Japan's Saint-Valentine's Day Tradition

Japan has a curious take on Valentine's Day. While in most of the world, Valentine's Day has been traditionally a day for men to show women that they care about them through a variety of methods, in Japan it is a bit different.

For one thing, there are two kinds of chocolates made by women in Japan. Honmei and giri chocolates. Honmei chocolates are given by a girl/woman to a person she is romantically interested in. By giving her crush chocolates, she confesses her attraction to the person. However, here is the tricky part, getting chocolates doesn't necessarily mean a girl likes you because there's also the second type of chocolates - giri chocolates. Giri chocolates are chocolates given to your friends, co-workers, classmates, etc. who have helped you throughout the year. It's a kind of pay-back, or thanks for services rendered. Hence the term giri - or "obligation" chocolate.

The trick is determining if the chocolates you are receiving are honmei (YAY!) or giri (Boo!). Honmei chocolates are usually expensive and bought in a store. If hand-made, it will be obvious the girl put a lot of time into them. Whereas, giri chocolates are usually just made simply. However, the lady in question might just be really bad at making chocolates...so what then??? Sometimes a very direct girl will include the word "giri" on her chocolates like the photo above just to be clear she doesn't have any romantic interest. Most times, though, it can be tough to figure out without any other kind of confirmation.

For young boys and girls in Junior and Senior high school, Valentine's Day can be a day of high tension. For the girl, do you confess to the the person you like? What if they reject your chocolates?!? For hetero guys, what if the girl you like doesn't confess to you? OR, what if a girl you DON'T like confesses to you? Single adults also sometimes use Valentine's Day to confess to the person they like. Addtitionally, it's a common story arc in TV dramas, where the lady protagonist likes a person, but can't bring herself to give them chocolates.

One month later, men who receive chocolates (sorry Japan is still pretty hetero-normative) are supposed to buy something, usually cookies, and give them as a gift to anyone who gave them chocolates, whether the man likes the person romantically or not. I can imagine if you are a popular, yet not particularly rich young person without a job, this can be a difficult time.

I think confessing to the person you like is a really stressful thing regardless of your age, and having a defined day and method with which to do it might be helpful when you're young. I definitely think Valentine's Day is more interesting in Japan; especially as a teacher I have a great seat to watch the drama unfold.

December's Event Horizon - the hell that is New Year's cards

First of all, let me explain something about New Year's in Japan. New Year is Japan's equivalent of Christmas. It's not a party time; it's a time of reflection spent with family. There is a special dinner that requires hours of preparation, you have dinner with your family, you go to a shrine, etc. Instead of presents, envelopes of money are given to children. So yeah, it's almost exactly like Christmas minus the turkey and stuffing. Also, no cranberry sauce. (cry)

There's also one other tradition similar to Christmas...and that is, instead of Christmas cards, you have New Year's cards! Yay! Wait no, actually it's terrible. New Year's cards are like Christmas cards on steroids with a guilt factor of 10000000000000000000000 to the power of infinity. How shall I explain... Hmm. Well, Christmas cards are sent to family and friends. Unless you're the Prime Minister or the head of Tim Hortons, you don't normally send Christmas cards to...say...someone you used to see from time to time at the same bookstore 10 years ago. But in Japan...you do! You MUST! Ok, I'm exaggerating slightly but truthfully, the social pressure to send New Year's cards is shocking. It seems like all of Japan lets out a collective groan of dismay when buying cards in early December, and a collective sigh of relief once the cards have all been sent.

Before I came to Japan, I never (ok maybe once) sent Christmas cards. It's not that I am a terrible person, but personally, I think sending an email or making a phone call is probably better for the environment. It's certainly faster and cheaper. Also, I know for a fact that people in my native country that I met briefly would never in a million years expect a card from me...and my family and friends all know I'm lazy. So, Christmas cards were never a thing for me.

Nevertheless, my first January in Japan was looming and in every store, New Year's cards appeared. A quick query to my co-workers revealed this yearly trial as a requirement for being considered a decent human being in Japan. So, I responsibly sent my first set of New Year's cards. I think I sent 20 or so. The next year it was 40, then 30 (hooray!), then 45! Each time I have moved or changed work places, I have gained new friends and new New Year's card recipients. By the time I die, if I am still living in Japan, I bet I will have to send a card to every person living in the whole country. Good thing the population is shrinking cause I don't think I can afford the printer ink.

Every year, the same pattern happens. Early in December the New Year's cards appear in stores and I promptly buy a bunch of them. I pat myself on the back for getting a headstart on the whole thing and dutifully plan to write a few every week so that I am not rushed at the end of the year. I pat myself on the back, blink once and BAM! It's 3pm on the 31st!!!!!!!!!! What happens to my December every year I do not know. I feel like the month of December is a black hole created by the collective gravity of all Christmas and New Year's cards around the world. For those of you who don't devour astronomy texts, scientists theorize that time is distorted as you near a black hole. The closer you get to the event horizon, the slower time flows for you, but of course for everyone NOT near the black hole, time flows along at its normal rate. What is the blink of an eye to me, is the entire month of December to everyone else. At least, that's what it feels like.

Somehow, I am always at the post office sending my cards out late on the 31st. I think...maybe...possibly...the first year I sent New Year's cards they were out a few days before the New Year and probably arrived on time. But certainly, every year since I have become trapped in that black hole. So, a big sorry to everyone who keeps getting my cards late every year. I promise to try to do better next year... One thing that makes it all worthwhile though, is that I do love getting them in the mail!

12 Steps to Self Care - Japan style!

I was on social media the other day when one of my friends posted an image with the following 12 steps to living a happier life.

