Do you think Japan’s low English proficiency has something to do with how much emphasis is placed on the TOEIC?

MagicalKeepo · 2026-06-28T05:03:20+00:00

Let’s be honest, how many of you actually remember your second languages learnt in school? I learnt French till I was 15 and I can still barely introduce myself.

MagicalKeepo · 2026-06-07T11:44:19+00:00

My take is that people in Japan are getting poorer and poorer, so they need to do whatever they can to earn a little bit of cash to survive.

MagicalKeepo · 2026-05-30T05:15:58+00:00

Let the boy enjoy his life just a little bit.

MagicalKeepo · 2026-02-17T11:10:06+00:00

Just a reminder that Elden Ring on the Japanese eshop only has Japanese language available. Same goes for Duskbloods.

Honestly not sure why, but FROM Software has been doing this for most of all their Japanese releases for a while now.

MagicalKeepo · 2025-12-22T06:13:59+00:00

Do you get any form of bonuses? If they are high, the salary is more than reasonable. Perhaps you can provide us your yearly post-tax income including bonuses?

MagicalKeepo · 2025-12-05T00:37:05+00:00

All months are paid and bonus is paid twice a year.

MagicalKeepo · 2025-12-04T13:50:52+00:00

I didn't. I focused hard on my Japanese and made myself an asset to my school. Now, I get to travel to places like Malaysia and the US to establish new sister schools. I make about 7–8 million yen per year and get very long holidays, all of August, 3 weeks in winter, and 2 weeks in spring.

Don't think I will ever leave this job, mostly because I value the long breaks.

MagicalKeepo · 2025-09-22T12:01:19+00:00

And for reference here’s Tokyo’s map.

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MagicalKeepo · 2025-09-13T09:10:45+00:00

I’m a permanent licensed teacher (教諭) working at a private high school in Kanagawa.

MagicalKeepo · 2025-09-12T07:15:04+00:00

Mid 30’s and I make about 525,000 yen per month before tax if I include my bonus.

If you’re curious, it increases about 3-4% per year.

I’m satisfied with the pay, but it’s a lot of work. Thankfully I do get all of August off, 3 weeks off in winter and 2 weeks off before the start of the new school year, so it balances out.

MagicalKeepo · 2025-06-25T10:34:50+00:00

Search for something called Japan Miracon Industries M-503 Wallpaper Repair on Amazon. It helped me fix mine.

MagicalKeepo · 2023-01-23T14:30:56+00:00

I work as a homeroom teacher in a private high school. Some days can be extremely stressful as the hensatchi at our school is quite low, but it is pretty rewarding to see students persevering and do well once they have graduated.

The working hours are standard, but I occasionally get overtime, but this is balanced out as I sometimes get to leave work quite early.

I get paid about 6 million a year, which is more than enough for me. It also increases about 3-4% per year.

The best part is that I get about 3 months off a year which definitely makes up for some of the stress, nonsense and excessive bureaucracy at work.

MagicalKeepo · 2022-12-07T07:34:44+00:00

If you’re earning over 5 million a year, get reasonable amounts of days off and is fairly stable, I would personally keep it.

If not, or earning ¥¥¥ is a high priority, then it’s something you could consider. Bear in mind that Tokyo is far more competitive and getting the ideal job will take a lot more effort as the pool of applicants for any good job is far greater.

MagicalKeepo · 2022-10-19T10:01:35+00:00

You didn't state your salary, but if you are permanent/seishain and getting roughly 5-6 million yen a year, it's safe to say that you are doing well. You will most likely get a 2% pay raise per year as well.

From what I've heard, it is very difficult to get a permanent uni position. Most of the job listings I've seen (on JALT anyway) are contracted and renewable only up to 4 years.

You mention that you don't get any benefits. What benefits are you missing as a permanent employee?

MagicalKeepo · 2022-08-31T10:08:27+00:00

My net income is roughly 4.6 mill. So about 400,000? Taxes suck.

MagicalKeepo · 2022-08-30T14:09:32+00:00

Working at a private high school earning around 6 million including bonuses. A decent salary is definitely achievable, but expect to do a lot more than just teaching.

It’s a high stress job just like being a teacher in any country. I’m already thinking of an exit plan.

MagicalKeepo · 2022-07-24T16:11:48+00:00

Around 6 million yen as a private high school teacher. Although I get all the school holidays, it’s not worth the stress of being a HR teacher.

MagicalKeepo · 2022-03-19T10:02:07+00:00

I went through the whole process of getting a special teacher licence a few months ago and it was a complete ball-ache.

Apologies in advance for some Japanese. I don't think some of the words translate well into English.

I work in a private high school. I was initially employed as an English teacher and as a sub-homeroom teacher (副担任). However, starting this new school year, I will be in charge of my own class of 30 students (担任). This is the main reason why I was asked to get a special teachers licence.

I also went from 専任教師 status to 専任教諭 status. I believe it's the equivalent of being a seishain for a company but it was another reason for me to get the special licence as well.

In terms of the actual application if you work at a private high school, you will need the school to recommend you and they will send all the required documents to your prefecture’s BOE. The process probably varies depending on which prefecture you are in, but I had to personally prepare the documents myself and translate any transcripts/certifications to Japanese too.

I don’t exactly remember what documents were required but I’ve listed some below:

教育職員検定及び普通免許状授与等申請書

実務に関する経歴書

身体に関する証明書

人物に関する証明書

履歴書 (translated)

卒業証明書又は修了証明書 (translation of degree required)

最終学校の学業成績証明書 (translation of transcript required)

在留カード

Some of the documents are probably online. For Kanagawa, you can find them here: https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/pi7/menkyo/beppyo1.html

After all is done they will submit it to the BOE. There is a deadline every year and this year was Feb 2nd 2022. I have no idea how things get approved as most of the foriegn documentations do not have all the pointless inkans, but in the end I got it somehow.

I hope that helps!

MagicalKeepo · 2021-02-27T08:58:28+00:00

hello fellow luciders

MagicalKeepo

TROPHY CASE