r/teachinginjapan

I am no longer living in Japan but a friend of mine is about to move to the city where I used to live. He’s been told by the owner of the school - INCL Hamamatsu - that he’ll receive 70% of his salary for the first 2 months as it’s the training period.

An existing employee has told him that he’ll soon be left in the classroom by himself and working the full contract hours. Is this the norm now? I’m not sure if it’s written in the contract as he hasn’t received that yet but it seems to be standard practice at this place.

Hello! I have applied for Amity and am currently creating my lesson plan for the 2nd round of interviews. I was wondering what branches people recommend joining, since I've heard some horror stories involving specific branch schools in the company. Any additional tips will be appreciated! I'm a little nervous about the Lesson Plan portion, so any advice on that is also welcome.

I'm a software engineer, 10+ years experience. Taught ESL for some years before that, and worked at an international school in Tokyo as a classroom assistant (not teacher) w/ young children for less than a year. But that was 10+ years ago.

For various reasons I'm considering a career change. I'd like to teach high school (or junior high if applicable, but not younger) computer science at an international school.

Spouse is Japanese, so no visa sponsorship needed. We're moving back to Japan soon, but pivoting to teach would be a long term transition over the course of some years, not in a rush.

I have an English Lit. bachelor's, a computer science bachelor's, and about 4 or 5 years as an ESL teacher, but I'm not really counting on the latter for anything because I don't want to teach ESL.

Assume I would get a international teaching certification/license from USA. For the practicum portion of the teaching certificate I figure I'd need to contact schools and find one that would either let me volunteer or teach a class in some capacity.

The thing I definitely would not have when eventually applying to jobs is a couple years of teaching CompSci in the USA. I have one year teaching in the USA, but it was for ESL and a long time ago.

By the time I would actually start looking for teaching positions, I'm hoping my Japanese will be N2ish, though not sure how much that would impact my chances.

How plausible is it that an international school would hire someone like me?

I’d like to apply for JET next year as I am about to up my service as a Peace Corps volunteer as an English teacher m. I’ve been spending my free time learning Japanese for a while, and would like to reach N4 by the end of this year. I have teaching experience now in a small school in a rural part of a rural country, and am interested in serving in a rural region of Japan, particularly in the north, although I’d be happy anywhere. My goal is to integrate with Japan in the same way I’ve done as a volunteer, of course teach English, and also my personal goal is to improve my Japanese as well. Is JET so competitive that I still may not have a good shot, or are these qualifications generally what JET looks for in applicant?

Resources for ALTs experiencing power harassment

Here are some resources that ALTs and I had sought out and used before deciding to make the previous post. Know that they come with varying levels of helpfulness and most take some time. Stay patient. For other ALTs hailing from different prefectures, there should be your area's version available to you. Just replace "Kyoto" with your prefecture name to see what comes up when searching. May you never have to use these resources, however.

Internal:

Kyoto Board of Education Human Resources (it is not recommended, but this is a resource that you should be aware of, nonetheless)

• +81 075-222-3779

External (more effective to a certain degree) :

AJET Peer Support Group (counseling)

• https://www.ajetpsg.com/

Bengo4 (list of attorneys)

• Bengo4.com

CLAIR counseling (Provided by your Prefectural Advisor [PA] or in the CLAIR newsletter)

Department of JET Programme Management at CLAIR

• +81 03-5213-1733
• gyomu@clair.or.jp

General Union (union of English teachers)

• https://generalunion.org/consult/

Houterasu (has English interpreters)

• +81 0570-078332
• https://www.houterasu.or.jp/site/english/officelocationlist.html

Kyoto Bar Association (you could request the assistance of Houterasu if you need an interpreter)

• +81 075-231-2378
• Whistleblowing consultation: https://www.kyotoben.or.jp/soudan13.cfm

Kyoto City International Foundation (Consultations. An English interpreter is provided)

• +81 075-752-3511

Kyoto City Legal Affairs Bureau Headquarters (you can ask Houterasu for assistance with interpreting)

• +81 075-231-0131

Throwaway account. I’m no longer with, but after seeing newer contracts compared to older ones, I honestly feel bad for newer ALTs coming into Japan now.

Older Heart Corporation contracts were usually daily-rate based:

• ¥10k/day
• ¥11k/day
• ¥12k/day
• some even ¥13k–14k/day depending on placement

Using ¥12k/day as an average:

• 20 workdays = ¥240k
• 21 workdays = ¥252k
• 22 workdays = ¥264k

So when you worked more, you earned more.