1. If it feels wrong, don't do it
2. Say exactly what you mean
3. Don't be a people pleaser
4. Trust your instincts
5. Never speak bad about yourself
6. Never give up on your dreams
7. Don't be afraid to say no
8. Don't be afraid to say yes
9. Be kind to yourself
10. Let go of what you can't control
11. Stay away from drama and negativity
12. LOVE

What struck me after reading it was how culturally subjective many parts of this list really are, and how little this kind of thinking would fly in Japanese society. So, for your viewing pleasure, and with no particular empirical data to back this up, here is my tongue-in-cheek 12 Steps to Self Care list - JAPAN STYLE!

1. If it feels wrong, endure it stoically and don't make waves
2. Never say exactly what you mean, it's too direct
3. Be a people pleaser, others before self
4. Don't trust your instincts, always ask for advice and find out the proper way of behaving
5. Always speak badly about yourself, be humble
6. Give up on your dreams and sacrifice yourself for another
7. Never say no, say what others expect you to say
8. Never say yes, say what others expect you to say
9. Be kind to others, be hard on yourself
10. If you can't control it, you need more rules and paperwork
11. Do not cause drama or negativity
12. LOVE, but not in public...don't even say the word out loud

Proctoring the National University Entrance Examination (センター試験)

This year for the first time I have to proctor the national test high school students take to enter university. This test is being done at my school among others and requires a ridiculous amount of training and absorption of information to do correctly.

If you are a non-Japanese teacher of foreign descent, then you will probably find this a bewildering and frightening experience if you are asked to do this at all. Generally, foreign teachers are spared this task, but just in case you are like me and not spared, this post will hopefully help you sort through the piles and piles of documents you will receive outlining the procedures of the examination.

You will likely be called into a meeting that lasts all day, breaking only for lunch, where a member of the administration staff speaks in very rapid Japanese in a general way about the test, our roles, and what we can expect. It is a bit bewildering, but do your best to follow along. Thankfully, they show a helpful series of videos.

The test rules booklet is the thickness of a Sony television's operation manual and about as easy to understand. Of course the book is entirely in kanji, which I can't read well. It would take a Japanese person a week to go through this thing! Considering my dismal reading speed, I would have probably required a year or two to get through it if not for my fabulous, but crazy husband who is in love with kanji and read it for me while I took furious notes.

Here is some of that manual explained in a general fashion. The specific step-by-step procedures would be too long to fill out, but I do have a couple of Word documents with the test directions written out in English for anyone who really wants them. Leave a comment with your email address and I'll send them to you.

Unless you are a desperate foreign teacher living in Japan who can't read kanji well and who must proctor this test, then you should probably just stop reading now. Then again, this is pretty dry stuff, so if you are having trouble sleeping this might be just the thing for you.

General Information on the Test

It lasts two days and it's conducted over the weekend in January. Students must take a barrage of examinations on various subjects all day Saturday and most of Sunday. The amount of organization required to give pretty much every high school student in the country their examination on the same day is mind boggling in my opinion, but it seems to come off without a hitch for the most part. However, please be aware that TV news shows like to talk about any university where the test was flubbed or something bad happened. So, make sure you take this seriously as the "honour" of your university may be at stake.

Also, the university entrance examination is the MOST important test a student will take in their lives in Japan. It determines their future to an arguably large extent as the Japanese hiring system is still very clannish in some ways. For example, a very large number of government employees come from one or two specific universities. Getting into a high-ranked university is very important to some students. All the rules, while they might seem ridiculous or at the very least overwhelming to someone who is not used to them, are there in order to ensure fairness by making sure that every student in the country has the exact same examination conditions as far as possible. So, make sure you make an effort to do it correctly.

If you don't have a plain watch with hands (i.e. not digital) then buy one as there will probably not be a clock in your examination room. Also, it's best to avoid bringing anything with an alarm on it into the examination room.

An important consideration is that you cannot leave the room while you are proctoring. Better to be a couple of minutes late then have to hold in explosive diarrhea for 90 minutes. In other words, go to the bathroom before and stay away from coffee.

Roles

The most basic thing you should know is that there are different roles assigned to each teacher. The head proctor (HP) is in charge of making sure the examination is done smoothly, in the correct order, following the appropriate guidelines, and with clockwork precision. They give all the directions to the students out loud. Since I am not a native-speaker of the Japanese language, I was fortunate to be spared the role of HP. However, the Japanese itself is very repetitive, so it's not that difficult to get the hang of it if you are unfortunately chosen to be the HP.

Aside form the HP, there is a proctor with the role of timekeeper (TK). The TK is responsible for making sure the HP is following the test's schedule. All proctors should sink their watches so that everyone has the same time, ideally down to the second (no really). Students MUST receive the full time they are allotted and not one second less. Therefore, obviously, time must be kept to the second. It says that specifically in the manual. The HP and the TK are provided with stop watches to ensure that level of precision.

There are sometimes other helpers if there are many students in the room. Their job is to assist in distributing booklets, etc. and supervising the students.

Finally, there is the "Contact Person". As I mentioned, proctors cannot leave the examination room, so this person waits outside the room to take students to the bathroom, to receive forms from the proctors, to communicate any problems to and from the proctors, etc.

In a bit more of a Big Brother-style, the proctors are also responsible for watching the HP and making sure s/he doesn't mess up! If the HP messes up, they must commit ritual suicide with a special sword in front of all students. (not really)

While the examination proceeds, you must follow along in your manual and check off each direction that the proctor gives to the students. This is in order to make sure that all directives for the examination have been given. You will be required to cross-check with other proctors that all directives have been given, so if you can't follow along, just do your best and check-mark as many as you can.

Concerning the timing of the examinations, you should know the following for each exam. All the times below, except number 1, are written in your manual and you should bring your manual to every test. Verify:

1. When and where your proctoring group members will gather before the examination to double-check their materials and to get any information about test conditions (E.g. if a student is ill, if the local trains, buses aren't running, etc). This is in a place called 本部 (honbu). It varies from university to university so ask a colleague.
2. The start and end times of the examination.
3. The start, end, and duration of the answering portion of the test (i.e. the part of the test where the students are writing down their answers and not the explanation part of the test).
4. All the examinations have a cut-off time after which, late students are not allowed to take the test. Find out your lateness limit.


