is not merely a staffing gap but reflects a fundamental devaluation of the teaching profession.
The teacher shortage operates on three layers.
Layer 1: Shrinking Supply. The number of people aspiring to teach is declining. This reflects societal perceptions of compensation and working conditions — problems that short-term recruitment measures alone cannot resolve.
Layer 2: Buffer Failure. The dual-track staffing system of regular and temporary teachers has broken down as the temporary pool has dried up. The system's foundational assumption — "substitute teachers are always available" — no longer holds.
Layer 3: Structural Demand Shift. The diversification of educational needs, symbolized by the growth of special support classes, is pushing up required staffing levels. Advancing inclusive education is socially important, but the human resource base has not kept pace.
Teachers' average overtime hours remain extensive, and the "Kyutokuho" (Special Measures Act on Salaries of Educational Personnel) — which provides a flat 4% adjustment in lieu of overtime pay — has been repeatedly criticized for its disconnect from reality. A 2024 policy to raise this to 10% was announced, but many view it as insufficient to close the gap with private-sector compensation.
The core of the issue is this: behind the phenomenon of "not enough teachers" lies the structure of "teaching is not chosen." Increasing hiring quotas, improving temporary teacher compensation, reducing workload — all are necessary measures, but implementing them individually will not change the overall structure. What is needed is a fundamental response to the question of how to redefine the social value of teaching and design systems that match that value.
Related Guides
Related Columns
- The Structure of Free High School Tuition
- Cross-Analysis of School Non-Attendance
- The Youth Mental Health Crisis
References
FY2025 Teacher Shortage Survey — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. MEXT
Teacher Shortage Survey (FY2021) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. MEXT
Teacher Shortage and Responses — Securing Public Education's Workforce — House of Councillors Research Office. Legislation and Research
Implementation Status of Public School Teacher Recruitment Exams — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. MEXT
