Technically, you do not need a bachelors degree to teach in Japan. What you do need to qualify for a visa is three consecutive (and verifiable) years of teaching experience, and 12 years of education in the country who's language you wish to teach.

You will not be able to apply for a teaching job from overseas without a degree, you'll have to come to Japan and convince a school to hire you. Some are aware that they can sponsor and hire a person who doesn't have a degree (provided they meet the above mentioned requirements), but most won't.

To verify your experience, you'll either need to bring pay stubs, tax records, or certified/notarized copies of a labor contract/s from your former employer/s.

Bring the above mentioned paperwork, a signed sponsorship application from your employer, and passport photos (as well as your passport) to the immigration office.

You'll need to make a good impression with whichever school you are applying to, it's not particularly hard to find teachers who possess a degree, so you'll have to convince them as to why they should hire you over someone who has a degree.

I appreciate all comments. Thank you!

"Not easy" without a Bachelor doesn't mean "not possible", right? I wouldn't mind the waiting period if the result was positive.

A Bachelor's or even a Professor's degree says nothing about a person's abilities of teaching. It's just proof that someone has fulfilled certain requirements. If I think about some of my teachers...

Same thing by the way with native/non-native. At the TEFL course that I attended, about 20% participants were non-native. All of them received a letter of recommendation. The ratio of the natives was, well, not quite as good. The 3 highest ranking ones were also non-native. I came to learn that this is no exception.

There is a way, I know. And I'm gonna find out - one way or the other.

Thanks again!
mike2519

If there weren't, literally, 10's of thousands of people WITH bachelor's degrees trying to do what you are doing, I would say "Do your damndest" but the B.A. is king.

The demand for English teachers in Japan is once again rising. I continue to be amazed at the kinds of people who are hired to teach. These are generally people with little to no real work history, all they possess when they arrive in Japan is a degree. Their English is often not very good, and is sometimes actually quite bad.

The larger companies in Japan will not hire anyone without a degree. Not because it's impossible, but because it requires more paperwork, and because they advertise in their literature that the teachers they employ all possess a 4 year or better degree.

Smaller schools (and there are countless smaller schools) are much more flexible with whom they hire. The downside is that they are often difficult places to work for. They generally offer lower pay (though that's not always the case), less than great working conditions, and will often have you sign a labor contract that would land them in jail if it were to see the light of day in most western countries.

Google any potential schools you might have an interest in, and look for comments about them. Many teachers who have had mishaps with schools have published their experiences on the internet

The main issue for someone without a degree is the VISA.

If you have another visa classification such as a working holiday or spouse visa then having a degree to work for a smaller school (not a franchised type) doesn't become a problem especially when word of mouth and blow them off their feet stereotypical appearance dictate.