Below are some useful vocabulary. If you can't read basic kanji at the very least, you shouldn't be proctoring this examination. Tell your colleague that you cannot proctor at this time. Personally, I can’t read kanji that well (I'm maybe somewhere around 漢検 level N３) so there were a few words that I was unsure of how to pronounce, or only knew a different way of expressing. The list below is not exhaustive by any means, but it is the very minimum that you must memorize.

- A student taking the examinations is called a 受験者 (じゅけんしゃ)
- A proctor is called a 監督者 (かんとくしゃ)
- The head quarters of the test in your school, where you collect your materials, and who you report any problems to is called 本部 (ほんぶ)
- The booklet that has the test questions in it is called the 問題冊子 (もんだいさっし)
- Their answer sheet where the students fill in their choices is called a 解答用紙 (かいとうようし)
- The word "directive" is used all the time. It's 指示 (しじ)
- Lateness limit after which students cannot enter 遅刻限度 (じこくげんど)
- Beginning of test answering period 解答開始 (かいとうかいし)
- End of test answering period 解答終了 (かいとうしゅうりょう)
- Distribution 配付 (はいふ)
- Collection 回収 (かいしゅう)

Each examination has its own directives to follow. Most of them are fairly similar, so once you have done one test, you can do the others without much trouble. However, the listening examination is different from the others mainly because once the test has begun, the proctors cannot speak and therefore, they must use a couple of forms that students point to in case of trouble.

Written Test Forms

There are about a half-a-dozen forms, but usually the head proctor fills them out and deals with them. The names of the most common forms that non-head proctors have to know are:
- “Test-taker condition survey form” (A and B versions) 受験状況調査票 (じゅけんじょうきょうちょうさひょう) Regular proctors only have to worry about B because at some point during each test (varies with test) you need to send Form B to the test headquarters (本部).
- “Improper behaviour notification document” 不正行為通告書 (ふせいこういつうこくしょ) Also called a yellow card. This is to indicate to students that they are cheating or doing something else so wrong that they must stop their test immediately and leave. There is a white version of this that is only a warning.
- “Booklet distribution order confirmation paper” 問題冊子等配付確認表 (もんだいさっしとうはいふかくにんひょう). Your head proctor will probably fill this out.

Listening Test Forms

Once the test explanation is over and the answering period has begun, you cannot talk to students, nor they to you, out loud in case the noise interferes with other students' examinations. Because of this, there is a somewhat complicated rigmarole of forms to deal with.

If a student raises their hand during the “absolutely no-talky” time, you show them the “trouble confirmation form”. トラブル確認票 (とらぶるかくにんひょう). They will circle their problem.
After they have circled their problem, you must respond using the “communication memo” 連絡メモ (れんらくめも). You can choose from the various selections that are already there or write your own response by hand. There are various procedures to follow depending on the problem and it would take too long to write them all out here. However, the central test authority gives out a handy video that you can watch. Even if you don’t understand the Japanese, you can still get an idea of how to behave in a listening test and respond to any problems that might come up.

The students have personal listening devices called IC Players. If these IC Players malfunction, you need to exchange them and fill out some forms. If they malfunction before the answering time has begun, just swap them and fill out “the machine collection survey form” 回収機器調査票 (かいしゅうききちょうさひょう). However, the real pain in the bum is if they malfunction during the "no-talky" answering period. Find out the problem using the “trouble form” above and then you have to give the student three forms. The first is the “incident processing form” 事故処理票 (じこしょりひょう), the second is the “re-take examination confirmation form” 再開確認票 (さいかいかくにんひょう), and finally, the same as above the “machine collection survey form”.

There’s a lot more to know, but the above information is the basic knowledge that will help you have an idea of your role as a proctor for the central examination.

Good luck!

Ode to the Squat Toilet

WARNING: This post contains descriptions of natural, but not altogether pleasant biological functions.


Anyone who has ever spent any substantial time in Japan will have experienced the dreaded squat toilet. I have heard people praise the humble squat because they seem to reduce instances of haemorrhoids. Alas, I haven’t any haemorrhoids to relieve, so I cannot look too kindly upon these historical bastions of Japanese toilet culture. However, my current place of work, being in an old building, has absolutely no western-style toilets on my floor. Yes, I could walk several minutes to another toilet on another floor, but these toilets are for the students and it’s a bit embarrassing to make tinkle noises in the hearing of someone you will have to teach in an hour.

Therefore, the squat and I have become well-acquainted with each other lately and I have thought to myself that I would have really appreciated someone telling me some tricks on how to use them properly.

Usually, the casual traveller in Japan will have a choice of toilet types. Most tourist areas will have western-style toilets with toilet seats. If you cannot find one or if they are all full, a good tip is to look for a disabled-friendly bathroom. (Usually has a wheelchair-icon sticker) These toilets are all western style.

Women in particular hate squats because we can’t aim and tend to mess, so many women tourists and foreigners living in Japan avoid them. However, sometimes you are stuck using a squat toilet and you can’t wait. So, here is some advice on the subtle and unappreciated art form of the lowly squat.

How to Arrange Your Clothing
If you’re wearing pants (trousers for our UK/Australian friends)
Undo them and push down both your pants and underwear together to a bit below mid-thigh. Hook your thumbs under the waist material so that your fingers are free, but your pants/underwear won’t fall. (Trust me when I say the floors of squat toilets are exceedingly foul 99% of the time.) Once you have a secure grip with your thumbs only, using your fingers, reach and grab the material of your pants at the knee or just below. Pull up your pant legs until the hem of the pants is at least 2 inches (10 cm) away from the ground. Why is this necessary? You will splatter and shoes are easier to wipe off than pants.

