Top Companies to Teach English in Japan

Japan is an exciting place to teach English, and there are a plethora of companies out there looking to hire native English speakers. If you’re looking for an opportunity to live and work in the country, that’s both a negative and a plus. It can be hard to sort through all of them and decide which is the best option for you.

Here are some of the most popular companies looking to hire native English teachers.

Jet Program

The Jet Program is unique because it’s a program of the Japanese government instead of a private company. The program isn’t just for English teachers either. The Jet Program also recruits foreigners to work with local authorities in Japan as translators, but it’s probably better known outside Japan for its work hiring teachers. It finds Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) to work in Japanese public schools. ALTs work alongside the main classroom English teachers to strengthen students’ English skills. If you want to work inside a Japanese public school instead of for a private company, then Jet is probably the most prestigious option. However, positions with Jet are highly competitive.

Requirements: Jet teachers must hold citizenship and have received a bachelor’s degree from an English-speaking country. They are also expected to have a passion for Japan as well as a strong grasp on English. A unique requirement of Jet is that applicants cannot have lived in Japan for more than six years within the last decade.

Salary: In their first year, Jet teachers make about ¥2,800,000. By their fourth year teaching in Jet, teachers can make ¥3,960,000 a year.

Benefits: The Jet Program helps teachers obtain a visa to live and work in Japan. Teachers are also provided with national health insurance, a pension, employment insurance, and Jet Program Accident insurance. The initial flight to Japan as well as a flight home at the end of the program are paid for as well.

Interac

Interac is the other major program that provides ALTs to public schools in Japan. Like the Jet Program, Interac teachers work alongside the primary English teacher at the school to provide extra support and strengthen students’ English skills. Unlike Jet, Interac is not a government program, but it still works with many public schools. ALTs with Interac often work at multiple schools.

Requirements: Interac teachers must be native English speakers who completed twelve years of their education in English. They must also have a bachelor’s degree and be under 60 years old. Teaching experience, Japanese language knowledge, and a driver’s license are not required but are considered helpful.

Salary: Interac teachers are paid around ¥2,400,000 to ¥2,700,000 a year.

Benefits: Work-related transportation costs are compensated. Interac teachers are also enrolled in Japan’s National Health Insurance.

AEON

Disclaimer: I worked for AEON for three and a half years.

AEON is an eikaiwa, or private English conversation school. While the Jet Program and Interac hire ALTs to teach elementary through high school students, AEON teaches students of all ages, from babies to retirees. It’s also more focused on conversation abilities rather than the academic English that is focused on in public school curriculums. Because students take eikaiwa classes after school or work, more AEON classes are held in the evening and on weekends than during the weekday.

Requirements: AEON teachers must have a bachelor’s degree from a college in an English-speaking country, a bachelor’s degree in an English-related field, or have three years of experience teaching English as a second language. Teaching or Japanese language experience is also helpful but not required.

Salary: First-year teachers at AEON are paid ¥275,000 a month.

Benefits: AEON offers paid initial training and ongoing paid training for teachers throughout the year. Teachers also receive health insurance, employment insurance, a pension, and workers’ accident insurance. AEON provides teachers with furnished apartments, and rent above ¥55,000 a month is subsidized by the company. Teachers are also reimbursed up to ¥70,000 for their initial flight to Japan, and AEON offers overtime pay and a bonus for teachers who complete their contract.

NOVA

Like AEON, NOVA is an eikaiwa that teaches students of all ages. They provide lessons in nine different languages, not just English. Like at other eikaiwas, classes are usually smaller in size. NOVA is one of the largest eikaiwa chains found throughout Japan.

Requirements: All NOVA teachers must be native English speakers in order to teach in one of their English schools.

Salary: Instead of being salaried, NOVA teachers are paid ¥1,200 per lesson with extra paid for weekends or special types of lessons. If teachers are unable to teach a lesson, they must find a replacement or pay NOVA ¥400 to find a replacement.

Benefits: NOVA arranges housing for teachers. NOVA also pays teachers up to ¥100,000 for their flight to Japan and provides a Christmas bonus of ¥30,000.

Gaba

Gaba provides one-on-one lessons for adults, making it an option for anyone who doesn’t want to work with kids. Gaba also allows teachers to schedule their own lessons, which provides more flexibility. Teachers don’t have to request vacation time.

Requirements: Gaba teachers must be native English speakers. Gaba also prefers teachers with a TEFL/TESOl certification or ESL experience.

Salary: Gaba teachers are paid by lesson, not on a salary. Starting teachers are paid ¥1,500 per lesson. Increases in pay are determined by a teacher’s performance, not how long they’ve been employed.

Benefits: Because Gaba teachers create their own schedule, they have more flexibility. Overall, however, Gaba teachers are considered independent contractors instead of employees, so the company does not provide many benefits.

ECC

Another popular eikaiwa is ECC. It has more than 180 schools across Japan.

Requirements: ECC teachers must have a bachelor’s degree and be a native English speaker. They must also have a valid passport from an English-speaking country.

Salary: ECC teachers are paid ¥270,000 a month.

Benefits: Teachers are paid annual stipends based on their performance. New teachers are paid up to ¥70,000 to cover their flight to Japan. ECC also provides training to new teachers along with health insurance and a pension.

Westgate

If you want to teach English in Japan at the university level, then Westgate is an option. Westgate also hires teachers for elementary schools and provides online English instruction for university students.

Requirements: Westgate teachers must have a bachelor’s degree and either an ESL/EFL certification or 1000+ hours of ESL/EFL teaching experience.

Salary: Teachers in the university program with 499 or fewer hours of ESL/EFL teaching experience are paid ¥260,000 per month. Teachers with more than 500 hours of experience are paid ¥275,000 per month. In the elementary program, payment starts at ¥280,000 per month.

Benefits: Westgate pays teachers up to $1200 US dollars for their flight to Japan. Westgate also provides employees with health insurance, employee insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance.

These are only some of the many Japanese companies hiring English teachers, but they’re some of the best known. If you’re looking to teach English in Japan, these are a great place to start.