Now newer Heart Corporation contracts advertise:

>“¥215,000 monthly salary”

Which sounds more stable at first.

But later in the contract, there’s a prorated clause saying salary can still be reduced based on “actual days worked” during certain months.

So now:

• 20 days = ¥215k
• 21 days = still ¥215k
• 22 days = still ¥215k

But if there are fewer days?
The ALT gets deducted.

So the company keeps the benefit of extra workdays while still lowering pay during lighter months.

Transportation also got worse. The newer contracts include transportation inside the advertised salary while capping reimbursement. So part of that ¥215k is basically already transportation money, and if you live farther away, you personally absorb the remaining commuting costs.

The contracts look cleaner and more “stable” on paper now, but once you actually break down the math, many newer ALTs are earning less while taking on more of the financial risk themselves.

Japan can still be a good experience, but please understand what you’re signing before relocating here. A “fixed monthly salary” does NOT always mean better pay or stability.

And honestly, if you enter dispatch ALT work, start planning your next move early. Don’t stay trapped in the system longer than you need to.

I work in an Eikaiwa; the eikaiwa is unprofitable so they started outsourcing their foreign teachers to kindergartens in the area. Holy fuck, I choose to laugh or I will cry. I am so unqualified to attempt to "teach", "babysit", "wrangle" - whatever you want to call it - these kids. When the odd kindergartener came to the eikaiwa school, it was no big deal - trying to "teach" 20 of them in a room for 40 minutes after they've had a nap is so difficult lol.

If the teacher is willing to be present and help, it's fairly enjoyable and the games and songs are completed like in some of the schools. However, at a few schools, the teachers plonk their kids in a room, disappear and these kids actually go insane - no English learning is achieved.

Yesterday, I had kids kicking me, punching me, running around and wrestling, jumping on the furniture and I'm disassociating as their teacher is just stood at the back of the room like (*_*).

Eventually, I say hey sensei, pls help me. She comes over, says: ok kids, its English time, let's listen and walked off....

I was like ok, I power through for the two kids paying attention. As I'm leaving, the encho sensei very aggressively mimics me says "pls help me" to take the piss??

Where am I? Who am I? Why am I doing this nonsense?

There is no rhyme or reason to this post except, yikes. I don't want to go in today lmao.

To preface, this post was made to inform the public of the power harassment that so many others (besides myself) have experienced with the ALT staff and other members of the General Education Center / Board of Education.

A compilation of documents, images, recordings, and transcripts was shared to the appropriate organizations, and that compilation satisfies the following:

1. It was created for the interest of the public; to warn incoming JETs of the aforementioned points.
2. It was made solely for the benefit of the public.
3. The facts are proven to be true or at the time of publication had reasonable grounds to be believed to be true.

No violence/doxxing/malicious acts against anyone (GEC/BoE, ALTs, etc) are condoned. Once again, this post was made for your information.

At least two of the five supervisors known as the "ALT staff," as well as their own supervisor, engage in power harassment of varying severity over the years, affecting over 40 ALTs within Kyoto City.

• Disclaimer: the fifth most recently joined ALT staff member has nothing to do with this post.

Examples of such harassment, contributed by said ALTs (some of which have been extracted from previously circulated mass complaint forms and reworded to maintain anonymity ), include but are not limited to:

A) Inappropriate and Hostile Communication (Verbal and Electronic)

• Using unwarranted harsh language, threatening tones, and a raised voice when addressing ALTs, resulting in intimidation.
• Engaging in excessive yelling during confrontations with ALTs.
• Responding to perceived issues with immediate, abrasive, and accusatory reactions, causing distress to ALTs, without verifying facts, clarifying the situation, or obtaining evidence of wrongdoing.
• Frequently suggesting that ALTs are neglecting their work duties without providing proof.
• Verbally attacking ALTs for minor mistakes or inconsequential matters.

B) Provision of Unsolicited Advice and Comments

• Offering inappropriate comments regarding ALTs' physical and mental health.
• Giving typically unhelpful or harmful instruction to ALTs who are ill, despite having no medical license.

C) Disregard for and Lack of Empathy towards ALTs undergoing difficult situations.

• Making harsh comments and persistently harasses ALTs who are experiencing hardship or are taking time off work due to disability, ongoing sickness, or mental illness.
• Being the cause of ALTs going through hardship via severe power harassment.

