Hi everyone, just posting this as an update to my original post, just in case anyone is interested!

I decided to follow up with the office myself yesterday, and they initially shot down my query, saying I can't ride to school because if something happened to me on my way to or from school, it would fall on the school. I pushed back to say I can ride a different route, wear a helmet, and only ride on some days, and that I didn't want to be difficult but must insist anyway. After a little back and forth + language barrier + Google Translate, the office manager said she would discuss it with the principal, so I printed out a report with my POV since I wouldn't be there for the discussion. A short while ago, the principal called me into his office and told me that I can ride/bring my bicycle to school only on one condition, which is if I get bicycle insurance, so I'm currently looking into that.

Thank you so much to everyone who commented and gave their insight into the matter! It was thanks to those comments that I got the courage to go back and push the issue despite not wanting to potentially have a dispute/fall out with my school, especially over something this minor.

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/JETProgramme/comments/1xajmrj/my_school_says_i_cant_ride_my_bicycle_to_school/19rft97v0vuwx/

Hello, I am going to get married to a coworker (Japanese) and our school said we cannot work together. Is this grounds for transfer due to marriage and the school stating we cannot work together?

Indian Applicant. Just want to clarify if Statement of Physician and Certificate of Health are the same thing?

Also if I have listed some medical issues in my self declaration, do I need to get a physician statement too? Is that mandatory?

Please help!

Hello everyone, I was wondering if I should include a transcript for the community college I attended back in 2018. I only attended for a single year, and my grades were poor because at the time I wasn’t really interested in college. That transcript has two classes that I ended up dropping as well. All the classes that I passed the credits were carried over to the college that I graduated from and the transcript from there has those credits, and reflects the person I am now much better than me 8 years ago. Should I only post the college transcript where I got my bachelors, or do I need both, even if I didn’t get a degree from the first. Thank you for any recommendation and good luck to all applicants.

URGENT!!!!!

Hi everyone! I’m a JET Programme ALT applicant from India and have a question regarding the two letters of recommendation.

Both of my referees are former managers who have since left their respective organisations, so their institutional email IDs are no longer active. However, their phone numbers are still valid and reachable.

Would it be acceptable to mention their personal email IDs in the LORs? Also, does the Japanese Embassy typically contact referees to verify their recommendations?

Would really appreciate any insights from previous applicants. Thank you!

I'm applying for the JET ALT programme, and I noticed that India isn't listed in the chart for interview locations. Could you please tell me what I should do in this situation?

Hey all, can I preface this by saying this sub has been so helpful in achieving the goal of teaching in Japan.

I wanted to briefly speak on an experience I’ve had so far as a first year and although comments about receiving therapy are helpful, I’m more so looking to hear on how you or others adjusted to similar experiences.

I’m currently placed in a SHS, 18 classes per week, T1 and lesson planner for all of them. N5. I’ll try to put this briefly:

I find myself a little too busy with lesson planning (usually working after hours or into the night) to study Japanese, which is fine. But I believe it is starting to have a strain on my relationship with my coworkers, not be able to communicate effectively that is. I know they are understandably busy, and may pay me little thought, but I believe too many bad impressions and miscommunication when we do interact has left them with a bad taste in their mouth. So much so that some teachers that were relatively kind to me now blatantly ignore my greetings. I more or less prepared myself for this, but the language barrier has left me feeling a bit paranoid that I’m constantly committing faux pas or disrespecting my coworkers, and it’s been incredibly difficult to know where I stand or if it’s getting worse. Is this kind of subtle paranoia a common experience for other JETs? Is there any other resources you found helpful for better communication in the Japanese workplace? Being a high-context culture, what subtle signs should I be on the look out for feedback and when communicating with my coworker/JTEs? Is there more I could be doing or offering? Thank you indulging me.