If you’re wearing a skirt:
Pull the material around your waist and then forward, gathering all loose material near your stomach. You must make sure the back of your skirt is not loose enough to dip in the water or…heaven forbid…be tinkled on.

Positioning Your Feet and Squatting:
Once your skirt is safely in front of you or your hem is nice and high, now you have to know where to place your feet. Considering the North-South axis, your feet should be a bit more North than South to allow room for your behind to be safely within the confines of the squat. A common mistake is to stand with your feet quite close to the porcelain of the squat. You should actually stand with your feet a bit further away from the sides of the bowl. This is again to avoid splattering on yourself (shoes this time since your hem should already be safely hiked), and also to allow for a deeper squat position. Keeping your bum closer to the toilet = less mess. Once your legs are positioned at a safer distance, squat down as low as you can without touching the cold, cold toilet with your delicate behind. You should make sure you are well centered above the bowl and not too far front/back/left or right. Once fully squatted, you should feel frog-like with your legs open, completely bent at the knee. The material of your pants/skirt should now be bunched tightly and should not fall down if you let go. Do what you like with your arms, I tend to rest them on my knees, but if you feel a bit unsteady, you can keep a hand on the wall for balance.

Ideal Squat Position, Except...without pants

Number 1 – A Woman’s Guide
Men have urinals, so this part is mainly for our female readers.
We western females are used to just letting all our stream go violently in a rush of watery satisfaction. However, the squat is an Asian toilet. It comes from the same continent as foot binding and 12-layer kimonos. Therefore, you must exercise restraint when letting loose. You should strive for a moderate flow speed, neither too fast nor too slow. Try peeing as you would imagine the Queen of England would pee if she had to do so in public (i.e. in as stately and dignified a manner as possible).

A point to keep in mind:
There’s a bit of water in the squat, so if you are aiming correctly, you should hear the happy sound of water falling into water. If you don’t hear that, and/or the sound is muted, you are probably peeing on the floor. Wiggle your bum a bit and try again until you get your aim right. Leaning forward a bit can help you pee straight down. The challenge is to avoid “freedom pee”. This is an obnoxious urine type that refuses to behave in a traditional manner following the laws of gravity. Making a dash down your butt cheek, freedom pee then leaps to the floor with reckless independence.

The Big One – Number 2:
For both men and women, number 2 on a squat is a very chancy thing. If you are the kind of person who eats healthily and has a high fibre diet, then perhaps your squat experience will always be a pleasant one.

However, if you’ve ever had the…ahem…green apple splatters, or perchance your chocolate is a bit more like the Aero brand of chocolate bar (i.e. with bubbles); you, my friend, will need to take care when using a squat.

As explained above lift your hem (watch your skirt), place your feet at a safe distance, and squat as low as possible. Next get as close as you can to the faucet/flush of the toilet. Don’t worry if your clothes touch it, they are usually not too dirty and trust me, it’s better than the alternative. Again, don’t just let her rip, but try for a more moderate speed.

A point to keep in mind:
If you feel a Niagara Falls-like flow brewing below, then a good trick is to turn and face in the opposite direction. The squat is raised a bit at the front near the flush, and that can act as a barrier to…well you get the idea.

As always, be kind and tidy up in case of mess.

Finding a Job in the Public Education System: JET vs Interac and direct hire

Teaching in the public-school system in Japan is more socially well-regarded than working for a private company. You'll also potentially make a lot more money than in private companies. There are three ways to enter this system and we will discuss and compare them here. All of these positions require a Bachelor's Degree.

When I say "private schools" in this post, I mean schools that are part of the public education system, but are run privately and not by local or prefectural governments. I am not referring to English conversation schools or cram schools.
-For a comparions between the public education system and private sector, read this.
-If you want to teach in the private sector, read this post instead.

The JET Programme
Possible the most well-known of the three ways to get a job teaching in schools in Japan is the JET Programme. This is a government-run program, therefore well funded and organized. Once you become a JET, you will be taken care of in Japan in that you will have a support system in place for you. There is almost always an English-speaking Japanese supervisor who will help you while you are in Japan.

On JET, you can specify areas you would like to live in, but only 25% of JETs get one of their requests. Most likely, you will be placed somewhere completely different than you originally wanted. So if a specific region of Japan is necessary for you, then JET might not be a good choice. Married couples are usually kept together, but boyfriends and girlfriends may be separated.

There is also age discrimination on JET. JET wants young teachers and there is a cut off of about 35. The older you are, the less likely you will get hired by JET unless you have experience or a degree in education.

The salary on JET is very high for Japan. You receive around 320000 yen per month, which is more than many of your Japanese co-teachers make during their first few years of teaching full-time. For ALTs, your position is easy, your work hours short, and your responsibilities few. For CIRs you may have a lot more work and responsibility. You will sometimes have to work weekends.

The disadvantage of applying to get a job through JET is the competition and the time frame. There are a lot of people applying for a few coveted spots, and in bigger cities, this is even more of an issue. From start to finish, the application process for JET takes almost one full year. It's not something that you undertake on a whim and getting refused after waiting for such a long time is surely extremly disappointing.

If you're interested in the JET Programme, you can read more on the official website.

Interac and other Placement Companies
For those who don't get into JET, who don't want to wait a year, who are older, etc. then placement companies are the next easiest route. Placement companies provide schools with foreign teachers just like JET, but as they are competing with JET and they are a private company, your salary is much lower. Placement company employees make almost 100000 yen less per month for doing the exact same job as a JET. In towns where there is a mix between JETs and placement employees, this salary difference can be a point of tension between the two groups.

You will have a supervisor, but they may not live in the same town as you, so sudden trips to the hospital might have to be accomplished alone or with a friend who may or may not speak Japanese.

The advantages are that you have more control over your location, and you can be hired very quickly. There is competition for positions, but not as much as there is for JET or direct hire positions, so it's easier to get a spot.

Interac is the biggest placement company. If you are interested in going through Interac, you can read more and apply online here.