D) Invasion of Privacy and Unprofessional Disclosure of Private Matters

• Discussing ALTs' private matters and issues with other ALTs in the workplace during work hours.
• Contacting ALTs’ doctors and inquiring about private information without the ALTs' permission.
• Disclosing negative information and grievances about other ALT staff members to ALTs while doing nothing to fix the issue.

E) Targeted and Discriminatory Treatment of ALTs

• Frequently sending condescending and hostile emails to ALTs with little reason.
• Exploiting ALTs' limited knowledge of certain policies and Japanese laws to unfairly impose punitive measures.
• Coercing ALTs into signing letters of resignation under threat that they cannot work unless they do so.
• Spreading damaging rumors about ALTs to others outside of the workplace, such as an exclusive party amongst favored ALTs.
• Intimidating ALTs into disassociating with certain ALTs under threat of having their work/social life hijacked.
• Enforcing unwritten policies subjectively to negatively impact specific individuals.
• Criticizing ALTs for utilizing their legally allowed paid leave.
• Discouraging and reprimanding ALTs for taking menstrual leave, despite the suggestion of punitive measures in response to its use, is illegal under Japanese law.
• Demanding ALTs use paid leave instead of menstrual leave, despite Japanese law prohibiting the restriction of an employee's right to take menstrual leave.
• Pre-emptively ruining the school workplace environment for ALTs by making damaging phone calls and emails to the school administration.

F) Manipulative Wording to third parties (ie attorneys, etc) when inquired about their Power Harassment.

• Downplaying their actions to avoid liability.
• Exaggerating or lying about ALTs' words and actions to shift the conversation away from their own behavior.
• Aiding in attempting to hide information from ALTs that is legally required to report.

Currently, the ALT community is fragmented by partial stories, fear-mongering, and isolation.

Most ALTs fear retaliation from higher-ups, therefore they rarely speak out against any unfair treatment they experience. Personally I want to say to those who have shared with me or others what they were going through, that you are brave. To the ones who are still struggling silently, there are always steps you can take as well as appropriate organizations that can make sure you are heard.

Edit: You are definitely free to interpret this post how you like. Please understand that the complaints and experiences were gathered from many ALTs rather than just myself. Also note that evidence cannot be freely handed out to the public (ie reddit) due to regulations surrounding that.

I removed a part that caused the tone of this post to sound more vindictive than informative, so my apologies on including that in the first place.

For many, this post is yet another example of what lots of ALTs have to go through. For those who had a great time with no issues, that's genuinely amazing and I hope that means your students got all what you could teach them.

I may not be certain about every accusation made by the OP of the post “Important Warning for Incoming Kyoto City JETs” or every claim of “power harassment,” but it’s still unfair and irresponsible to generalize the entire Kyoto City ALT community based on selective experiences and anonymous stories.

Could the ALT staff have handled some situations better? Probably. But at the same time, some ALTs also expect to be treated with excessive leniency and “royalty treatment” while refusing to adapt to the realities of Japanese workplaces and public institutions. Accountability goes both ways.

As a current ALT, I’ve heard from former and current JTEs and school staff themselves that some ALTs unfortunately perform poorly, avoid responsibilities, arrive late, leave work early, abuse leave systems, or create unnecessary drama in schools. Yet whenever they are corrected, suddenly everything becomes labeled as “power harassment.”

Not being granted every request, being reprimanded for workplace issues, or having a supervisor raise their voice during a conflict does not automatically equal harassment. Workplace disagreements happen everywhere, especially in stressful environments involving language barriers, cultural differences, and public education systems.

There’s also clearly a gray area surrounding medical leave and menstrual leave. Only the individuals themselves truly know whether those systems are always being used appropriately. Pretending abuse never happens is dishonest.

Another childish aspect of the original post is how it paints renewed ALTs as “favorites,” as if doing well at work, maintaining professionalism, building good relationships with schools, and being appreciated by students somehow makes someone part of an “exclusive group.” That mindset comes across more as resentment than evidence.

The reality is that many ALTs in Kyoto City quietly do their jobs well, enjoy their schools, respect the system, and complete their contracts without major issues. Those people simply don’t spend their time writing dramatic Reddit exposés because they’re busy actually working and contributing positively to their schools.

Criticism is important, but that post reads less like an objective warning and more like a one-sided attempt to emotionally rally people while dismissing any responsibility on the ALT side.

I've been living in Japan for a month now, and I've begun to consider just ending everything daily. I'm not even a human being.

I was originally rejected from jet because my manager wouldn't write me a reference. She used ai to generate it because she couldn't be bothered, which caused my application to look fake.

