Does Japan Hire Foreigners?

Are you thinking of coming to Japan? Like back home, the type of job you can land depends on your skill set. Added to that, foreigners have a couple of extra obstacles, but you can overcome these.

Not only is it possible to get hired in Japan with some basic qualifications, it’s actually pretty easy. There’s one caveat. Easy if you’re not too picky about the type of work. If this is the case, then Japan is waiting for you.

In many job sectors, language and cultural barriers limit employment opportunities for most foreigners. There are some exceptions, like education which we will look at here. More specifically we’re focusing on language teaching positions.

Challenges to getting hired in Japan

The government requires you have a VISA to be eligible to work in Japan. To get one, you need an employer to sponsor you, which means as a foreigner, you will be eligible for jobs in which you have a “specialist” skill. That sounds a little intimidating, but what qualifies as “specialist skill” might surprise you. For example, a 4-year degree allows you to be considered a “Specialist in Humanities”.

There are various work VISA types for different job sectors. Immigration Services Agency of Japan is a good place to start for learning about VISA eligibility. 

Foreigners hoping to work in Japan face a couple of big hurdles. The first and probably the more obvious one is the language barrier. Companies dealing with job sectors outside of education are probably not willing or not able to accommodate non-Japanese speakers. 

Reaching a level of Japanese language proficiency in both speaking and writing requires a lot of patience and commitment. Without a good understanding of the language it’s difficult to navigate Japanese business culture which typically has a high degree of formality and implicit understanding.

If you’re set on living in Japan

Maybe Japan is more than just a place for you to find work. Maybe it’s your end-goal. In this case, you may be less choosy about a job. Whether or not this describes you, there are jobs tailor made for foreigners, especially if you hold a 4-year degree. After that, the next big qualification is willingness to come on over.

I’m talking about English language teaching in its various forms. The most common teaching positions are in the public school system (ALT), private English schools (eikaiwa), and at universities (daigaku). 

There are other forms of English language teaching, like cram schools (juku) or nursery schools, but these are less often available as full time work for foreigners.

ALT positions

You can find a lot of opinions about English in public schools. Something to keep in mind is that everyone’s experiences are unique and not necessarily indicative of what you will experience. In the public school, you will have to come to terms with Japanese working culture on a more direct level. 

ALT Teachers can expect more meetings, weekend activities, faculty coordination and subordination than most eikaiwa or university teaching contexts. This is not a problem for some teachers, but I know some who have cited these reasons for wanting to make the jump to university. Nevertheless, ALT positions are a good way to get your foot in the English-teaching door. 

If you’re interested in teaching in the public school system, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) is where you may want to start. It’s the most visible and well-known of ALT organizations in Japan. An important point: The application process is much easier for people coming from overseas than some others. University positions tend to be the opposite, often requiring detailed, complicated forms and demonstration of written Japanese language proficiency.

Several teachers I know came to Japan through JET. It’s good way to get experience, and become familiar with life and teaching. Applicants need to hold a bachelor’s degree upon arrival. You can see the full list of requirements here.

Private English school positions (eikaiwa)

Eikaiwa is another option that offers a relatively easy path to living in Japan. Like the JET program, the most important qualification for eligibility is usually a bachelor’s degree. This is how I started out teaching. 

Every eikaiwa is a little different, but in general these positions require the least amount of responsibility. In my own experiences with eikaiwa, I taught my classes, and occasionally gave demo lessons. I spent about a minute in between lessons typing a few relatively inconsequential comments, and off I went.  

The hardest part of teaching eikaiwa English isn’t the job itself. You will never find yourself in over your head, and you will come to feel like you can do the lessons in your sleep. Some of my students thought so too, and at times they gave it their best shot. Actually, apart from a few exceptions, the students are really great, but after years of teaching the same faces, they never seem to improve, and they don’t seem to mind. 

I knew a lot of teachers who were happy in eikaiwa and I knew others who didn’t last through their 1st-year-contract. There will likely come a point where you ask yourself, “What am I doing here?”

University positions (daigaku)

These are the hardest of the three types of teaching posts to get straight off the boat. 3-5-year contracts are common with a Masters Degree. Tenured positions are a thing for foreign teachers, but these often, if not usually, require a PhD, JLPT level 1, and fairly high-level publications. Only on the rarest of occasions can you get hired to teach English at a university without a Master’s. An MA in TESOL, Applied Linguistics, or something similar is desirable. 

Aside from qualifications, most schools are looking for applicants with teaching experience in Japan. Therefore, most people don’t go after university jobs without picking up some teaching experience and gaining familiarity. 

While working a contract position, it’s best to elevate your CV as much as you can by gaining more experience, adding publications and conference presentations, increasing your Japanese ability, and gaining other skills. You want to add things that you can show to your next employer whether that be another job in Japan or somewhere back home. 

It’s no different from adding to your CV back home, except that the skill-set is slightly different. The skills and experience you gain will hopefully set you up for longer-term employment down the road.

Managing expectations

The vast majority of universities in Japan are private schools. Chances are anyone starting out in university teaching will first land at a private school. This could mean many different things as private institutions can march to very different beats. As an example, you could have on average 20-30 students in required classes at one school, and 50 or possibly more in another.

There is a lot of overlap when reading or hearing about other teachers’ work experiences. However, Japanese universities have their own intricacies. The experience of another teacher does not dictate what your experience will be.

In some cases schools give their teachers a prep day, and if you’re really lucky, they only need you to be on campus to teach your lessons. In this case, it’s common for teachers to take on side-gigs. However, if you’re like me, you enjoy the flexibility. Every university operates differently, so these are things to find out before committing to a university position.

What about other languages?

You can find jobs for languages other than English at private language schools and universities, but these are in much shorter supply. 

Eikaiwa usually offer languages other than English in metropolitan areas or by universities which have well-developed policy studies or other liberal arts programs. As an example, my current university teaches Chinese, Korean, French, German and Spanish. The eikaiwa where I began my teaching career offered all of these languages at a few of it’s larger branches.

The take away

It goes without saying, but getting hired in Japan is like getting hired in any other country. Your results are dependent on what skills or qualifications you have to offer an employer. For me, and surely many reading this, native English ability is the most readily transferable skill that you can take advantage of for finding a job. 

With any job sector outside of teaching, foreigners are usually at a huge competitive disadvantage, but language skills offer you a path into Japan. In time, you might gain Japanese ability or other qualifications opening the door to other career paths.