"Some people fail the teacher hiring exam over and over. Yet they work at a school as a substitute teacher and even run their own class. If they didn't meet the hiring standard, why let them be a homeroom teacher?"
Reading a post like that, it sounds strange.
But once you separate the rules, the starting assumption turns out to be wrong.
Failing the hiring exam is not the same as having no teaching license.
A "jokin koshi" (full-time lecturer) is a licensed teacher who works full time for a set period. In many areas they run a homeroom, school events, meetings and training like anyone else. Think of a private company: someone who didn't get a permanent job offer but works full time on a contract and keeps the same workplace running.
That is only a comparison to help you understand. A full-time lecturer at a public school is not a private-sector contract worker. They work as a local government employee on a temporary appointment.[1][5]
1. The answer in five seconds
| Type | Teaching license | How they work | Homeroom | Pay | Biggest difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular teacher | Required | Full time | Yes | Regular pay scale | Strong job protection |
| Full-time lecturer | Generally required | Full time | Possible | Close to regular pay in many areas | Has an end date |
| Part-time lecturer | Generally required | Mostly during class hours | Not in many areas | Based on hours and classes | Fewer hours, less protection |
So it is not "unqualified people who failed the exam are put in charge of a class."
It is closer to this: a licensed, full-time teacher on a fixed term, who was not hired as a regular teacher, is put in charge of a class.
Once you see that, the spooky feeling goes away.
2. Failing the exam and having no license are two different things
Japan's Ministry of Education (MEXT) explains that to become a school teacher, you first get a teaching license, and then you have to be hired as a teacher.[1]
It is easy to split the two roles:
- Teaching license: the qualification to stand in front of a class
- Hiring exam: the local government's process for choosing who becomes a regular teacher
If you fail the hiring exam, the license you already hold does not disappear.
MEXT's Q&A also says that, apart from regular hiring, there are fixed-term full-time lecturer jobs and part-time lecturer jobs.[1]
So if you think "failed the exam means not allowed to teach," you are off track from the start.
3. What does a full-time lecturer do? Running a homeroom is normal
Aichi Prefecture's 2026 guide lists these duties for full-time lecturers: filling vacancies, covering for teachers on maternity or childcare leave, teaching subjects, running a homeroom, school events such as school trips, meetings and training. The workday is 7 hours 45 minutes on weekdays.[2]
The same guide says part-time lecturers mainly teach subjects and do not run a homeroom.[2]
So the single word "lecturer" does not tell you enough.
Full-time and part-time lecturers may share a name, but their jobs are very different.
If someone runs a homeroom, they are quite likely a full-time lecturer. But you can't be sure of their exact status without their appointment letter and their local government's rules.
4. Are they just cheap? The real point is flexible staffing, not pay
This part is a little different from what you might expect.
You might think schools use people who failed the exam as cheap labor. But it is not accurate to call full-time lecturers cheap teachers everywhere in Japan.
MEXT says pay for temporary staff should be based on the salary table and starting-pay standard used for regular full-time staff, taking education, license and years of experience into account.[3]
In Aichi, on January 1, 2026, the example monthly pay for a full-time lecturer who just graduated from a four-year university is 305,182 yen. It is described as "in line with regular teachers." They get year-end and diligence bonuses, and if they work six months or more they can get a retirement allowance. Allowances for dependents, commuting and housing are basically the same as for regular staff.[2]
Pay is not exactly the same everywhere. It depends on the local government, experience and length of appointment.
Even so, the benefit of this system is better described as
"getting someone who can work almost like a regular teacher, only for as long as you need them"
than as "getting a teacher at half price."
5. The biggest difference: can the job end when the need ends?
This is the point where the "contract employee" comparison is easiest to see.
Regular local government employees have legal job protection. They cannot easily be dismissed against their will without a reason set by law.[5]
Of course, even regular staff can lose their job. The law lists reasons such as work record, fitness for the job and organizational changes.[5]
A temporary appointment, on the other hand, has an end date from the start. Under the general rule of the Local Public Service Act, it lasts up to six months, and if the conditions are met it can be renewed once for up to six more months.[5]
In Aichi, full-time lecturers who fill vacancies also serve six months, renewable once a year. Those who cover maternity or childcare leave serve for as long as the cover is needed.[2]
Put simply:
Regular teacher: even if one particular gap disappears, the school is expected to keep employing the person.
