This article is geared towards US citizens who wish to participate in the JET program. However, you may still find helpful information here.

From 2016 – 2022 I worked as a high school ALT (assistant language teacher) for the Kumamoto Board of Education through the JET program. JET, the Japan Exchange and Teaching program, is the only exchange and teaching initiative managed by the government of Japan.

The JET Program is implemented by contracting organizations of Japan in cooperation with the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC).

It is highly competitive and the application process requires a lot from you. You will need college transcripts, proof of graduation, medical clearance, proof of US citizenship, the lengthy JET application, two letters of recommendation, and you need to write a statement of purpose essay as well. If you have any certificates from the JLPT or for TEFL, you want to submit copies of those, too.

Once you clear the preliminary stage, you will then have to go in person to the Japanese embassy or consulate for your region to do an in-person interview in front of a panel of JET alumni and staff. After that interview, you will have to wait a while, and then you will be notified whether or not you have been chosen for JET, what your position will be, and then, even later, who your contracting organization is along with where you are placed and what schools you will teach in.

While on the application there is an area where you can request up to three placements in Japan, be aware that you are placed entirely on the whims of the program and where they have a great need for teachers. I originally requested Nara, Gifu, and Hokkaido. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Kyushu because I was worried about the heat (my medicine makes me super sensitive to heat)…and lo and behold, I got assigned to Kyushu: Kumamoto prefecture, to be exact. Despite the awful summers there, I ended up absolutely loving my placement, and Kyushu on the whole is amazing. I do not regret where I was placed by any means and it ended up being perfect for me.

Let’s go into the process in a little more detail, step by step.

The application

It’s a whopper. I can’t remember too much about it–most of it consists of gathering your details, such as your address, citizenship and background, school information (you have to have a Bachelor’s degree by time of placement), your desired placement, employment history, and some preliminary questions asking about why you want to do JET and things like that.

The tedious part about the application is gathering and submitting all of the materials mentioned above. I had two of my graduate school professors write my recommendations, and I scanned copies of my undergrad and graduate diplomas as proof of graduation, along with scanning copies of official transcripts (the entire application process is online).

The biggest thing that had me worried was getting medical clearance.

Self-report of medical conditions and physician’s statement

First, you are to fill out the self-report document and disclose whatever health conditions you have. Do not lie or omit anything. I had to share that I have bipolar I disorder and that I was also (still am) obese. The bipolar disorder mention triggered the requirement of the physician’s statement. I had to contact my psychiatrist to clear me for JET. Luckily I had his support and the support of my therapist, too. But I was paranoid that a serious mental illness like bipolar disorder would disqualify me. It did not.

I also was worried about treatment for my bipolar disorder once I got to Japan. One of my medications (Wellbutrin) is illegal in Japan, so that got swapped out for Zoloft, and eventually Seroquel got swapped for Rexulti. I was able to secure an English-speaking psychiatrist (she was a pediatric psychiatrist so I was essentially “snuck into” that hospital for care), and an English-speaking therapist. My psychiatrist was a 45-minute commute from my home in Kikuchi, and my therapist, a one-hour commute. I wasn’t able to find these doctors myself–the prefectural advisors found them for me. So, I recommend if you have a serious medical condition, let your PAs know right away so you can get immediate care.

Statement of purpose

According to the JET USA website, the Statement of Purpose is a two-page, double-spaced essay where you write about your qualifications and motivations for participating in the JET Program. This was my essay from 2016:

I attended graduate school with the hopes of becoming a better writer, but even more importantly, to embark on a career in academia teaching English. While I wrote my thesis, I heeded the advice of my mentors and sought experiences teaching and engaging with the public as much as possible. They suggested I follow in the footsteps of authors before me
and attend popular conventions where I could interact with fans and lead panels that focused on creative writing and speculative fiction.

When I tried to pick conventions to submit to, I researched the highest-attended events in Ohio and found a common thread in all of them: they celebrated Japanese pop culture (particularly anime and manga). While I watched some Japanese animation as a child, along with a couple Miyazaki films during high school and college, I didn’t know much about Japanese popular culture, let alone Japan. While I frequented events like
Colossalcon, Matsuricon, and Ohayocon over the years, I learned more about the “pop” side of Japan and even more about the American otaku; but the reality of Japan seemed elusive to me.

I remembered from my undergraduate years how the only way to learn of the reality of another culture is to immerse yourself in it. During my junior year of college, I studied abroad in Wales in the small country town of Carmarthen, translated as “Merlin’s fort” (the Merlin of Arthurian legend). I discovered Wales how I discovered Japan: through a pop-cultural introduction; and what attracted me to Wales is what attracts me to Japan—the stories, myths, and modes of expression unique to the culture.

Quite a few of my classmates from graduate school teach English as assistant language teachers. I have friends who are currently in Russia and China, and I am friends with a former JET, G— A–, who cannot recommend the program enough. The rigor of the application process appeals to me because it indicates that JET has high standards and expects much from its participants. I have researched other ways to teach in Japan and JET seems to offer the greatest benefits, and the longevity and reputation of the program reassures me of its successes.

