Mandatory English education classes are slated to begin in primary schools in Japan in 2011. An organization called The Elementary English Instructor’s Certification Committee, based in Tokyo, oversees the certification of elementary school English teachers in preparation for this mandate.

However, according to published reports, the majority of currently certified teachers are either private English conversation school staff or flight attendants, with few professional elementary school English teachers being certified. Most of these certificate holders work as volunteer or part-time staff to assist in the teaching of English.

The certification program is not open to foreigners or other non-Japanese living in Japan, as Education regulations prohibit the employment of non-Japanese in teaching positions in public schools in Japan.

Day 23 Update:

The replacement iMac finally arrived.

Day 22 Update:

I had a lengthy conversation with a manager at Apple’s corporate headquarters in the U.S. today and he promised to look into this matter on both sides of the Pacific and bring it to a prompt resolution.

Day 21 Update:

It has been more than a week since Apple support promised me I would receive a replacement for my dead iMac “within a week” and it has not arrived. I called them today and asked where it was and I was told simply that it was “transporting.” They couldn’t tell me exactly where it was or whether it was being shipped from the U.S. by plane or by ship (they said they didn’t have any new iMacs in japan). When I asked for the name of the shipping company and the tracking number I was told that that information was a company secret that I was not allowed to have, even though we were talking about my iMac that I paid more than ￥200000 for.

Apple support in Japan is, quite frankly, the worst support I have ever received anywhere. Let the buyer beware.

My Mid-2007 iMac languishes in Apple Japan’s repair center waiting for parts, and they tell me they have no idea when the needed parts will arrive. One would think that a computer company would be able to track its parts by computer.

I was hoping that the programming change at CNNj the first of this month was just an April Fools joke, but it appears to be permanent.  Most of the American news shows have been expunged, including Lou Dobbs and American Morning, leaving just The Situation Room and Anderson Cooper 360 as the only daily news shows remaining from the U.S.  (well, Larry King also lingers on, if you consider that news).

The remaining news coverage comes from the CNN office in Hong Kong, where they take a disgracefully gentle approach in covering the protests over China’s brutal oppression of Tibet that are following the Olympic torch on its way to Beijing.

There was also in depth coverage of elections in Nepal and Zimbabwe this morning.  I think there’s an election going on somewhere else, too, but I can’t remember where.  Apparently CNNj can’t, either.

Oh well, if you have trouble falling asleep at night, CNNj might just be the remedy.

A recent survey of public school English teachers indicated that more than half of them believe they need additional training to improve their English skills. Of that group, nearly 80 percent reported that they needed training specifically in how to teach English, and about 60 percent reported that they needed to improve their own English language communication skills.

Nearly 60 percent also reported that they had taken training courses provided by their local boards of education, but only about 30 percent of those reported that the training courses were effective. About 30 percent also reported that they had attended private English conversation schools or studied on their own at home at their own expense in an effort to improve their English skills.

Considering the lack of English competency of Japan’s high school graduates in general, one has to wonder about the other half of teachers in the survey, who felt that their English teaching skills were not in need of improvement.

A recent survey of Japanese ISPs indicated that almost half are quietly restricting bandwidth based on individual usage.  Most Japanese ISPs offer flat-rate service, which means that you are not charged based on the amount of bandwidth you use per month.  The names of the ISPs who participated in the survey were not disclosed, but if you do a lot of streaming and you periodically experience unexplained slowdowns, your bandwidth may be getting quietly throttled.

Recorded message on Apple Japan’s English language support line:

Thank you for calling Apple. Your call will be answered in order, once we was received.

We have redone this website yet again in an effort to make it more spam resistant and keep it useful for our intended users.  New content is on the way.  Stay tuned….