I recently accepted my offer. I submitted by 退職届 stating my resignation date will be on the week of January 11th, 2027. However, my BOE is telling me if it is possible for me to end my contract in December 2026. They said this would be a cleaner cut because the 2nd semester ends on December. However, I would really like to stay on January to get paid more and also have more time to move. I wonder if anyone has experience regarding this. Do I have any legal right or anything at all to push back so I can at least stay until January?

Edit: I got a new job in Japan in a different prefecture. So I am breaking my contract mid-year I am not leaving the country. Hope this helps

Hi again! For those who were able to successfully request and get approved to transfer, how was the process for you like? Do you remember the timeline from when you submitted until when you got the call, etc? From where and to where did you move?

Context: Our BOE has a 3 year limit, no positions were available in our prefecture, so we were asked to submit another copy of the A-3 form with the options being other prefectures or blocks.

Thank you!

From November 20th to November 22nd, JALT will host its annual conference where thousands of educators, students, textbook authors and publishers will convene to share their insights on language teaching and learning on the theme of Beyond the Classroom: From Local Voice to Global Impact. This is a great chance to raise your skills and network with like-minded professionals.

And AJET members can join this conference at JALT member rates. Here are the rates for early-bird registrations (by October 31st):

• 3 Days (Nov 20-22): 23,000 yen (save 17,000 yen)
• 1 Day (Nov 20, 21, or 22): 18,000 yen (save 12,000 yen)

If you only want to attend workshops and presentations about teaching younger learners (children up to high school age), join "JALT Junior" instead:

• JALT Junior 2 days (Nov 21-22): 12,000 yen
• JALT Junior 1 day (Nov 21 or 22): 7,000 yen

Learn more here: https://events.jalt.org/event/73/overview

• Friday:
  • Presentations: 1:40 PM - 6:45 PM
  • Welcome Reception (no extra charge): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Saturday:
  • Presentations: 10 AM - 7:10 PM
  • Michele Steele Best of JALT Reception (no extra charge): 7:30 – 9:00 PM
• Sunday
  • Presentations: 9:00 AM - 2:50 PM

Some people are already getting sent their recontracting papers. Have you given it any thought yet this year? Curious to hear where people are at in their journey!

I'm a 4th year and I'm signing to not recontract. I'm finally going back home! Japan has been fun but I'm incredibly ready to leave. Anyone else looking forward to leaving? :)

I have gotten feedback on my SoP from a couple people on Reddit which I am super grateful for! A lot of the feedback said they did not like my opening sentence as it sounded too arrogant.

I said something along the lines of my parents did JET, they conceived me while on the programme, so technically I am destined to become a JET myself. The date of arrival into Japan will also be my 22nd birthday so I mentioned how with it being my double golden birthday, there is even more reason and synchronicity that I am to go on the JET programme.

When I wrote this, I thought it was funny and I wasn't saying it to be serious. Of course, all the facts are true, but I framed them in an exagerated way to show all the coincidences. The underlying implication is that everyone writing a SoP obviously desperately wants to get in so I kinda took that anxious feeling of wanting to get in and turned it around. It was only two-three sentences, I didn't take up a lot of word count and I thought it was an interesting hook.

THIS POST IS NOT TO DISAGREE WITH THE FEEDBACK. I value critical feedback. This post is to ask: is this a cultural humour disconnect? I am from New Zealand, I can't really generalise our humour, but other NZers, do you think I sound arrogant? Do other people get my humour? Is it to do with age? Am I actually arrogant??????!!!!!

(Someone did tell me not to talk about my parent's sex life which I do agree with and I am going to reword this)

Hello! I am an applicant for JET-PH. I want to ask in regards to proof of graduation. I have a transcript that already has my date of graduation and I want to know if it's okay to submit the transcript file online in the proof of graduation submission? I don't have the degree yet and I've asked my university but the ETA is around either December or January so it's no dice for getting it, I only have as a proof is my Alumni ID that I obtained alongside my transcript.

EDIT: The response to this post has been bizarre. I feel like my point has been severely misconstrued. I haven't been "arguing" with or "pushing back" against my JTE, and people telling me that this programme is about more than teaching English, which I was already aware of. I have rewritten the post in the hopes of making the situation more clear, but I have preserved the original post at the end. Cheers.