Direct Hire
Some schools prefer to directly hire their employees. This is more often the case with high schools and private schools (remember by private schools I mean schools that are part of the public education system, but are run privately and not by local or prefectural governments. Not cram-schools or conversation schools).

These schools will post ads for teachers themselves and hire their employees directly. The salary for these kinds of positions can be high. I've seen job postings advertising salaries as high as 400000 per month. Many prestigious school prefer to directly hire in order to control the quality of the applicants.

One key requirement of direct hire is that you must already be living in Japan. I have never seen a direct-hire ad that did not specify this as a requirement. So if you are living abroad, JET and placement companies are your only bet.

Additionally, you are generally required to be competent in Japanese. JLPT N3 or higher. N4 is possible if you are really good at communicating with a limited vocabulary and your listening skills are good.

For the better positions with higher salaries and better conditions, the competition is going to be fierce. So speaking Japanese, having a Master's degree and TOEIC/CELTA etc. is often expected even if it is not listed as required in the ad.

Some good websites to find direct-hire and placement jobs are:
http://www.gaijinpot.com/
http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/job-info-centre/jobs

When to Be Wary: a guide to private English conversation/cram school jobs in Japan

Working in a private company has many advantages over working in the public sector. However, while it is certainly safer to apply to such schools in Japan than in other Asian countries, there are still instances of foreigners being screwed over, forced to sleep on the streets, not receiving a salary payment that is due them, etc.

Trust me; being stuck in a country where you can't read the signs, can't speak to anyone, with zero dollars, is a special corner of hell you will want to avoid. I was once stuck in Osaka without any cash due to a combination of a late plane, and ATMs not allowing me to take out money past a certain time of day. It was sleeting; cold and miserable, I had two huge bags, train stations kick you out at a certain time and then everything closes... It really, really sucked and I was freaking out most of the time until I found a 24 hour cafe. That was only one night for me, a person who can speak Japanese well and has live in Japan for years. Imagine how bad it is for someone who has little to no experience with Japan. I know a person who made some poor choices and was forced to sleeping in hotel-lobby bathrooms. They had no money for a return flight, finally they were deported and forced to pay their plane ticket home in installments.

Here is some advice to help you find a good position that will see you happy in your work, and comfortably living in Japan.

1) Look for an established company.
Now this is not a 100% guarantee of job security as the people who used to work for NOVA will tell you. Even large companies can go bankrupt and leave many of their employees desperate. However, it is a statistical fact that newer companies (i.e. less than 5 years old) are far more likely to close. If a company has been around for over 5 years, it's a pretty good bet that they have a solid customer base and can afford to pay your salary. The size of the company doesn't necessarily matter, but how long it has been operational does. Usually this information will be available on the company's website. Now, I am not saying to never apply to new companies, but if you have a choice between two, relatively equal positions, go with the more established company.

2) Your salary should be around 250000 yen a month.
There will be taxes and things deducted, but your initial salary should be around the amount stated above. This is standard. If the advertised salary is much higher or much lower than this, it would be a good idea to find out more particulars. Perhaps they provide subsidized housing, hence the salary is lower. Perhaps you have to work 50+ hours per week, hence the salary is higher. Usually benefits are not included, but Japan has a decent national insurance system you can register for, so no worries there. Vacation time is usually 2 weeks paid in addition to Japanese national holidays, but some places offer up to six weeks paid. Compare holidays, subsidized housing, pay, and other benefits carefully. Write them down. I used an Excel spreadsheet to organise and compare jobs at my smart husband's suggestion.

3) Make sure you get a copy of your contract.
After your interview and if they are interested in you, they should send you a copy of your contract before you fly ALL the way to Japan (or across the country) and spend a ton of money on train/airfare. If the company refuses to send you the particulars of your job (i.e. hours of work/week, holidays, rules of behaviour, and expectations of weekend work, etc), do not take the job.

4) You shouldn't be teaching more than 27 hours in class per week.
This is a BIG point that many would-be-employees forget to check up on. Most people find out when they have to start work and when they can leave, but it is also important to find out how many in-class hours you must teach in between. 25 hours per week is standard. 27 in-class hours is getting busy and anything more than that will be a very draining, possibly nervous breakdown-inducing job.

5) Contract completion bonuses are a red flag.
While they might sound good, contract-completion bonuses should worry, not excite you. A contract-completion bonus rewards an employee for fulfilling the full length of their contract. In other words, this company has had problems with workers bailing before their term was up. The big question here is WHY did those workers bail? Maybe the answer to this is: because the work conditions are not good. Don't turn down a job just because of this point, but be more cautious and ask a lot of questions about working conditions (i.e. what an average work day/work week consists of specifically).

6) Work visas: Should I fly to Japan without one?
A lot of people will say to you, never fly to Japan without a work visa. However, sometimes this isn't feasible. If the school is looking for someone ASAP, they may ask you to come to Japan right away on a tourist visa and work until your visa is processed. This is a gray area of the law as it is technically illegal to work on a tourist visa, but then again jaywalking is illegal as well, but most police officers just ignore it. Immigration in Japan turns a blind eye to the process, so as long as you don't tell the customs officer "I'm coming here to work illegally on my tourist visa", you should be fine.

However, if the company doesn't seem to have a deadline or be rushed to replace a teacher, then they should proceed with a visa application for you before you leave your home country. Some exceptions to this do exist. Some companies like to evaluate a teacher before applying for their work permit. These schools may have had bad experiences with certain workers in the past and like to see how a new employee functions in the work environment before going through the paperwork hassle of a work visa application. They will observe you for a month, and then if you are both happy with each other, they will formalize the relationship with a work visa.

(Update! Immigration Japan has become stricter and no longer allows people to change their visa status while in Japan. So if you come in on a tourist visa, you will need to leave the country to switch it to a work visa. This can be accomplished by taking a flight or ferry to South Korea or China and staying there while you apply for the visa change. However, this costs money, so it is best to be wary of companies that don't offer you a work visa right off the bat.)