I have enjoyed being an adjunct instructor at my local college, but I want to become a more valuable educator, and teaching English as a foreign or second language will help. While I have yet to enroll in a formal TEFL certification program, I have completed free MOOC courses from the University of Southampton and the British Council through FutureLearn in order to get a taste of what foreign-language teaching could be like. I will continue such courses as they are made available in preparation for teaching, and certainly
for teaching as a JET participant.

While the JET program presents the dream opportunity of visiting Japan, I’m more interested in cultural exchange. I have a great appreciation of literature, mythology, and storytelling, and I hope to trade in each. As an ALT in Japan, I want to be a firm source of support to my fellow teachers as well as students. I hope to satisfy and encourage curiosity, and to offer enthusiasm and inspiration for English language and cultural studies.

As a potential JET alumna, I hope to advocate for international study and cultural exchange with Japan, whether it be through my capacity as a teacher, or as a writer. I also seek to add a bit of “real Japan” to the conventions I often frequent as a panelist, and to draw out the admiration and curiosity within the fandom to inspire them to seek a deeper, more fulfilling
understanding of Japan and its people.

In-person interview

So, my situation was a little strange. I selected my region as Washington, D.C. As an Ohioan I was supposed to choose Chicago as my official region, and go to the Japanese consulate there (I would also fly out of Chicago to Japan), but I didn’t want to do that.

My sister lived in Maryland close to D.C., so we figured I would spend time with her and rely on her help with travelling. So, I interviewed at the Japanese Embassy in D.C. It was great because my sister was there to cheer me on (she wasn’t allowed to come with me, though), and after my interview, we went to the zoo! Yay!

Anyway, I think my interview panel consisted of four people. They asked me questions such as, “you indicated your knowledge of Japanese is quite low; how do you intend to communicate and live in Japan?” They also asked me to come up with a lesson plan spontaneously about “peace,” and I blurted out some sort of comparison-contrast lesson with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama right off the top of my head. I also took the time to show them all of my certificates I got from studying with the British Council and Future Learn, which had courses from Keio University that I took, and I made sure to let them know how I adjusted to living in Wales when I studied abroad there in my 20s.

In my gut I knew I had nailed the interview, but I didn’t want to be too confident about it. But I had a really good feeling when I left the Embassy. Sure enough, after a nail-biting long wait, I was notified of my acceptance into JET. Because I chose Washington, D.C. as my region, I would attend Pre-departure Orientation there, and fly to and from D.C. when the time came.

Notification of Placement

I didn’t know where I was going to live until mid-July. My initial placement letter welcomed me to the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education as my contracting organization, but my placement was yet to be determined. I knew I was going to be placed in a high school, though, because elementary and junior high schools tended to be governed by the city or municipality, not the prefecture.

Anyway, I was initially placed in Kikuchi, Kumamoto and assigned to schools not only in Kikuchi, but Yamaga and Nankan, too, for a total of five schools my first year. There was a desperate need for ALTs in Kumamoto because, only a couple of months before my arrival, the 7.0 and 6.2 earthquakes had devastated the prefecture, and many Kumamoto JETs returned home.

My time on JET in Japan

I remained on JET for six years. Over the course of my tenure, I taught at a total of seven schools because I was transferred from Kikuchi to Yamaga and became the Kamoto High School ALT after my second year on JET. I had two years with Kikuchi schools before switching over completely to Yamaga schools. Meanwhile, during my first year in Japan, Nankan High School closed after a couple months.

You have to be a really good teacher to stay on the program for that long. You get evaluated by your co-teachers and the vice principal of the school every school year and you have to have an excellent performance record to be invited back. JET usually lasts for 5 years max, but due to COVID-19, I was asked back for a sixth year as an emergency ALT.

I judged speech contests, helped with English drama, emceed English camps, volunteered with KumaJET and helped with fundraisers, in addition to travelling all over Western Japan. I cosplayed at Anime Japan in Tokyo in 2019, and completed the Shikoku Henro (88-temple pilgrimage) in 2018. Those were probably some of the highlights of my time in Japan.

Do I recommend JET?

Hell yes. It’s the longest running, most prestigious placement program for English teachers in the country. While there are other ways to get overseas to teach there, JET covers your flight to and from Japan, often (but not always) subsidizes housing based on where you are placed, and the pay is among the highest for those working as ALTs in Japan. The work-life balance is incredible. And if you live out in the country like I did, everything is pretty affordable. I did have to buy a car as one of my schools was an hour from where I lived, and there were no buses that went out there, but even then, that was affordable (like less than $1300 for a used kei car in decent shape).

Most of my thirties was spent in Japan, and I count them as some of the most incredible years of my life. I’m poor and busy with work right now, but I know I’m going to somehow find my way back there.

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The JET Program USA is currently open to applications, but not for long! The deadline to apply is November 14, 2025 for the 2026 cycle, which starts in the summer. Find out more about the program here.