I am from a small country in Africa. Most Japanese people have never heard of it. Even some fellow JETs at orientation had never heard of it. I am not offended by this, as the reason I was interested in JET was for cultural/international exchange and to share my country and culture.

When I arrived at my school, my JTEs told me that I would focus on teaching English rather than culture. This was totally fine by me, as I was an experienced English teacher before coming. The JTEs give me a topic/theme such as animals, food, travel, et cetera, and I make a lesson with some vocabulary and a grammar point, and then give the students a speaking activity. The lessons have been going well and the students have been engaged.

Recently, one of the JTEs asked me to make a lesson about Halloween, along with future lesson plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I told her my country doesn't really celebrate these things so I'm not very familiar with them, but she told me I could just figure something out. I made a lesson plan in the same format as before, with some vocabulary and grammar points (talking about fears for Halloween, talking about tastes/smells for Thanksgiving, and talking about wishes for Christmas).

When I showed her the lesson plan, she told me it was her job to teach grammar, and that she wanted something more cultural. I was a little bit confused because she didn't communicate this before when she first asked me to make the lesson. Until now, I had been teaching vocab/grammar per her request, so this sudden change with no communication was weird. I once again stated I'm not really familiar with these holidays, because they're not celebrated in my country/culture. I said that I could teach the students about some holidays in my country/culture, but she told me this would be "too difficult and confusing" for the students, since they only know about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Per her request, I remade the lessons, but I just wanted to ask if this was normal because it wasn't what I was expecting, since JET was explained to me as a cultural ambassador program. I am a cultural ambassador for my country, and I am also an assistant language (English) teacher. So to not be teaching English, nor teaching about my country/culture, just feels strange and outside of what I was expecting.

I just wanted to ask if this was normal. I wasn't expecting so much aggression in the comments. I recognize that I also got very defensive and aggressive in my replies, but it was because I felt like people were missing my point and accusing me of arguing with me JTE (not true), or that I thought JET was just teaching English and no cultural element (also not true), or accusations that I am ignorant/stupid for not knowing much about these holidays. Again, I am from a small African country and we do not consume western media. I understand that calling them "irrelevant" in my country was harsh, but it also felt rude for people to basically be like "our culture is so important, you must be stupid if you don't know about it" felt really privileged, entitled, and elitist. Also ironic considering many Japanese people also don't know much about western countries... would you really speak this way to your JTEs or students?

Everyone keeps saying different things. Somebody said that these holidays weren't actually cultural, and when I agreed, people got mad at ME. Somebody said that English teaching came before culture, and when I said that everyone else in the comments was saying the opposite, people got mad at ME. It's just been a very bizarre situation altogether that I was not expecting to blow up like this. What's even weirder is that this has turned into accusations that I am an autistic Muslim?... I am not autistic, nor Muslim. But no hate to either of those groups.

I understand that we are assistant teachers, but I think this mindset of "stfu and do what your boss tells you" is really problematic, particularly in Japanese work culture. I already said this in the comments, but I think a lot of the people saying this are the type of people who want to be ALTs or live in Japan for the rest of their life, so they will do whatever to try and be Japanese and appease their JTEs so that they can be hired.

I will most likely not be responding to comments after this. I hope some of you can learn some compassion.

The original post is pasted below:

[As we entered fall, my JTE asked me to make lessons about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I am from a country which does not celebrate any of these. I told her that, and she said to "just figure something out."

Still, I made lesson plans focused on speaking, so for Halloween I made a lesson plan to teach the kids how to talk about fears (ex. I am scared/afraid of/that ____).

For Thanksgiving, I made a lesson plan talking about gratitude (ex. I am grateful/thankful for/that ____) and stative verbs (the turkey smells/tastes good).

Finally, for Christmas, I made a lesson plan talking about wishes (they already know the word "want" , so I thought a wish-list idea would be nice ex. I wish that/for _____).