Considering the above, what I will say about this is that: if you do decide to come to work in Japan on a tourist visa, your application for a work visa should take MAX two months of your three month tourist visa. Usually, my visa applications take two WEEKS. So, if you are approaching the two month mark and your company still has not produced a work visa for you, then start looking for another job elsewhere right away. Don't wait until your tourist visa is expired and you have no recourse. Japan takes a very dim view on visa overstayers. Jail time and deportation are not fun.

A useful aside: Don't be afraid of Immigration Bureaus and staff. I have heard from a reliable source which I believe to be accurate that the Immigration Bureaus are not there to punish illegal workers or over-stayers. Their job is to help you find a legal way to stay in the country. So don't think that if you run into trouble, they will automatically deport you if you go there. It is the police who will deport you if they catch you. Immigration is there to help you. That being said, Japan has a dim view of people who can't follow rules. Do things in advance and make sure you are aware of any and all expiration dates (i.e. visa, passport, etc.). You can renew your visa up to three months in advance, so there's no reason to leave it to the last minute.

In summary, there are many factors to consider carefully when applying for any new position. Be organized and keep track of each position you have applied to, their start dates, and what the jobs offer. Making informed decisions is the best way to find a rewarding job in any country.

Unfairness in University Hiring Practices

There's a certain degree of discrimination (or a nicer word would be unfairness) that occurs to language teachers in university positions that doesn't occur as often in other disciplines. A common unfair practice that language teachers suffer is that we often have to teach a much greater number of classes in a week than other disciplines. The average course load for a teacher is about 6 or 7 courses a week. 8 is considered a heavy course load in other disciplines, but is not uncommon for a language teacher. And truth be told, there are institutions that require their language teachers to teach 12 or even 14 classes a week!

Institutions that give their teachers such a heavy course load usually do not expect those teachers to do any research. As research and publication is a means through which teachers distinguish themselves, improve their abilities and their career, it is a difficult to be denied the opportunity and time to devote to it.

Another common problem associated with teaching in universities in Japan is the contract. Many universities will specify a maximum duration on their contract and/or a maximum number of times you can renew your contract. For example, many universities force their language teachers (almost always the foreign ones) to leave after 3, 5 or even 10 years arbitrarily with no consideration given to job performance. They like to recycle foreign teachers to keep them young, fresh, keep their salaries low, and also to prevent them from becoming too "Japanized" and consequently, less ideal as a foreign teacher. This unfair practice was ruled legal when challenged in the Japan Supreme Court, so foreign teachers don't have a lot of recourses to address it.

Additionally, there is also often an age cut off. This is officially (i.e. legally) not allowed, but often practiced. Certain universities don't hire professors over 35 years of age, as I mentioned above, they like to have young, attractive, teachers for their students placing form over function.

You will never receive tenure at such a university and you will never become a full member of the faculty. It is also disheartening to know that no matter how much effort you put into your job or how good of a teacher you are, you will be let go after an arbitrary time period elapses. Lastly, if a university must cut its budget and decides to lay off teachers, it is often the foreign teachers that will be cut first.

When applying for positions at a university, it is important to consider your age and experience in life. Younger teachers with less experience often apply for the contract positions and simply change jobs when they are forced to leave their university. This is fine, but it is difficult for teachers over 35 to jump around in this way. If you are an older teacher, focus on applying for positions that say "tenure track". If the position doesn't state whether it is tenure-track or not, make certain you inquire before applying. It's tough to get them, but the positions that offer tenure are the ones that will provide you with job security and reflect an educational institution that cares more about the quality of a student's education, than how attractive its teachers are.

Public or Private: Which education sector has the job for me?

(Note: this post refers to teaching up to high school. For information on university positions, please see this post.)

So you've made up your mind and you want to teach English in Japan. There are a couple of ways to do this: teach in a school or teach in a private company. So which one should you choose? It really depends on your purpose for coming to Japan and how much autonomy you feel is necessary to be satisfied with your job.

The Public School System
Teaching in the public school system is a good idea as you learn the ins and outs of the education system in Japan and you have a more respected position in Japanese society. There are a few ways to find a position within the public school system in Japan: 1) get hired by the government via the JET Programme, 2) get hired directly by a school, and finally 3) get hired via a private company and placed in a public school. These three hiring methods are explained in more detail here.

No matter the means through which you get a job in the public-school system, the likely result is that you will end up becoming an ALT or assistant-language teacher. The reason this is likely is because 99% of the public-school system jobs out there are for ALT positions. So what is an ALT and what do they do? An ALT's job is to assist the main English teacher (usually a Japanese citizen) called a JTE (Japanese teacher of English). How much you assist and how often varies extremely from position to position, however don't fool yourself. You are not the main teacher, you are an assistant.

The JTE or main teacher is in charge of content, handouts, test-making, student-parent relations, students’ academic progress, etc. Basically, it's their responsibility if the class doesn't go well, not the ALTs. As a consequence, the likelihood of you creating or leading a class on a regular basis is slim, while the likelihood of you standing at the front of the class and doing almost nothing is high. This is because consistenly handing entire classes to you to plan and teach would be abrogating their responsibilities, and if you botch the job, the main teacher is the one who will get the blame.

So, it is highly likely that you will not have much in the way of "real" responsibility in this job. Your role is to make class a bit more interesting and provide the students with a chance to speak to a native-speaker of English from another country (i.e. internationalization). It is possible to increase your range of responsibility through proving yourself to the staff as a competent teacher who truly cares for their students, but this takes time and effort.

***Some Exceptions***
ALTs who work in elementary schools often have a much bigger role to play in the content-creation aspect of class because the main teacher often has little or no English ability (or confidence therein).
Additionally, ALTs who work in high schools are often responsible for conversation classes. These classes have no bearing on the entrance examinations students must take for university, so they are often given to ALTs. The purpose of these high school conversation classes is to increase the students' enjoyment of English and to give them an opportunity to use the grammar they are learning in their other classes.

