Oita Scandal

I haven't had free time to do anything since my workload increased, and haven't even turned on the TV since March 14 - there's an old TV Guide sitting in the living room and it's opened to that page, so that's probably the last day I watched TV. But I turned on the TV this week. Why? Because I wanted to watch the news to find out more about what everyone's been talking about: how Oita is on the national news every day for having a corrupt government/education system. My little section of Japanese countryside has become famous throughout all of Japan!

In Japan teachers are respected and their salaries are quite good, so it's natural for people to want to become teachers. Unfortunately, only a handful of people are allowed to pass the certification exams because of the few positions available, and the hundreds that don't pass continue taking the exam year after year hoping to one day pass. I've known so many people who knew what they were up against but kept trying anyway. It's especially difficult to become a high school teacher; a friend told me that only one person can be certified as a history teacher when a hundred people take the history certification test. The competition is compounded by the fact that there is an age limit to be certified as a teacher. I can't remember the exact age, but I think it was around 30, meaning that you have to be certified before then or give up (although you can still be a part-time teacher without passing the certification exam).

In the time that I've lived here, I've come to accept that having connections is more important than having qualifications. I've talked with so many people who have their jobs because their parents were friends with so-and-so or because a current employee recommended them for the job. Of course everyone goes through the application process, but the ones who have connections are chosen for the position. I've come to accept this as a normal part of Japanese culture. I could tell you dozens of examples... friends who knew they wouldn't get the job before going to the interview because someone at the company already recommended their friend, or companies that place ads for job openings with the implicit understanding that priority is given to those with connections to someone already working there. Many places don't even bother advertising, but simply ask the current employees if they know someone. Of course giving priority to people you know is natural and happens all over the world, but to a far greater extent here.

And I always thought that using these kinds of connections were simply a part of Japanese culture. But it seems that I may have been wrong. Is this only a part of Oita culture?

The scandal that has been plaguing Oita for these past couple weeks is in regard to teacher certification. A woman was arrested for giving out gift certificates in exchange for her children receiving priority in becoming certified as teachers. Then investigators discovered that the officials in charge of certifying new teachers routinely gave priority to friends and acquaintances, which I thought was a completely normal thing to do and something that everyone already knew about. Apparently this isn't normal throughout the rest of Japan, because several of Oita's BOE officials were arrested and the rest of Japan appears shocked by this "scandal". The BOE officials from other parts of Japan have been saying things like, "The situation in Oita is simply unbelievable" and "That would never happen here."

Really? Is it only Oita that's like that? Could my view of Japan be totally skewed?

Since the "scandal" has come to light, investigators have discovered that about half of the teachers in Oita were certified because they had connections or gave gifts to officials. I don't want to use the word "bribe" because giving gifts in return for favor is a part of Japanese culture, and it's hard to distinguish when the line is crossed into "bribery". Perhaps it's just Oita where gift-giving is so freely done, but I do know that gift-giving is practiced all over Japan.

If you want something, it's quite normal to use your connections and say "yoroshiku onegaishimasu". There really isn't an English equivalent but in this case it could be translated to mean something like, "I trust that you'll treat me well" or "Please give me priority". And when you tack on Japan's gift-giving culture, it becomes really difficult to know what is "bribery" and what is an interaction between friends.

The investigators have stated that they're going to revoke the teaching licenses of those who are found to have used connections or "bribes" to pass the certification exam, but this is proving to be a difficult task because test results in Oita were deleted (apparently other places save them for 10 years). There is also a movement to have the certification of teachers be done in a way that isn't connected to the current Board of Education and can't be influenced by government officials.

It just so happens that the teacher certification exams were held this weekend. I guess this year everyone is on equal ground and no one can use their connections. Good for those with ability, not so good for those who were expecting to pass.

Having only ever lived in Oita, I've begun to wonder if what I think of as "Japanese culture" is really only the culture of my small section of Japanese countryside.

Here's one article about the scandal but it's only the bare-bones facts about what's happening. The news clips and long-discussions on TV are much more interesting.

One other thing I find interesting: my recent conversations with teachers almost always include some anecdote or information that would let me know that they got their certification without anyone's help. Yesterday a woman told me that she got her certification during Japan's "bubble period"; a time when there were so many well-paying jobs that few people aspired to be teachers and it was easy to pass the certification exams, suggesting that there wasn't a need for her to use connections. Another person mentioned how poor her family was growing up, suggesting that it would have been impossible to bribe anyone. I've been hearing lots of these stories lately.

Students have also been gossipping like crazy about which teachers probably used connections to get their jobs... "so-and-so isn't a very good teacher so probably passed the exam because of connections". Considering that half of them got their jobs through connections, I know a lot of people who are in danger of losing their teaching licenses. When school starts again in September, I'm curious to see who suddenly isn't there.