Entry-level English teaching pays ¥200,000–270,000 a month whether through a dispatch ALT company, an eikaiwa chain, or the better-paying JET Programme — enough to live on, not enough to save aggressively, and largely flat for two decades. The visa needs a bachelor's degree in any field and no Japanese. The career fork comes early — credentials (teaching license, CELTA/DELTA, a master's) move you toward international schools and universities at double the pay, while staying generic keeps the same salary at 45 that you earned at 25.
Key facts
- Dispatch ALT
- ~¥180,000–250,000/month
- JET Programme
- ¥3.36M year one, rising yearly
- Eikaiwa chains
- ~¥230,000–270,000/month
- International schools
- ¥4M–6M+ with credentials
- Visa requirement
- Bachelor's degree, any field
The entry rungs, priced honestly
Three doors open with any bachelor’s degree. Dispatch ALT work in public schools pays ¥180,000–250,000 with daytime hours and real classrooms — minus the holiday-month trap buried in many contracts. Eikaiwa conversation chains pay ¥230,000–270,000 for evening and weekend shifts in city locations. JET beats both — ¥3.36 million in year one, rising annually, plus flights — but you apply from your home country and take the placement you’re given. All three convert cleanly into an Engineer/Humanities visa or Instructor visa, and none requires a word of Japanese on day one.
Where the money flattens — and why
The uncomfortable chart: entry-level English teaching pay has barely moved in twenty years, and the median dispatch ALT earns roughly the same at 40 as at 25. The system isn’t broken — it’s tiered. Generic native-speaker teaching is a commodity rung; the pay jumps live behind credentials. A home-country teaching license opens international schools at ¥4–6 million and up. CELTA-then-DELTA opens senior eikaiwa and curriculum roles. A master’s degree opens university contracts. Each costs a year or two of part-time effort — the difference between teachers who plateau and teachers who don’t is almost always a certificate begun by year two.
Making entry pay work meanwhile
At ¥230,000 a month the standard deductions leave roughly ¥190,000 — comfortable in a regional city, tight in central Tokyo, which is one reason placements outside the capital often feel better paid. Private lessons at ¥3,000–5,000 an hour are the traditional top-up — legal within your status for most teaching visas, but declare the income when it passes ¥200,000 a year. And treat the first contract’s insurance line as a filter: an employer who enrolls you properly in shakai hoken is telling you something about everything else they do.
Common mistakes & warnings
- Ask dispatch ALT recruiters the school-holiday question before signing — many contracts pay less or nothing during August and spring break, which turns an advertised ¥240,000 into a real ten-and-a-half-month salary. Budget on the annual figure, not the monthly one.
- The comfortable trap is real — entry pay covers a decent single life, and that comfort quietly costs people the years in which credentials would have doubled it. Decide by year two whether teaching is the career or the landing pad.
- Check what your contract's social insurance line actually says — some dispatch companies structure hours to sit just under enrollment thresholds, leaving you on national insurance at your own cost. Full shakai hoken membership is worth real money.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Japanese or a teaching license to start?
Neither. The work visa needs a bachelor's degree in any subject, and classrooms run in English by design. Japanese matters for daily life and for stepping beyond entry-level — and a home-country teaching license is the single strongest upgrade card.
JET, dispatch ALT, or eikaiwa — which first job is best?
JET when you can get it — highest entry pay, flights, placement support, and a name later employers recognize. Dispatch ALT trades pay for daytime hours and real school experience; eikaiwa trades school experience for evening shifts and city placements. All three are two-year chapters, not destinations.
What does the realistic long-term path look like?
Credential and climb — CELTA/DELTA then curriculum roles, a licensed teaching job at an international school (¥4M–6M+), or a master's toward university posts. The alternative exits are corporate training, recruiting, or using bilingual experience to leave teaching entirely.
Official sources
- JET Programme — remuneration outline (2026-07-17)
This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules change; always confirm details with the official sources listed above before making decisions.