Full-time lecturer: when that gap disappears, the term ends.
This gap in long-term security matters more than any difference in the work.
6. Teachers are short, so why not hire everyone as regular staff?
It is natural to ask: "If there are so few teachers that you need lecturers as homeroom teachers, why not hire more regular teachers?"
But the teacher shortage is not always "one person missing forever."
A MEXT survey published in March 2026 found a nationwide teacher shortage of 3,827 as of May 1, 2025, a shortage rate of 0.45%.[4]
Boards of education gave these reasons: more maternity and childcare leave, more sick leave, more special-needs classes, fewer people registered as lecturers, and lecturer candidates being hired as regular teachers.[4]
This creates a strange loop:
Hire more regular teachers → people who used to work as lecturers become regular → fewer people are left to fill short-term gaps.
MEXT itself describes this pattern as part of the background to the shortage.[4]
This does not mean "so don't hire more regular teachers." A few months of leave cover and a permanent post that lasts for decades are different staffing problems.
7. "If they have run a homeroom for years, isn't that a practical exam every day?"
Even after you understand the system, this question stays.
If someone teaches classes, runs a homeroom, deals with parents and handles school events, that is surely strong proof of what they can do on the job.
Still, experience is not completely ignored.
Aichi's guide for hiring in fiscal 2027 has a special selection for former teachers and lecturers who meet the conditions. It exempts them from the "teaching profession and general knowledge" part of the first-stage exam. For some elementary and junior high school posts, people who have worked three years or more in total and are recommended by the head of the city or town board of education can skip the whole first-stage exam.[6]
But working for two years does not make you regular automatically. The Local Public Service Act also says a temporary appointment does not give anyone priority for a regular appointment.[5]
Work experience helps. But having run a homeroom does not make you regular automatically.
8. So "it's like a contract job" is a pretty good fit
Legally, they are not private-sector contract workers.
But as a comparison for understanding how it works, it is very useful.
They didn't pass the regular hiring. But they work full time and keep the same workplace running. They take on big responsibilities. Their pay may not be very different. But there is little guarantee that they will keep their job after the work is gone.
At a school, that "big responsibility" is a whole class. That is why it looks so heavy from the outside.
9. Conclusion: knowing the system, "keep taking the exam and win a regular post" makes sense
At first it looks like this:
"A teacher who failed the hiring exam is in charge of a class?! Is that okay?"
But broken down, the story is:
Has a license → hired full time for a fixed term → does work and gets treatment close to a regular teacher → may run a homeroom → but has weaker long-term job security
Once you see this, the answer for people who want to become regular teachers is simple.
Gain experience as a full-time lecturer, use the programs for experienced candidates, and keep taking the hiring exam until you win.
A question about the system still remains: if schools give them almost the same responsibility as regular teachers, shouldn't proven work count for more in hiring?
The real issue is not "it's dangerous to put someone who failed in charge of a class."
It is how to judge fixed-term teachers who do regular-level work, and how to connect them to regular hiring.
That was the real subject all along.
References (6)
[1] Ministry of Education (MEXT), "Q&A on teaching licenses" https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/kyoin/main13_a2.htm
[2] Aichi Prefecture, "For those who want to work at public schools in Aichi" https://www.pref.aichi.jp/soshiki/kyosyokuin/paperteacher-conference1.html
[3] Ministry of Education (MEXT), notice on pay for temporary staff at public schools https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20250926-mxt_syoto01-000045031_01.pdf
[4] Ministry of Education (MEXT), "Fiscal 2025 survey on the teacher shortage" https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20260302-mxt_kyoikujinzai01-000047773_1_1.pdf
[5] e-Gov Laws Search, "Local Public Service Act" https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/325AC0000000261
[6] Aichi Board of Education, "Applicant guide for the fiscal 2027 Aichi public school teacher hiring exam" https://www.pref.aichi.jp/uploaded/attachment/615359.pdf