In summary, an ALTs job is usually fairly easy, well-paid and not high in responsibility. It might be tiring physically, but usually not mentally. This job is not for ambitious go-getters who like to be in charge. Sometimes, you might need to be the kind of person who can watch someone do a job poorly that you feel you could do better, keep your mouth shut, and smile happily at your students' pathetic English ability. Choose this option if your main purpose in Japan is to travel around, find a Japanese boyfriend/girlfriend, be close to the source of anime, or any other non-educational priority and/or you do not intend to become a teacher in the future.

Private Companies
Teaching in a private company like a business, kindergarten, cram school or conversation school, has its own advantages. Although this job is considered by Japanese people to be less respectable than an ALT’s, it should actually be the reverse as private English teachers have all of the responsibility and often, less pay. Now that may not sound particularly appealing, but don't write it off yet.

Generally, working in the private sector means smaller classes and you may have the same students for many years. This means that you can clearly see the progress your students are making and if you are their sole English teacher, you have the satisfaction of a job well done.

Teachers who work in the private sector generally become better teachers than ALTs because: a) they have all the responsibility and moreover, they can see very clearly due to the small classrooms, which activities work well and those, that while fun, don't result in learning. b) They can give students more individual attention and they can move students around into different classes to be with those of similar ability; an option completely not available in the public sector. c) They are often responsible for and have full control over (if not the actual content of the lesson) then the way this content is taught, learned and reviewed. d) As there are no school semesters, tests or other deadlines, they can also often choose the speed with which a given topic is taught; spending more time on difficult lessons and breezing through easy ones.

Basically, if your goal in life is to become a teacher and/or you will not be satisfied with little to no authority/autonomy, then going private is right for you. Choose this option if you can't stand old-fashion ways of doing things, you like to have control over you work, and/or you are the hands-on type.

The DOs and DON'Ts of Working in Japan

This guide mainly applies in an educational context, but can be extrapolated for almost all Japanese workplace environments. It's full of generalities of course and mainly applies to a workplace that consists of mostly Japanese employees. If your workplace is very international, then this guide might not apply.

1) Never Say Die
Don't take sick leave, and don't take vacations. Stay late at work often, and talk to your co-workers about how tired you are. Also, participate in everything optional (i.e. sports festivals, school festivals, speeches given by VIPs that you can't understand, etc). Yes, it will involve giving up your weekends and evenings, but participating in events and activities in your workplace show that you are committed to your job.

2) Don't complain.
If your situation is miserable and you hate your job, this is a tough one, but Japanese almost never complain and neither should you. If you absolutely must complain about something, make sure you speak to a Japanese co-worker and get their advice on the best way to go about doing it. Obviously you can complain about harassment and so on.

3) Retro Up!
Act like you are from an episode of Leave It To Beaver. Japanese value cheerful optimism, cooperation, friendliness, thankfulness, and a purity (i.e. sexual purity) of dress and comportment (short skirts are oddly an exception). Don't believe me? Just read their manga or watch their movies/dramas. The messages in these portrayals of society are always someone who triumphs over adversity by being cheerful, moral, and hardworking. Your role-model is now Jane Eyre. The younger generation is changing, but the younger generation isn't going to be the people interview, hiring, supervising and working together with you at the moment. It's still old-school here.

4) Ask for permission
Especially when you are starting out, you will not know the workplace culture. Make sure you ask for permission to do almost everything out of the ordinary, even if it seems harmless to you. Want to have a class outside on a nice day? Ask permission. Want to make a website for your students online? Ask permission. Want to use an unoccupied room covered in ten years of undisturbed dust? Yes, you've got it - ask permission.

5) Give away some glory
Make suggestions to your sempai. This is tough to do as it involves your sempai (co-worker above you in rank) getting credit for all your ideas, but as a junior worker it is not your place to offer constructive criticism. Once you have worked for a few years, then you can make suggestions at meetings. Until then, if you want to make a suggestion, then make it to a co-worker and ask them to suggest it for you.

The Japanese University Workplace

Some people have asked me about working in a Japanese university and what that entails. Here is a description of the kinds of working conditions you can expect in a Japanese-university workplace.

Part-time Work
Working part-time at a university in Japan is great. If you can teach more than 8 koma (90 min) a week, your pay is pretty good for not much work and little to no responsibility. The average pay for 1 koma is about 10000yen, or somewhere around 100 USD or 75 Euros. If you have at least eight of those a week, that makes for a weekly pay of 80000 yen for 12 hours of (official) at the school work. Of course there is always class prep and marking and you won't be paid for that as those hours are included in your 10000yen per koma. This puts you in an annual income of just under 4 million yen per year, which is very decent pay for Japan.

The downsides to working part-time are that you have no input into any changes in your department, nor will you generally even be consulted by the full-time teachers unless you have a close working relationship with them. This is more disadvantageous for some people than others. Some individuals really care about improving the level of education at the school, and some people care mostly for their own students. If you are the kind of person who likes to make a difference in your workplace, part-time work might be tough for you.

Finally, you don't get any benefits, bonuses, research money, and you can't apply for most grants. You will probably not have a private office, and your computer/printer may be ancient. However, the biggest negatives are that your salary will never increase and you have no job security.

Full-time Work
Just like part-time work at a university, full-time work is a mixed bag of good and bad points. The main negative is pay vs. responsibilities and work hours. You will often start off making less than a part-timer would with a lot more responsibility. You will work at least 40 hours a week. Most teachers have on average 6-7 classes per week with language teachers often having more. Beware of any institution that has you teaching more than 12 classes per week, this is an unfair course load.

