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JET Program from India: Teach English in Japan as an ALT

By Aditya Dewangan6 min read

A paid job in Japan straight after your degree, with your flight covered: how the JET Program works for Indians, who can apply, the application, the interview, and how I'd prepare.

Forget scholarships for a minute. There's a program that takes graduates from India directly to a paid job in Japan, with the flight paid, even if your Japanese is only basic. It's called the JET Program, and most Indian students have never heard of it.

I researched it deeply for my video. Here's everything in one place.

What is the JET Program? 🇯🇵

JET stands for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (語学指導等を行う外国青年招致事業). It's run by Japan's local governments together with three ministries (MIC, MOFA and MEXT) and an organisation called CLAIR. Its goal is internationalisation: bringing young people from around the world into Japanese schools and towns.

It started in 1987 with four countries. Today there are thousands of participants from dozens of countries, and India is one of them.

Most participants go as an ALT, an Assistant Language Teacher.

What does an ALT actually do?

You're placed with a board of education and work in elementary, junior high or high schools. Day to day you:

  • Help Japanese teachers of English (called JTEs) run their English classes.
  • Plan activities, especially in elementary schools.
  • Make teaching materials, tests and assignments.
  • Join school events, speech contests and clubs.

It's a Monday-to-Friday job, typically about 35 hours a week. Weekends and Japanese national holidays are off, and you get paid leave (the amount depends on your employer). You work as a member of staff of a Japanese public body, so you're treated much like a local civil servant or teacher.

How much does it pay? 💴

According to the 2026 JET application guidelines published by Japanese embassies, ALT pay is about ¥4,020,000 a year in the first year, rising in the second and third years if your contract is renewed. Japanese tax and health insurance are deducted from that.

The contract is for one year, and with good performance it can be renewed, up to five years in total. Your round-trip flight is covered.

Figures change each round. Always check the current year's guidelines on the Embassy of Japan in India's website.

Who can apply from India?

The main requirements in the guidelines:

  • Indian citizenship (an Indian passport).
  • A bachelor's degree in any subject, by the time you'd arrive in Japan.
  • Excellent English, spoken and written.
  • Good mental and physical health.
  • A genuine interest in Japan, and willingness to keep learning about it and to study Japanese.
  • Ability to adapt to life in Japan, and willingness to keep ties with Japan after the program.
  • Not having lived in Japan for six years or more, and not having declined a JET placement before.

There's no application fee.

What gives you an edge

The guidelines also list things that strengthen an application, such as a degree in English or education, a teaching licence or teaching experience, a TEFL/TESOL certificate, and Japanese ability, even at JLPT N5 or N4.

How the application works

On the Embassy of Japan in India's website, go to Education → JET Programme → Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). There you'll find the application guidelines and the form. Read every point of the guidelines.

You'll put together:

  1. The application form: personal details, education, academic record, work history, any teaching or coaching experience, and your Japanese level.
  2. A medical self-assessment.
  3. Two references from people who know you well.
  4. Academic transcripts.
  5. A Statement of Purpose.
  6. Proof of your degree, or a certificate that you're expected to graduate.
  7. A national ID, such as Aadhaar, a voter ID or a driving licence.
  8. Certificates for teaching or language qualifications: JLPT, NAT, TOEFL, IELTS and so on.
  9. A criminal record declaration.
  10. Audio recordings. In the last round, one recording was about 15 seconds on why you want to join JET, and another was reading a short English passage aloud. This checks your pronunciation and communication.

Everything goes in as one PDF within the size limit, by email, by the embassy's deadline.

Every Japanese government program wants to know your real reason for applying. Spend real time on your motivation: in your SOP, your audio and your interview.

The selection process and timeline

The steps:

  1. Paper screening by the Embassy of Japan in India.
  2. An interview at the embassy in New Delhi.
  3. A joint decision by the ministries and CLAIR on the candidates the embassy recommends.
  4. Placement. CLAIR matches you with an employer in Japan (a prefecture or city), who then contacts you. So you know who's hiring you before you fly.

In the last round, applications opened around September and October, interviews were in January, results came around March or April, placements in May, orientation in June or July, and participants arrived in Japan at the end of July. Check the embassy's page for the next round's dates.

How I'd prepare (start 6 to 12 months before) 📝

  1. Get classroom experience. Any job or volunteering in India where you actually teach.
  2. Start Japanese now. Aim for JLPT N4 by the time you apply, which sets you apart.
  3. Consider a TEFL or TESOL certificate.
  4. Get your university transcripts signed early. Indian universities can take a long time.
  5. Write a deep SOP, not surface-level lines.
  6. Choose referees who know you well and can speak about your leadership, teaching and adaptability.
  7. Record your audio at a natural pace, with clear pronunciation and confidence.
  8. Keep the PDF organised, page by page, within the size limit.

For the interview

Expect questions like:

  • Why do you want to go to Japan?
  • Why the JET Program?
  • How will you handle a different culture?
  • As an Indian, how would you introduce yourself to Japanese students?

I'd prepare a short English activity you could show them, the kind you'd run in a class, because teaching children is the core of the job. And learn the basics of how Japanese schools work.

What happens after JET?

According to CLAIR's surveys of former participants, many go home and work in their own country after JET, and years of experience in Japan help there. If you want to stay in Japan, CLAIR runs career events for JET participants aimed at jobs in education, translation, interpretation, tourism and more.

Should you apply?

If you're finishing a bachelor's, love the idea of living in Japan, and enjoy teaching, JET is one of the best routes there is: a real salary, a real job, and real life in Japan from day one.

Start your Japanese today so it's on your application next time. Our free Japanese course is the first step, and our guide to jobs in Japan covers the other routes.