According to statistics by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, becoming a licensed schoolteacher in Japan got a little easier in the fiscal 2013.

The ministry figures show that nationally, an average one of 5.7 persons who took the exam passed it, which is 0.1 less than previous year. In Japan, all teachers who teach at public elementary, junior high, and high schools have to pass teacher employment examination tests that are conducted by the boards of education of prefectural and city governments.

The number of people who took the exam decreased 1.7 % to 177,820 people, while the number of new teachers increased 0.5 % to 31,259.

By school, this so-called competitive rate for elementary school teachers is 4.1, junior high schools 7.4, and high schools is 7.2. Kagoshima and Okinawa are the most competitive prefectures where aspiring teachers have to have the competitive rate of 11.5, followed by Miyagi and Miyazaki prefectures with 10.9, and 9.9 in Ehime Prefecture. The lowest figure is 3.4 in Toyama.

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