Kobe shifts extracurriculars from municipal junior high schools to private clubs

The city of Kobe will shift the entire operation of extracurricular activities from municipal junior high schools to private clubs on Tuesday, becoming one of the first in the country to do so as local governments aim to reduce teachers’ overtime and schools struggle to have enough students on a team.

The Kobe program is part of the central government’s effort to push for after-school activities to be run by local private teams, clubs and coaches to lessen the burden on teachers, who work overtime and weekends to oversee them.

Under the new program, called Kobe Katsu, local private organizations — such as sports teams, universities and nonprofits — register with the city to provide activities, including sports, the arts and academics.