Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be about all teachers and forms of teaching English in Japan. The stories and events reported in there are specific to my experience and the company I work for. They should not be interpreted as being relevant to all forms of teaching in Japan. This is what has happened to me and while I don’t think that it’s the same for everyone, some research and talking with other people has shown that there are good and bad things in all companies and all situations. They’re just my story.
As much as I’d like it to be different, the truth is that even after just 2 or so months teaching English in Japan I’ve come to realise that the reality of the job is quite far off from what is being advertised and sold to you when you sign up. Which I guess isn’t really surprising - nothing is what it seems these days, but when it concerns a fairly radical change in your life, such as moving to the other side of the world, it’s easy to be worried.
Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying it’s downright untenable and horrible. See my previous post about all the good things that are involved in becoming an English teacher out here. But there are quite a few things which have stuck in my throat from the start, and that of most people who I’ve spoken with and who teach in Japan, whether they have been for a short or long time.
The Eikawa industry in Japan is pretty big business and is primarily controlled by four major companies, all of which are North American. The most famous, both in and out of Japan, is NOVA - a megacorporation of global stature, and which is often referred to as the McDonald’s of the Eikawa industry. NOVA have been getting into a fair amount of trouble these last few years, as documented on the Nambu Union site. These troubles range from what have been claimed to be illegal practices in regards to the treatment of students down to illegal and shady practices in their treatment of staff.
If you look at it from a business point of view, then it’s not that much of a surprise - after all this is business, and like every other business in the world today, its purpose is to make money, not to be nice to people, or care about their needs. I was put off working for NOVA after looking into them, but I’ve met a few people who worked for them before (though mainly outside of Tokyo) and they’ve all seemed to have pretty good experiences - which goes to show that it’s not always all bad no matter how it looks on the surface.
Which leads nicely into my situation, as an employee of a much smaller Eikawa company - which shall remain nameless for the time being. It’s not all bad, far from it, but there are some aspects of the job which were seemingly conveniently avoided or entirely left out when I signed up.
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