The jobs I work at is not what it said. I was passionate about teaching English and languages in general, but now I'm nothing but a glorified babysitter at an almost 10 hour daily shift, getting berated by management for not getting children to speak, but the children can't speak because there's 50 of them in a classroom distracted because they're sitting next to a classroom of 70 divided by a paper wall.

The housing my company provided has cracks in the walls so large, you can stick your hand through them. It's miserable. My work hours leave me with no time to do anything (leave before things open, get off after everything is closed).

I've been sexually assaulted three times in only a month (not chikan or train stuff, held down and grabbed while they tried to get me to agree or to a quieter area), my other coworkers ignore me or actively berate me, and I have no other options.

I don't feel like I can maintain this, but I can't find a way out. Other teaching jobs are mostly just after school daycares pretending to be language schools like my current one, and switching careers here seems so out of reach, there is nothing back for me in my home country, and I couldn't start up again there with my current lack of resources due to this move, so this is really it for me.

I'm not looking for the same old "welcome to the real Japan" or "working here is different from visiting here" Reddit comments. Just wanted to vent and worst case, leave something behind if I finally do call it. I just want to be a human being.

If anyone has experience with YSG please let me know if I’m holding out hope for nothing. Had a zoom interview before golden week which went really well and the recruiter put together my profile and recommended a school to submit me to, I reply back yes please sounds like a good fit but she sent me the suggestion like 6pm the last day before golden week started so she doesn’t get back to me til after the holiday. She does then tell me she’s submitted it right after she’s back, so I factor in that it might be a little while as people pick up unresolved things from before the holiday so I leave it a week just chill then email her for an update. Very ‘no worries if no news yet’, but no response, and now it’s almost been another week and I still have nothing. Is this the quiet way of saying ‘thanks but no thanks’ or is this just a paperwork that takes ages kind of thing?

I had a seasonal job here over winter and am eating through savings waiting for a new job and am starting to feel like this is a dead end already 🫠 do I give up on hearing back from them and just go back to applying for things? YSG put their same job listing up on gaijinpot a couple days ago so in theory they still need positions filled which is making me worried they just aren’t bothering to tell me I’ve been rejected. But I also didn’t properly ask about if the school they suggest me to reject me if that means they can’t refer me to another vacant school. Anyone else who’s worked for YSG what was your onboarding like?

I will be headed to Tokyo-To for the JET Programme, and I was wondering if anyone has advice for those moving there? I don’t know exactly where I’ll be so it’s still a waiting game for me, but just wanted to know if anyone has advice! I appreciate it :)

Mod, Please Delete if not allowed

Just out of interest — has anyone here in Japan successfully transitioned from working full-time (or even part-time) for a school/company into running their own education-related business?

Not necessarily a traditional school or eikaiwa, but things like:

• educational consulting
• instructional coaching
• online learning programmes
• inquiry/project-based learning
• bilingual education
• curriculum design
• teacher PD/training
• international school prep
• after-school enrichment
• coaching for professionals/teachers/students etc.

I’m curious about people who have built something independently that’s still connected to education, especially long-term and financially sustainable in Japan.

How did you start?
Did you begin as a side business first?
What worked well?
What were the biggest challenges?
And if you left schools/companies completely — do you regret it or was it worth it?

Would love to hear real experiences from people who’ve actually made the shift in Japan.

Not necessarily a traditional school or eikaiwa, but things like:

• educational consulting
• instructional coaching
• online learning programmes
• inquiry/project-based learning
• bilingual education
• curriculum design
• teacher PD/training
• international school prep
• after-school enrichment
• coaching for professionals/teachers/students etc.

I’m curious about people who have built something independently that’s still connected to education, especially long-term and financially sustainable in Japan.

How did you start?
Did you begin as a side business first?
What worked well?
What were the biggest challenges?
And if you left schools/companies completely — do you regret it or was it worth it?

Would love to hear real experiences from people who’ve actually made the shift in Japan.

Hi! I've been accepted into a teaching position as an ALT through Interac, and starting next spring. I'm trying to think ahead as much as possible, and looking to what comes next.

I have a BSc. in Cybersecurity and experience programming and most things IT. For those who were on similar paths, how do you go from teaching to an IT position while in Japan?

Currently learning the language and expect to be N3 certified by the time I arrive (with N2 plans afterwards), but looking for general advice from other teacher -> IT nerds.

Hi, I hope anyone can help!

I have been reading and researching around but I’m a bit confused in regards of my chances of securing an international school teacher job.