I felt very proud of what I was able to put together, but my JTE felt very differently. She told me that it is the JTEs job to teach grammar, and that I should be focusing on sharing my culture. This was confusing because 1. I've been teaching grammar so far with no complaints, and 2. this is not my culture.

When I brought these points up, she just disregarded them and said "I asked you to make lessons about western holidays. Please make them." when I again told her my country does not have/celebrate these holidays, I offered to make lessons about my country/culture's holidays. She told me it would be difficult to understand since they are only aware of western holidays.

If anyone has advice, I would really appreciate it. I feel so lost and frustrated.]

Took about a month but finally submitted everything for the 2027 JET cycle....

Now the long wait until February 2027 ?

Heyyy! Sorry to keep bothering everyone. So I managed to get my GP to fill in my SOP form, however, I now have a new problem 🥲
The doctor ticked yes when asked, “Is it your observation that this applicant’s health status is adequate to go abroad to participate in the JET Programme for a minimum of one year?” Buttttttt, he then added right below his tick, “subject to adequate support.”
I understand this, like I have ADHD and I get medication for it, but I’m worried about how the JET Programme would interpret it :(
Especially because my other problem is that I put down depressive mood because it was on my medical records and it was within the past five years. I only got medication for a month before I started feeling better and moved on, but I guess the case was never formally closed, so my GP put it down as something ongoing.
Like I’m not a great candidate as is, I have no experience teaching or living abroad, all I have in an undergrad degree and retail experience 💀 I’m worried that the SOP will make my chances worse.
I don’t know what to do honestly, it doesn’t look good😐

I just turned 31 and I am based in the US, but I can’t help but feel like I’m too old. Is there anyone here who completed the program that’s not in their early to mid 20s?

I came across this blog post from a former Hokkaido JET who worked in Akkeshi 2013-14? Obviously much of what’s said was fabricated. What was the real deal?

https://www.simplegaijin.com/post/https-www-simplegaijin-com-post-2017-06-19-my-jet-program-experience-a-year-of-tomfoolery-and-fun

Hello everyone! I'm an aspiring jet applicant from the Philippines. Since the application is online this year, I would just like to ask what's the best app for scanning the required documents for JET Programme 2027? Do I really need to use a bed scanner? Will it not affect my application if I don't use bed scanner?

Thank you so much and have a great day ahead ❤️

Hey everyone! I'm a new JET, and I currently work at a SHS that is about a 10- 15-minute walk from my apartment. I really like my school, coworkers, and even the townspeople so far. One of my biggest goals for coming to Japan was buying a bicycle and learning how to ride one, and that's exactly what I did about a month and a half ago. So far, I've been riding my bicycle all around town, mainly for grocery runs, going to my Japanese classes on the weekends, and just general errands. I deskwarm a lot at school (I spend roughly 80% of my days deskwarming), so during the day, I walk home for lunch (just to get a break from the monotony of being at my desk all day), and I could do that a lot faster if I had my bicycle. Also, sometimes after work, I like to go check out new restaurants in my area, so having my bicycle at school would save me the trouble of having to walk home for my bicycle, then pushing it all the way up the road and past my school again.

Technically speaking, I didn't have to, but since I'm on really good terms with my supervisor, JTEs, and the office (plus I don't know where exactly to park my bicycle on campus if I brought it), I decided to ask my school if it'd be okay for me to ride my bicycle to school on some days. My JTE (who is very sweet and is honestly more of my supervisor than my actual supervisor haha) seemed concerned and wasn't sure, so she suggested that we ask the office. I was initially supposed to go discuss it with the office with my JTE, but the lady in the office was busy, so I walked home for lunch. During that time, my JTE went and asked without me being there, and when I returned to school, she told me that the office said that I can't ride my bicycle to school. Because of this, I wasn't able to be a part of the conversation :/. Now, my contract states that I can drive a motor vehicle to and from school but not for other work-related matters without permission from the director; it said nothing about a bicycle, so I'm feeling a bit frustrated, to be honest. I told my JTE that I understand their concern, especially since I only recently got my bicycle and learned to ride it, but I'd like to revisit the matter in about a month or two.

