Applicants must hold a
bachelor's degree in any subject, be a citizen of the country where the recruitment and selection procedures take place, not possess Japanese citizenship, have excellent written and spoken skills in the designated language (English or, for non-English speaking countries, English or their principal language), have a keen interest in the country and
culture of Japan, and not have lived in Japan for six or more years after the year 2000 nor be a former participant in JET after 2007. Prospective participants must submit a detailed application including a statement of purpose and self-reported medical form, usually in November or December of the year before their departure. Those who pass stage one of the process are invited to interviews which are conducted in major cities, usually in February. Although applications are accepted from people living in Japan, there are no interviews offered in the country and applicants must interview in their home country. Interviews are conducted in English or in the language of the applicant's country, and part of the interview will be conducted in Japanese if the applicant indicated Japanese ability on their application or if they are a CIR applicant. The interview is normally conducted by a panel of three people consisting of former JETs and members of Japanese government, embassy, and consulate organizations. The interviews are approximately 20 minutes long. Interviewees are then offered a position, rejected, or designated as "alternates" (backup applicants who may participate if positions become available). Once offered a position, applicants must formally submit their acceptance or rejection of the offer. In addition, they must provide the results of a recent physical examination that has been performed by a physician within the last three months. Finally, they must submit detailed contact information so that the programme can send them materials and information as the departure date draws nearer. Participants usually learn of their placement details during May and July, just before their departure date of either late July (Group A) or early August (Group B). Alternates may receive very short notice, sometimes only a few weeks, if a placement becomes available. A small group of alternates will usually arrive in late August (Group C) and other alternates will arrive alone at various times throughout the fall. Applicants who withdraw from the program after receiving placement notification are ineligible to reapply the following year. Applicants are required to depart in a group from the city in which they were interviewed, although rare exceptions are made. Departure usually takes place from the Japanese embassy or consulate that serves the applicant's home town, though it could theoretically be any site in the country the applicant named on their application. Air fares are arranged by the programme. Participants are required to attend pre-departure and post-arrival orientations, as well as annual mid-year conferences, and may attend a returnee conference during their tenure. Participants are placed with a local authority in Japan (the contracting organization) which serves as their employer. There are 47
prefectural governments and 12 city governments in addition to numerous individual city, town, and village governments and some private schools designated as contracting organizations. While applicants can specify up to three preferred locations and can request urban, semi-rural, or rural placements, they may be placed anywhere in Japan and placements may not match their requests. Participants sign a one-year contract which can be renewed up to four times for a maximum of five years. Some contracting organizations offer the option of contracting for a total of five years, although some prohibit contracting beyond three years. Before 2006, participants could only contract for up to three years, with the exception of a few positions. A small percentage of exceptional participants are elected to stay for the maximum number of consecutive appointments, a sum of four renewal cycles, for a total of five years. Participants who began their tenure on the programme during or before 2011 received an annual
net salary of ¥3.6 million (approximately $25,142). Since 2012, participants have been paid on a new annual salary scale: ¥3.36 million (approximately $23,466) for the first year, ¥3.6 million (approximately $25,142) for the second year, ¥3.9 million (approximately $27,237) for the third year, and ¥3.96 million (approximately $27,656) each for the fourth and fifth years; notably, this is the
gross salary as opposed to the pre-2011 net salary, so participants who are liable for income or residential taxes in Japan must pay them. ==Assistant Language Teacher responsibilities==