TEFL jobs in Japan

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme is run by the Japanese government and places native English speakers into public elementary, junior high and senior high schools as Assistant Language Teachers. It is the largest and most predictable route in: 5,238 ALTs were on the programme as of July 2026, more than 90% of all JET participants.

The terms are published in advance rather than negotiated. Contracts run for one year, extendable to a maximum of five, and the working week is fixed at 35 hours — a standard that contracting organisations are not permitted to change. Pay follows a national scale: 4,020,000 yen before tax in year one, rising to 4,140,000, 4,260,000 and 4,320,000 in the years that follow. At the European Central Bank reference rate of 185.92 yen to the euro on 28 August 2026, that is roughly €21,600 to €23,200 a year.

You must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher by the designated arrival date, or a teaching certificate from a course of three years or more. You must also be a national of the country where you apply, which is what places Irish applicants in Ireland’s own selection round. Re-application is restricted: you cannot apply if you have participated since the 2023 JET year, if you have participated for more than six years in total, or if you have lived in Japan for six or more consecutive years since 2016.

The trade-off is placement. You can state a preference, but where you go is decided for you, and it may well be rural. There is also a second role, Coordinator for International Relations — 481 participants, handling translation and international exchange rather than teaching, and requiring Japanese at roughly JLPT N1 or N2.

Source: jetprogramme.org, checked 29 August 2026.

Commercial language schools, widely known as eikaiwa, teach adults and children outside school hours. Chains such as AEON and ECC recruit continuously rather than on an annual cycle, which makes this the fastest route into the country, and they place mostly in larger cities.

Expect evening and weekend hours, because that is when adult learners and school-age children are free. A bachelor’s degree is still required — not by the school, but by the visa. Language-school teaching sits under the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status of residence, which Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists as covering foreign language teachers.

Pay here is set contract by contract rather than by any published scale, so treat advertised averages with care and ask for the written contract, the contact hours and the deductions before you accept anything.

Boards of education also contract private companies, such as Interac, to supply Assistant Language Teachers to public schools. The classroom work looks much like JET’s, but the employer, the pay, the conditions and the level of support are all different.

Working weeks of 30 to 35 hours are typical, and holiday entitlement depends entirely on who hired you rather than on a national standard. Many schools prefer candidates who hold a TEFL or CELTA qualification alongside the degree, or who have prior classroom experience.

Hiring runs year round but concentrates ahead of the Japanese school year, which begins in April. If JET’s single annual cycle does not suit your timing, this is the route that does — and unlike JET, you usually get some say in where you are placed.

If the dispatch model appeals but Japan does not feel like the right fit, it is worth comparing the two markets Irish teachers most often weigh against it: teaching English in South Korea, where public-school placement runs through EPIK, and teaching English in Taiwan, which has a lower cost of living and a longer hiring window.

One-to-one lessons arranged directly with students, often in cafes. In practice this is supplementary income alongside a main contract rather than a way into the country.

There is no formal qualification requirement and no degree requirement. There is also no visa sponsorship, which is the catch: tutoring only works if you already hold a status of residence that permits it, such as a working holiday visa, or a dependent or spousal status with permission to engage in activity outside that status. Working outside the terms of your residence status is a serious matter, so check your position before taking on paid hours.

Larger cities offer more potential clients, and rates are yours to set.