Can I teach geography in Japan?

I am an American teacher of World Geography, and I love the subject as it is a class where the lessons taught will be applicable at all levels of a student/learners life. I have always wanted to teach abroad, especially in Japan, but would someone outside of Japan be allowed to teach this particular subject there? I know English speaking techers are often only brought in to teach English, but what of other subjects of incredible use?

And you will be teaching geography to whom? in English ? to Japanese pupils?

since you don't have a teaching license in Japan, you can't teach in authorized schools.
you may work as a teacher in un-authorized schools, like international schools.
this rule is as same as your country.

Simple question to you...

Can Taro, Raj or Mei from abroad teach subject at any public school in your country?

In Japan you need a teaching licence to teach in private/public school.
As for International school that'll depends on the school hiring requirement.

http://ncee.org/what-we-do/center-on-international-education-benchmark...

https://www.reddit.com/r/teachinginjapan/comments/90hqck/is_there_a_pa...

https://www.nier.go.jp/English/educationjapan/pdf/201103TTCS.pdf

I've seen listings on jobs sites (specifically for foreigners) for positions teaching lots of subjects (music seems to be one of the most common) at international schools and other specialist institutions (not public schools). Don't let anyone tell you the possibility doesn't exist, it's not all that common but in theory yes you likely can. Keep an eye on job sites.

I know someone (from the UK) that teaches chemistry - they are a professor at one of the Tokyo universities, and they teach the subject in Japanese. So, it's possible to teach/lecture/get a job in a specialised field, but you'll most likely need to do it in Japanese at essentially native level fluency.

Just imagine them hiring a Japanese teacher that doesnft speak English to teach in an American high school. Not really likely is it?

There are plenty of foreign teachers who speak English that teach in the USA, though. Particularly if they want to teach in a rural area that has a hard time attracting teachers.

If you learn fluent Japanese then you have a chance, but itfs still fairly small. Youfd have to find a reason why they would want to sponsor you instead of hiring a Japanese teacher.

in universities, you don't need to have a teaching license (there is no teaching license for university professors). but, generally speaking, they request Ph.D. degree. (there is no requirement for Japanese speaking.)

I can't talk about public schools in Japan but I can talk about international schools.

Japan is a reasonably mature international school market with a slowly shrinking expat population base with children. As such - there are not many positions in international schools. There are probably less than 50 international schools in the whole country - but around 10-15 which are worth working at.

Japan is a high priority destination with the American Education system not being it's biggest market. The IB is the biggest group followed by the UK and other systems. For the IB there is something called Group 3 where Grade 11/12 students choose 1 of the following:

History, Economics, Psychology, Philosophy, IT, Geography + ESS, Business Management and a couple of others.

As such - there would be less than 10 position in probably the whole of the country in relation to the IB. There is also I & S (Grade 6-10) but this also includes History & Civics to some degree.

So to put it simple - is it possible to teach World Geography in Japan? Yes - but it will be difficult to find and get a job.

Japan has few jobs. Many people with international experience wants to work there. Geography is what's considered a "dime a dozen" qualification on the international circuit unfortunately. As such - there are many more teachers looking for jobs than actual positions.

https://internationalschoolsreviewdiscuss.wordpress.com/2020/01/16/mos...

Look into potentially joining a job agency which does not find you a job but gives you access to databases.

I've taught in Japan for 3 years, lived overseas for more than a decade in 5 different countries and know the Japanese international school system well.

Yeah, There are several opportunities in the Hiroshima area. You will probabaly be asked to teach English as well but I know of four private schools and one public school that teach most subjects in English in Hiroshima prefecture. You could also check out the Department of Defense web site. There are a lot of teaching jobs on military bases. There are several schools in Fukuoka as well. I have been teaching in Japan for about 20 years and my Japanese is very limited. I have been asked to not use Japanese when teaching or communicating with other Japanese English teachers. I have found that not speaking Japanese has been an asset with regards to employment.

@Stokley
Just curious, at what capacity/level do you teach at this school?
Full time contract/seishain or dispatch?
Are you teaching with licence ( full or special teaching licence)?

Full time
tenured

Quite hard to believe somone could work in a japanese public school without a japanese teaching licence and without speaking japanese. It is hard to buy that one.

I have been teaching in Japan for about 20 years and my Japanese is very limited.
This is really a great achievement. I hope you are pride of that too.

@Todd

Donft listen to the haters.
It is possible to teach geography in Japan. As I said before you would most likely be asked to teach English as well. As for a license, you only need a 4 year uni degree and fill out some paperwork from the BOE.

From observing other English teachers I have found that Japanese in the classroom is a real detriment to language accusation.

I would look for something in Fukuoka. The city has a good vibe.

I think no speaking of Japanese is fine. (but, need confirmation)
but, you must have a teaching license of Japan.
if you don't have it and you teach in public schools, lectures will not be considered as legitimate school teaching by Japanese government. it means students can't get the certificate of graduation.
it sometimes happen in some public schools, when the school board failed to confirm teacher's licenses (each license should be renewed every 10 years.) in such sad cases, students have to take additional lectures, to compensate un-legitimate previous lectures.)

full time/ part time means just working hours.
also, tenured means just you may stay longer as you want, until the retirement age.
but, if you mean that you are hired as tenured teacher without the license. it is definitely No. impossible.

( the government has determined minimal hours for student teaching per year. school can make additional and overtime ( not restricted by government) lectures. in that case, you don't need to have a license, because your lecture is not necessary for student graduation .)

Ken
I don't know all the details but I was refering to that new high school on some island in the seito naikai. Hiroshima prefecture is hiring foreign teachers with no Japanese teahing license required. It's direct hire by the prefecture . No team teaching. So at least at this school it does exists. Kind of experimental i think.

I teach at private hs in another prefecture but used to live in that area and have a friend that teachs at that school.

probably, you are saying schools like this.
https://higa-s.jp/

even that school, still needs to follow the law and ŠwKŽw“±—v—Μ, the guideline for student education, determined by Japanese government, because it is one of public schools.

by the way, you are saying that you are teaching a subject in private (probably authorized) school. do you know ŠwKŽw“±—v—Μ about your subject ? if you don't know it, you are simply an assistant and another person (a Japanese teacher who has a teaching license) is a real (official) teacher who makes final decision and has responsibility for that subject. an assistant does not need to have a license. the system works like that.