For context, my predecessor was at this school for 5 years, during which he never drove or even owned a bicycle. Also, the road next to the school (where most students ride their bicycles) is super narrow and busy in the mornings -- even I hate walking there. My JTE even told me there was an accident on that road a few years ago involving a student. However, there is another road with a broad sidewalk where I can walk, but it takes a longer time for me to get to school; this isn't an issue when I ride my bicycle, though. I think my school's main concern is something bad happening to me when I'm riding to or from school.

What do you think of this, and how do you recommend I go about bringing this up again? I could discuss the matter with my supervisor, but my JTE and supervisor are super close, and I don't want it to seem like I'm going behind my JTE and the office's back on this. I just don't want to do anything that'll put me on bad terms with my school, especially over something as simple as a bicycle, and since they've been so kind and welcoming to me so far. Maybe I'm overthinking all this, haha.

And advice would be appreciated!

Hi everyone! I am an undergraduate university student in Canada who is set to graduate in June 2027. I am interested in joining the JET program as an ALT for the next academic year starting in August 2027. I am currently completing my application that is due this November 13 and I just wanted to reach out because I have a question regarding reference choices for the academic reference that is required for the application process.

I am currently deciding whether to list my current Japanese professor as a reference or an academic advisor who has known me longer and can speak to my ability to overcome personal challenges during my studies. This is because I have only had my Japanese professor since September this year, and I worry she will not know enough about my character to write a reference letter that meets your requirements. Just for more detailed context, I started taking Japanese classes with my professor on September 9, 2026. This means she will have known me for two months by the time the application is due. On the other hand, my advisor, whom I have known for longer since June 2025, has never taught me in a classroom setting at university, but she knows me better personally and can attest to my character more vividly. I should also add that this advisor is not a conventional academic advisor but a Disability Access Advisor; however, they have guided me throughout my university career rather than just acting as an administrative person.

I would greatly appreciate it if y'all could shed some insight on this issue so that I can submit a strong application.

Thank you!!

I've been doing my due diligence and reading past posts on recontracting thoughts, but I feel it's put me in more of a rut. I joined JET straight out of graduating college, as it was the only program I was accepted to (I had also applied to Fulbright, Princeton in Asia, and the Blakemore Foudation). I was over the moon, but since arriving here, I think one of my biggest regrets is joining the workforce in Japan and moving here, instead of keeping my experiences to travel and studying abroad. I've made a long-winded post before about how I've been really struggling to get access to the medical care I need (and it's just for type one diabetes). I blew through half of my byokyuu just trying to find a hospital, and will blow through the rest getting "insulin pump education" and having to return every three months to get prescriptions for my medication. My BOE informed me that I'll eventually have to dip into nenkyuu for this.

On top of my medication troubles, I find myself not quite miserable, but not quite happy. I don't necessarily enjoy my job-- I like my elementary school, its kids, and its staff, but I hate my junior high school, which is riddled with sexual harassment and pretty blatant racism even after I addressed it. At my JHS especially, I find many days with no classes at all, and on days with classes, I more or less just stand in the front as decoration. I have a little more involvement at my ES, but still mostly exist to read and check over work. I know this is the standard ALT experience, but I feel like everyone around me is super utilized, super involved with planning lessons and joining after school clubs, and I just kind of exist as a decorative gaijin. Not to mention, I find Japanese work life suffocating. Things both inside and outside the school are tedious, bureaucratic, and quite frankly, pretty antiquated. I miss diversity as well. Like I said, I'm not miserable, since I have a great group of friends, a spot in my community, and a love for my placement. Just the work and my BOE have been extremely difficult to feel a sense of purpose and excitement for every day.

