Today I was going to introduce the YouTube video by the new (well, 2 weeks ago) Education Minister in Japan.

For ten years the government has been saying “primary school English will be compulsory very soon” but every time we get a new Minister they cancel it. For example in 2007 it was supposed to happen, but then Mr Bunmei, as the new Minister, cancelled it as the pretty much first thing he did.

So it was nice to have a video with the new guy saying what his plans are. But…. last night the Prime Minister resigned! So it looks like we’re going to be having another cabinet re-shuffle so once again no one knows what will happen next year.

It’s the same thing in Thailand, where the next stage of the Genki English project , i.e. training every teacher in the country, is on hold until the political situation settles down. And with today’s news of Bangkok being under a state of emergency that doesn’t look like anytime soon. Of course that’s the least of the worries for my friends over there in Thailand, I hope you’re all well and safe!