I am a qualified primary school teacher (PGCE QTS) who did placement for a year, then did one year teaching in England. I have also been an English teacher online for HK during university and have worked as a deputy room lead in early years.

Iv been accepted onto JET which initially I believed was a good path to get into international school jobs, has anyone been in a similar situation to me and managed to secure a job or am I severely disadvantaged due to my lack of experience? Thank you for any help or guidance, it’s really appreciated!

I'm teaching a kids class of five and one of the students is super uncooperative, influences the others to misbehave too. I try to use classroom management but I'm failing to control the student.

At this point I just want to give up and drop the class even though it would be a big chunk of my paycheck. But honestly the time I spend in that class feels like torture and I don't know if I can do this long term.

I'm not really looking for classroom management tips as the staff has already tried to help with that. I guess I'd like to know if it's a good idea to just. Give up. I like kids in general unless they're loud and rude, and this class is exactly that. (edited: see +note)

And the alternative is I could get other (teaching) work by dropping that class and that's going to make up for the loss in salary, just more hours but the work is a lot easier.

What would you do?

Edit: wow coming back to this after 10 hours of my work day and it blew up. Glad to see this sub is as judgemental as ever

But yes, thank you to the ones who offered me the advice I was looking for 🫶

• Here's my original badly-worded statement that brought in a lot of complaints, I've flipped it around since to make it clearer: I don't even like kids in general unless they're quiet and listen to adults and this class definitely does not.

My question is what the title says. I have been reading through threads on teaching qualifications - specifically masters verse certification - and I'm honestly lost on what to do from here.

TL;DR -.I want to continue teaching because I think it is something I could be good at over time. But I also want a sustainable work-life (even if that means taking only a modest salary). Do you have suggestions on how I could proceed, in terms of what kind of jobs and qualifications I should pursue?

More context about me:

I'm on JET, I am going into my 4th year in August. I passed N2. My degree is unrelated to education. I taught martial arts classes for seven years - which is it to say that I enjoy teaching.

Of course between martial arts and ALTing I have 0 total years of actual teaching experience. I also don't have any teacher training. Since I T1 many of my classes as an ALT, I'm increasingly interested in gaining a formal education.

My goal is to stay in Japan (and in a perfect fantasy I would a have the option to teach in other parts of Asia as well). I teach in elementary schools now and I really enjoy that age group, but it seems that the options for teaching as a foreigner are generally limited to international schools and universities. But these positions are highly competitive and Im not really interested in career climbing.

I worked at Continental English School in Kitami, Hokkaido for 3 months in early 2026. I’m sharing my experience so future teachers can make informed decisions.

 

Key points from my time there:

• During the interviews, I was asked to come to Japan immediately and was told the visa/contract process would take 6-8 weeks and that I would be compensated for work during that period.
• Upon arrival, no one met me at the airport.  I was told to take a bus to Kitami and walk to a hotel.
• The next morning, I met the owner and was brought to the school and asked to start teaching immediately, before moving into the apartment and with no training, no contract and no visa paperwork started.
• When I asked about pay, I was told they couldn’t pay me without a visa.  They later gave me ¥40,000 in cash and said more would come but it never did.
• After two months of full schedules (often teaching alone), I was told this period was “training” and therefore unpaid, despite being told I would earn ¥180,000/month.
• The visa process was repeatedly delayed.  I had to leave Japan to reset my tourist visa and then return to continue working without a work visa.
• Housing was provided, but the apartment had not been cleaned (moldy old food in fridge, etc.).
• Scheduling was disorganized- students often didn’t match the schedule making prepared lessons unusable.
• Questions about pay, contract status, or visa progress was frequently ignored or deflected.
• I did enjoy teaching the students which made the overall situation disappointing.

 

I eventually resigned because I was not being paid for the work I was doing and the visa process hadn’t been initiated.  This shouldn’t be anyone’s experience teaching in Japan.  Please be cautious if you see a job posting for this school.

please do not respond if you are not neurodivergent, unless you are responding on behalf of someone who is.

for those who do not have an official diagnosis, how did you let your workplace know what you struggle with, or did you at all? do you end up struggling to keep jobs because of your disabilities/bad work environments and job hopping a lot? have you ever worked somewhere that actually understood what being autistic/adhd/ocd was like and was understanding regarding your needs? did you ever give your students lessons on what it means to be neurodivergent?
and those who do have one, do you disclose that when job hunting or not? if you do, does that make it harder for you to find a job?