The average starting salary for a full-time university teacher varies so widely it is hard to give accurate numbers. It can be as little as 250000 (equivalent to a cram school teacher), or up to 480000 yen per month. Private schools will tend to pay less than public schools and lower-ranking schools (i.e. not famous or distinguished academically) will pay even less. However, these low-ranking schools are good entry jobs and may be more lenient in their hiring practices. Maximum salaries also vary with each institution.

Full-time university teachers get all standard benefits offered including health insurance, sick leave and holidays. Your salary will increase over time and most universities give you bonuses twice yearly. Also, you may have much greater job security usually with the possibility of tenure, although this depends on your institution and if they employ discriminatory-hiring practices for foreign employees. You will often get a yearly amount of money to spend on research and trips to conferences. You will also often get subsidised housing, dependent allowance, as well as a private office.

A big difference between full-time and part-time teachers is the number of responsibilities you will have. In additional to classes, full-time teachers are in charge of committees, research rooms, and in particular, seminar students. Seminar students are students that choose to engage in research with you for the full term of their 4 years at the university and ultimately, you are often responsible for helping find employment for them when they graduate. (Obviously a big responsibility.) You may be responsible for giving intensive courses during the summer months and also for administering test on weekends. You will have to help out during open campuses, festivals, and so on. You can expect to work during all school holidays. The students may not be in class, but this does not mean vacation for you.

Working at a Japanese university is a prestigious job with a lot of respect and better than average pay. Therefore, your co-workers will generally be very intelligent and well-educated. It is a great work if you can get it, less busy than working as a office worker, and generally with a better working environment.

How to Get a University Teaching Position in Japan in Five (not-so-easy) Steps!

In my years of living and teaching in Japan, I've come across quite a few people who are trying to get teaching jobs at a university in Japan. Many of those teachers are good at their jobs, and many of them have impressive credentials; some even had PhDs. They often ask me how I have managed to get two university jobs, one full-time having only a bachlor's degree. Although having a master's or a phd is a good start, it won't necessarily get you an interview. So, if you are thinking of trying to get a university job, or if you have been trying unsuccessfully, this post is for you.

Step 1 - Learn Japanese
This may sound obvious, but unlike JET or a conversation school, a university is not geared towards hiring foreigners and they probably won't have an English-speaking supervisor to help you out. Bothering your rediculously busy co-workers to help you with your administrative crap is not going to endear you to them. Also, they won't be able to help you much at faculty and other meetings. You should be able to hold your own in conversations about pension, insurance, curriculum, student affairs, etc. Minimum level for this would be JLPT N3, preferrably lower N2. Reading and writing kanji is less important than being able to speak and understand. I repeat, you pretty much NEED to speak Japanese well.

Step 2 - Get Published
Most universities require you to have a minimum of 3 publications for a full-time position. Even for a part-time position, having something of yours published, anything really, is often required. So, if you have a chance to put something down in writing that will get published in a journal, book, magazine, newspaper, DO IT!!! Ideally, get published in an academic publication, but in my experience, the university staff mainly want to check their boxes with respect to applicants and if you can get that "I have published something" box checked, then you will have an easier time getting an interview, and hopefully landing the position.

Also, think back to any time you were published at school, did you submit a poem or article for the school newspaper? Have you ever won a writing competition? Every little bit helps. If you have nothing, I would suggest going to the local newspaper in your town and asking them if you could write an article for them (in Japanese of course). However, since academic publications are best, choose an area of educational interest, write something well-researched, and try to get published.

Step 3 - Get a part-time position to gain experience and save money
Almost every full-time job will require that you already have at least 2 years of teaching experience at the university level. In order to obtain this, you will need to settle for working part-time for 2~3 years. On the plus side, part-time often pays almost as well as full-time depending on how many koma (classes) you get. On the down side, it's hard to get a visa if you aren't working many hours. You may need to suppliment your part-time university work with part-time cram school or conversation-school work. If you cannot do that, working full-time teaching English to adults is the next best thing.

Save up money because you may have to travel to interviews in person. Some universities will be able to conduct interviews via video conferencing software like Skype, but most won't. Flying around for interviews can get VERY expensive, VERY quickly so be prepared.

Step 4 - Get a Master's Degree
If you don't already have at least a Master's degree, use the time you are working part-time to gain experience as time to get your Master's degree online. Yes, it's expensive, but without it you will have one hell of a time getting a full-time position. There are many online programs, some of them are total scams, so my advice to you is to make sure you get a degree from a university that also has on-site students. (i.e. students who are studying on the school grounds.) A Master's degree in English literature, ESL, and lingustics are the most sought after, but generally speaking, having any Master's degree will be sufficient for most jobs.

Step 5 - Apply, Apply, Apply (or Delay Equals Failure) A Novel By Job Hunter
Send your resumes to every and any job you can. My rule of thumb is this, if you are missing out on one criterion, apply anyway. If you are missing out on two criteria, apply if the job is particularly suited to you in some respect. More than three criteria? Forget it. You may have to send out hundreds of resumes and since this is Japan, you will have to send them by mail (costs $). Also, your resumes will often have to be in Japanese. Be prepared for this by downloading a template and asking a Japanese person to help you if you need kanji assistance.

You will need to tailor your cover letters so often you will have ten versions or more. You will have several different resumes because often universities will have their own resume template requiring you to constanly have to imput the same information over and over in different formats. You will want to die, kill HR people, and you will have to sacrifice a TON of your time, but without this constant effort, you will not succeed in finding a job.

Most job advertisements for April come out in September and resumes are usually considered in the order they are submitted, so if you are a procrastinator, prepare to be rejected. In particular, if you see an ideal job posting, jump on that opportunity asap.

Other points suggested by web-buddies are:
*Membership in an association helps. JALT is a good place to start.
*Avoid emphasizing your eikaiwa (English conversation school) background if you have one. These kinds of jobs have a (often underservedly imo) bad rep in Japan.

Here are the best sites to find university level teaching jobs in Japan. Good luck to you!
jrecin.jst.go.jp/index_e.html‎
jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/job-info-centre/jobs