In this study, we used a questionnaire-based recognition survey to help us understand Japanese high school teachers’ perceptions of systems thinking. The results were as follows: (1) Keywords associated with the term system tended to evoke images of actions and activities in capturing systems, such as logical thinking and thinking, among the educators participating in the study. (2) While many teachers partially understood the concept of systems thinking, few grasped it comprehensively. (3) Few teachers were aware that they had taken up systems thinking during science classes, and found that there were extremely few practices related to systems thinking in science.