Kirk here with something that is not specific to Kumamoto but is definitely relevant to the lives of folks in Kumamoto who are working as ALTs. I saw this article you see pictured in Japanese and thought it would surely have been published in English but, at this point, no such luck. But, never fear, AI to the rescue – I’ll append a ChatGPT translation of an abridged version of the article to this post.
The picture you see is one I downloaded from this Japanese Facebook post:
The English summary (“grossly underpaid”) is mine.
I’ll place a link to the online Asahi article after the translation.
— start translation — An ALT Teaching English Faces Severe Low Wages, Endures a Day on School Lunches: “Loneliness in the Staff Room”
Junichi Miyagawa, July 13, 2024, 3:00 PM
Surviving on School Lunches Due to Severe Low Wages
“My living expenses are falling short, and my debt increases every month. Even when asked if I want to get married, I can only say ‘I’m sorry’ because of my unstable life. I can’t even afford the train fare for a date.”
Jesse Ali (43; transliteration of ジェシー・アリ, spelling unverified), from California, USA, who works as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanagawa Prefecture, made this plea on June 17 in front of the staffing agency he contracts with.
Jesse became interested in Japan after meeting a Japanese exchange student in high school. From 2001, he studied abroad at International Christian University for two years while attending university in the US. After graduating from his American university, he returned to Japan. Through a major ALT dispatch company, he has taught in elementary, junior high, and high schools in Kanagawa Prefecture for a total of about 15 years.
At elementary schools, he is responsible for 5-6 periods per day at a single school, teaching English conversation and singing English songs with the children. Since the guidelines differ for each dispatching board of education, he needs to rearrange the content. He also puts effort into creating his own illustrated characters, among other ideas. He speaks about his sense of fulfillment: “I want students to enjoy communication and expand their international interests.”
“Even if I say I have no money, people don’t believe me”
However, Jesse says he doesn’t earn an income that matches his work. Although the number of lessons varies, even working five days a week, his monthly take-home pay is less than 200,000 yen. It decreases significantly during the spring break in March and April. There are no bonuses either. — end translation —
There’s more to the article but one has to register to view it. Here’s the URL:
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASS7D31SZS7DULFA02WM.html
Anyone know anything about this?