By ARLENE INOUYE
The teacher in Japan is often thought of as highly respected, as someone students and parents would bow down to and consider honorable. They are seen as caring for the holistic child, willing to go beyond the demands of the job, and one would assume compensated well.
If you believe this image, I want you to know that it is far from today’s reality. That image of the teacher in Japan has not existed for many years. Like the U.S., the neoliberal agenda has created a deteriorating situation for educators as wages have remained stagnant but costs have risen. High test scores have been promoted at the expense of the needs of the students and educators.
While there are regional differences and situational differences (private vs. public schools), teachers in Japan are often overworked, underpaid (and expected to do additional duties without compensation on average of 96 hours a month), sometimes bullied and are often transferred (without their consent).
And yet while teachers still deeply care for their students, the impact on their mental and physical health has led to tragic consequences such as a high rate of educator suicides.
Last summer and this summer I presented at an educational workshop in Japan using the “When We Fight” documentary about our 2019 UTLA strike, and this year the sequel that focuses on how we organized to transform our union, called “We Build Power.”
I designed two days of workshops with a team that included a city councilman who has implemented educational change in his hometown of Tosa-cho on the beautiful island of Shikoku, my translator and a labor lawyer, both with an organizing background. There, surrounded by a beautiful lake and green trees, a group came together that included 45 educators from across Japan, deeply interested people from a cross-section of jobs, and five university/young adults.
A goal of the workshops was attempting to get at the heart of the struggle in Japan in building a strong collective educational movement that centers students, supports educators, and involves parents and community. The theme was “Making a Movement to Change Society,” emphasizing the solidarity and democratic process essential to its development. We focused on the one-on-one listening conversations, messaging, and how to build escalating collective actions that are a foundation for increasing power.
While in the ’70s and ’80s Japan had a strong teacher’s movement, with frequent strikes and militant positions such as “We will never send our students to war again,” over the past years, the unions have been divided and weakened and are described as having a service union approach. The educator density rate in Japan is on average 20-40% depending upon the specific region. Often someone joins the union only to have a personal grievance addressed, and once resolved, they leave.
Organizing typically does not include a larger purpose that will improve the conditions for students and educators and has a vision for a broader social justice agenda. However. the Zenroren/Zenkyo Union has moved in this direction.
This was what we tackled in the two-day workshop — HOW they move from a focus on the individual to a collective movement with a larger vision and goal. And this is what we experienced in UTLA as we transformed our union from a service union to organizing union in 2014.
We viewed and discussed the documentaries “When We Fight” and “We Build Power,” shared in small groups, and had large-group comments and questions. Teachers and community participated in role-playing one-on-one conversations on the controversial topic of bukatsu or additional club activities, and how to identify feelings, relay them back while framing the choices (you can either continue taking on the additional workload or resist to make a change).
The engagement, positive energy, and enthusiasm were palpable. I heard comments such as “I feel power,” “We can do it,” and “I’m not alone” as they found colleagues to work with. Educators are building a solid foundation in Japan and I feel honored to be part of this. They want more, and I look forward to continuing to build this movement of change.
Following the education camp, I was invited to Kobe for a historic meeting between the two largest teacher unions in the country, Nikkokyo and Zenkyo, where they were determined to work together and be the spark that creates change for Japan. One big difference between Japan and the U.S. is that in Japan the national education unions do not work together on their common issues. It was a breakthrough to have this unofficial meeting to lay the groundwork as they shared concerns and feelings in small groups. The women in particular commented after seeing the UTLA women participating and leading the strike that they felt empowered and that “We can do it too.”
While passivity and individualism are often barriers, their small-group dialogue brought out their shared passion around what they are experiencing and wanting to change. Issues surfaced such as large class sizes, bullying, unsafe schools, to being involuntarily transferred to different schools, and no time for them to collaborate and talk during the school day.
Mothers also expressed the challenges of having children and teaching. While Japan has a crisis with low birth rates and the closure of schools, the deeper needs of women need to be addressed.
There were other amazing opportunities inserted into my two weeks in Japan. It was a treat to hear student organizing projects at an advanced sociology program at Sophia University, as the 22 students identified key issues and developed an organizing plan that they presented for feedback to the class. Their response to “When We Fight” was inspirational as they saw a specific organizing plan carried out with a massive collective action that created a change.
Additionally, I was able to interact with union staff and members at Zenroren and Zekyo about the current political situation in the U.S. and L.A. and how we are resisting the Trump attacks on undocumented families in L.A.
I feel that the steady and grounding work of organizing is taking place in Japan and I am grateful to be part of their transformation. Going to Japan is bringing me back full circle as nearly 150 years ago my grandparents ventured to California to escape poverty and to create a better life for the generations to come.
As a third-generation Sansei, our generation is the window between the past and the future. Our grandparents and parents have passed and we carry the memory and knowledge of our history and struggles to our children and children’s children. As we honor our roots in Japan, we also join together with the mission of creating a better future in Japan, the U.S. and the world.
Arlene Inouye is the multimedia textbook outreach advisor at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and former secretary, treasurer and bargaining co-chair of United Teachers Los Angeles. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo