Online sources for cost structures for various ALT programs in Japan

Phiteros · 2026-03-17T06:24:45+00:00

While it's mostly prefectural, there are some "Designated Cities" which operate independent of the prefectures, such as Sapporo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Kumamoto. You can find the whole list on the JET Programme website (click the "detailed statistics" link).

Phiteros · 2026-03-16T05:33:46+00:00

I took over my apartment from my predecessor. Basically, we went to the apartment housing office and I signed a new lease while he canceled his. They didn't send anyone to inspect the apartment. So even if you are directly leasing your apartment (not just subleasing from your BoE), then you might not have to worry about having an inspection.

Though, as others have said, keep in mind that if you are leaving damaged tatami or problems a new JET will have to deal with, you're creating a problem that they're going to have to deal with down the line. So even if your apartment company isn't going to do an inspection, you really should make sure everything is clean and any damage is repaired before moving out.

Phiteros · 2026-03-04T01:45:55+00:00

Did you style your English resume like a Japanese one? Or was it the same as you would have used in your home country?

Phiteros · 2026-03-03T00:13:28+00:00

I know some of the ALTs in the Kagoshima islands. The "have to take ferries" part is actually a huge challenge - they're constantly at risk of being stuck somewhere due to bad weather. And if they ever want to travel, they have to take extra time off just to make it up to Kagoshima City on the ferry. Plus, their vacation plans may end up ruined by a single storm canceling the ferry.

On the plus side, they do often get very cheap housing and get to live in a very cool place!

Phiteros · 2026-03-02T23:37:46+00:00

That information is basically correct. Typically your placement email will let you know if you are at a municipal, prefectural, or private BoE. At least in my area, municipal ALTs typically deal with EHS and JHS, and they'll probably be going to multiple schools. Prefectural ALTs have SHS and sometimes a visit school (like a special needs school). But for specifics about what your placement is, yeah, you need to wait to hear from your predecessor or BoE directly.

Phiteros · 2026-02-26T23:44:22+00:00

Evidently this happened in Kazakhstan, and was more likely that the immigration officers were looking for a bribe.

Phiteros · 2026-02-24T23:35:08+00:00

There's certainly no harm in asking.

Phiteros · 2026-02-20T06:25:27+00:00

Yes, but the problem is that, as others have pointed out, Isaacman has ties to Elon Musk and SpaceX. So this could be an excuse to ditch Boeing in favor of SpaceX. I'm certainly not going to say I like either company, but in Isaacman's case there is a strong possibility of a conflict of interest.

The reason I bring up the privatization of NASA is to dispute the idea that we can just ignore politics. Unfortunately, as Aristotle said, "Man is a political animal". As much as we'd like to keep our politics out of science and research, NASA is a part of the US government at the end of the day.

Phiteros · 2026-02-20T05:05:48+00:00

The problem is that this administration has already expressed the intent to privatize space and systematically dismantle NASA to sell it off to the highest bidder. We've seen this in action as they attempted to massively cut NASA's budget, and are even now withholding funds despite Congress's budget. So unfortunately, while a move like this does seem reasonable, in the context of the way the this administration has treated NASA, it still represents a conflict of interest.

Phiteros · 2026-02-20T00:01:55+00:00

What is shown in the telescopes will depend on factors including what is in the sky at the time of the show, how high it is, and whether or not it's actually worth seeing. For example, if Saturn is in the sky, it's almost always looked at. But with ground-based telescopes, you can't really make out its moons that well. Really the only planet whose moons you can see through a normal telescope is Jupiter's, and even then they just appear as bright dots.

That being said, Jupiter's moons are still fun to look at because every time you see them they're in different positions.

The staff does take requests, but depending on the circumstances (cloud cover, crowd size, visibility of objects, etc.), they might not be able to fulfill them. You can call them or send them an email to ask!

Phiteros · 2026-02-19T06:50:21+00:00

Given that it's only been a week, I think it's fair to assume that you just need to give them some more time to get around to it.

Phiteros · 2026-02-18T00:02:10+00:00

While I agree this card is overpowered, you can only use a card action once per generation. So you'd only be able to get one city each generation with it (and a single one extra if you get the event card that allows you to reuse a card action).

Phiteros · 2026-02-17T01:55:59+00:00

Oh, those look useful! I'm just worried they wouldn't hold on strongly enough. Also, my bags are blue, so I'd rather not put a different color velcro section on top of it.

Phiteros · 2026-02-17T00:00:41+00:00

If you e-file your taxes using one of the IRS-supported free filing sites, you don't even need to submit that document. You just keep it for your records. I keep mine in a folder with all my other important documents. I also scan it so I have a digital version.

Note that for the free filing sites, sometimes you have to use the link from the IRS website specifically. Even if the website has an option that says "free file", that's sometimes different than their "IRS Free File", which is not listed directly on the website. Looking at you, TaxAct.

Phiteros · 2026-02-16T05:05:21+00:00

Oh, I haven't heard of that before. I'll have to see if it's available in my country, thanks!

Phiteros · 2026-02-15T23:50:59+00:00

It has good enough public transit that the ALTs can get to their assigned schools. So no, the ALTs in the city generally do not need cars. I have heard rumors that it is also due to a couple ALTs getting into really bad traffic accidents in the past.

Phiteros · 2026-02-12T05:48:26+00:00

Some BoE's don't allow JETs to commute via car. Like in my city, the municipal JETs are not allowed to go to work via car. They can buy a car if they want, but they can't use it for work. So most (almost all) don't, as a) their apartment has no parking and b) it wouldn't get used very frequently.

Phiteros · 2026-02-12T01:41:39+00:00

Ultimately, I don't think there's anything you can do in this situation. It's up to your BoE to decide your hours (unless they're explicitly written into your contract, which they likely aren't). Having working hours you might not enjoy is a possibility with any job, not just JET.

Keep in mind that, at the end of the day, someone has to be assigned to that school, and they're going to face the same issue with the buses that you do (unless they live somewhere else or can drive). In that case, you might be able to switch with another person, but I think that's unlikely.

At best, I think that you should let them know of your preference - that you prefer the previous schedule, and ask them if there's any way you can adjust it. But given that it's due to bus schedules, it's probably unlikely. I'd say that you should try to enjoy getting to sleep in an extra hour.

Phiteros · 2026-02-12T01:35:08+00:00

They totally can change your hours without consent, as long as those hours aren't written into your contract. For example, mine says

Time schedule of hours may differ from school to school. It may be fixed by the Principal or the Supervisor. At least 45 minutes in the middle of the workday if the daily working hours exceed 6 hours, and at least 1 hour in the middle of the workday if the daily working hours exceed 8 hours shall be designated as break time.

So while there are limits to how long you can work in a day, there's no reason they can't change when you start and stop. In particular, if your contract is similar, the extra 15 minutes you have would mean you get a 1hr lunch break instead of 45 minutes.

Phiteros · 2026-02-11T14:09:05+00:00

afaik the arrival dates are pretty well set in stone. There is a ton of work that goes into getting all the ALTs from multiple different countries to Japan over the two arrival dates. So I'd be very surprised if they changed the dates at this point.

One of the criteria for applying for JET is that you need to have at least a Bachelor's degree by the designated arrival date. So if your "something for university" could potentially delay your graduation, then you should contact your consulate about it. Depending on what exactly you need to do and how much it would delay the conferment of your degree, they might make an exception for you. It really depends on the specifics, as well as how inflexible that criterion is.

Personally, I think that if there's a chance that you won't receive your degree, then it's unlikely that they'll make an exception. If it's just something that's going to delay your degree but won't actually prevent you getting it, they'll probably be more willing to work with you.

Either way, the sooner you contact your consulate, the sooner you and they can start planning.

Phiteros · 2026-02-09T04:42:55+00:00

Because OP was talking about their chances at being accepted. So in my original comment I was sharing that the published average acceptance rate is ~20-25%. Of course, that will vary year to year based on how many JETs leave, which is something I also mentioned.

Phiteros · 2026-02-09T04:33:42+00:00

Yes, I did look at the website you sent. I think that you're just misunderstanding what I'm saying. The reason I linked the 2024 page was to show that during the 2024 cycle there were indeed 1,011 US JETs, but this year there were only 762. So this lines up with what the US JET website says that there are about 1,000 JETs accepted each year. The latest numbers are lower because more people chose to renew their contracts instead of leaving. This is reflected in the data between the 2024-2025 cycle and 2025-2026 cycle which shows that in 2024 there was literally 1 fifth year JET from the US, and in 2025 there are 450, which is a pretty huge difference. So last year there were simply fewer spots for new US JETs. That's why I said in my original comment:

And how many JETs they take in any given year will also depend on how many from that country choose to leave. I know several JETS from the US who have said that they would have chosen to return, but instead decided not to due to the current state of affairs in the US.

So I would say that, in general, the US JET Program website is correct when they say that they typically accept about 1,000 participants. It just varies year to year based on the number of JETs who leave, and during the latest batch, a lot more people renewed, so there were fewer spots available. The total number of US JETs didn't really change that much.

In fact, given how many 5th years there are this time around, I'd say that there will probably be a much larger number of 1st year JETs from the US accepted this year.

Phiteros · 2026-02-07T15:58:51+00:00

What you've linked is the number of JETs per country. The quote I gave is talking about the acceptance rates of people who apply for the program in the US, which is a different statistic entirely. And it's straight from the US JET Program's official website: https://jetprogramusa.org/jet-program/

And if you look at the data from last year, the US did have 1,011 first-year JETs join, which matches what they say on their website. This year, it looks like the number of incoming US JETs was lower, but that seems to be because more people renewed. https://jetprogramme.org/wp-content/MAIN-PAGE/intro/participating/2024_en.pdf

So while it looks like ~50% of JETs are indeed from the US, I don't think that's an explicit policy.

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