author

 
 

Meta

James McCrostie
James McCrostie is a full-time university lecturer and part-time writer. He writes mainly about labor issues related to the English-teaching industry.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 18, 2009
TOEIC: Where does the money go?
In a country of test-takers, the Test of English for International Communication has become one of Japan's most recognized exams. In 2008, people in Japan paid ¥4,040 — or slightly less if their company or school paid a ¥100,000 membership fee — to take the TOEIC Institutional Program (IP) at their...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 11, 2009
TOEIC no turkey at 30
The Test of English for International Communication turns 30 this year. In three decades it has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the best-known tests in Japan. In December 1979, 3,000 people sat the first TOEIC. In 2008, people in Japan took it 1.7 million times. Many were repeat customers;...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 28, 2009
Berlitz blitz against union bogs down
After the second court hearing on April 20 in Berlitz Japan's lawsuit against unionized teachers, the legal fight seems bogged down in a form of trench warfare.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 17, 2009
Berlitz launches legal blitz against striking instructors
It has been 14 months since members of the Berlitz General Union Tokyo (Begunto) first downed chalk and launched rotating strikes against the language school Berlitz Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 30, 2008
Foreign university faculty face annual round of 'musical jobs'
Universities in Japan force most of their foreign instructors to play an unnerving version of musical chairs. Every year the music starts and instructors with expiring contracts scramble for an opening at a new school. University administrators force teachers to play "musical jobs" by offering limited-term...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?