The 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan may seem a long way off, but in Japan the Tokyo authorities are already beginning to plan for the influx of foreign tourists and athletes.

And the first step is increasing the number of English teachers in the country.

Right now in Tokyo state schools there are just 5 native English speaking assistants. This is set to increase to 100 next year and then 200 in 2015 so that eventually every school will have a native English speaker working alongside their Japanese colleagues.

Meanwhile, 200 Japanese English teachers are being sent to foreign universities to study English teaching techniques.

Useful Links

Teaching English in Japan – all about teaching English in Japan.