Japan to Increase Its U.S. Imports--of English Teachers

Japan’s education minister said Tuesday that he will bring 1,000 English-language teachers from the United States in an effort to help ease U.S.-Japan frictions.

“When Japanese (speak English), they use words in a Japanese-style way and that can block the understanding between the two countries,” Education Minister Masayuki Fujio told a U.S.-Japan educational conference.

The ministry hired 79 foreigners to teach English in state-run schools this year, but Fujio said that should be increased more than ten-fold in 1987. English is taught in all state schools from age 13, but most teachers are Japanese.

“In the future, I would like to get the total to 5,000 or 10,000,” Fujio said.