Additionally, I feel this is just a pit stop. Everything here is temporary, because I don't plan to stay and plan to return and make my roots back home in the States. I feel that every purchase is meaningless, because probably most things won't make it back with me due to expensive shipping costs, and I can't help but want to begin to start my life, my real life, back home. But there's so much to see and travel is cheap, so that's another thing that's giving me pause. Additionally, the States are in no shape for a young person like me to get started, but really, nowhere is.

One of the top things I saw when looking through other Reddit posts is that "you need a reason to leave after your first year, after your second, you need a reason to stay." I don't have any strong reasons pulling me either way, but I worked hard to get here and I've put a lot of money in already, and maybe it's because I'm still new that I feel like I'm extremely underutilized at my job. On the other hand, I miss my family and certain food, miss being able to communicate and understand things clearly, and most of all, miss the ease of getting my education and a culture that I'm familiar with.

I'm not necessarily asking for you to make the decision for me, but I am asking for guidance. I have to make my final decision in less than a month. I know I can always break contract, but if I can help it, I don't want to. I don't want to be on bad terms with my first real employer outside of university. So any advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Hi,

I've been living in Japan since 2024 and was given a health insurance certificate by the high school I work at. I didn't have a MyNa card at the time and before I had gotten it, I lost the original health insurance that I was given by my workplace. I eventually got a MyNa and tried to link my health insurance at the 7/11 ATM but an error came up.

Every time I'd go to different hospitals I'd have to use the replacement health insurance certificate given to me by my school because the MyNa wouldn't work. I can't connect to my health insurance on the app, 7/11 nor at medical institutions.

I've tried to tell my workplace that it's not working and they initially tried to tell me that I didn't enter my PIN in correctly at the ATM or on the app and I showed them the error code that told me I needed to get into contact with my workplace to have it sorted out but I keep going round and round in circles with them now telling me that it's possible I didn't fill out a form when I first got to the school even though I had no MyNA at the time and it was supposedly supposed to be automatically connected once I got my MyNA.

I tried to tell my supervisor that maybe it's because the health certificate that I have doesn't include my middle name whilst my MyNA does but he doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying and they're insisting now that I just use my health insurance certificate when I go to the hospital because I might have to wait a "little while" for my health insurance and my MyNa to connect but it's been over a year and a half of me having this MyNA card and it's been unusable this whole time.

Has anyone else ran into an issue like this? I really want to get this sorted and I'm getting a bit frustrated

If I did classes at two different universities, but my my official transcript from my home college include proof of what classes I took at the other college, do I have to submit transcripts from both colleges? my home college's transcript clearly lays out "TRANSFER CREDIT ACCEPTED BY THE INSTITUTION:" then lists the name of the class, when I took it, the college I took it at, and the credits I got, but not the grades I got.

National AJET (the Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching) is a volunteer organization of JET Programme participants. We serve the community by building support networks, organizing useful information, and offering resources to enhance the lives of JET participants in Japan and abroad.

National AJET’s annual Opinion Exchange survey is now live, and we’d like to encourage everyone to take some time to share your experiences on JET. The results of this survey will be presented to CLAIR and the other participating ministries such as MOFA and MEXT early next year.

The Opinion Exchange is an important opportunity for JETs across Japan to make their voices heard. The information shared helps CLAIR understand the experiences, concerns and needs of the JET community and helps National AJET advocate for greater support for JETs. Past survey results have helped us identify some of the greatest concerns within the JET community, resulting in the potential to bring about real, meaningful change in JET participants’ daily lives.

Please keep in mind this survey is for current JET participants and alumni only.

NAJET Opinion Exchange Survey

The survey covers a range of topics, and your responses will help us identify;

Areas where JETs need additional support

Common challenges faced by JETs across Japan

Differences in experiences between regions and positions

Other issues that might otherwise be hard to identify

Please take some time to complete the Opinion Exchange Survey and encourage your fellow JETs to do the same! The survey closes on November 6th, 2026, at 11:59PM, so please make sure to submit a response before the deadline. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and help us advocate for JETs across Japan!