Teach For Japan
Teach For Japan is a certified NPO running a 2-year fellowship that recruits, trains, and places diverse professionals as public-school teachers across 34 prefectures. Funded entirely by donations, it serves municipalities, career-changers, and corporate partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Teach For Japan does
Teach For Japan (TFJ) is a certified specified non-profit organization (認定特定非営利活動法人) founded around 2010 that operates a 2-year fellowship program recruiting, training, and placing diverse individuals as teachers in Japanese public elementary and junior high schools. As the Japanese partner of the global Teach For All network spanning 60+ countries, TFJ selects candidates regardless of teaching license status and provides 8+ months of pre-deployment training before placing fellows in schools through partnerships with municipalities across 34 prefectures and 156 cities. To date, 389 fellows are active in the program with 272 alumni, and TFJ fellows have cumulatively supported 63,012 children. The organization is led by Representative Director/CEO Nakahara Kento and headquartered in Hatadai, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.
TFJ's product surface consists of four named offerings: the core Fellowship Program (フェローシップ・プログラム) — a 2-year placement model with proprietary pre-deployment training including online weekly sessions, monthly in-person regional workshops in Tokyo/Osaka/Fukuoka, individual coaching, and a neuroscience-based wellbeing module co-developed with DAncing Einstein; TFJ Journal, a content platform for fellow/alumni interviews and education columns; EduHub, an online community platform for "people working towards the future of education"; and Teachers Day, an awareness initiative aligned with UNESCO's World Teachers Day. Supporting technology is conventional — video conferencing, Slack/Zoom, and digital community platforms — with no disclosed AI/ML or proprietary software assets.
TFJ generates no fee revenue: the fellowship is free to participants and the organization is funded entirely by donations. Four revenue streams are disclosed: individual donations (one-time, regular, and inheritance bequests via Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank partnership), corporate partnerships (with multi-year institutional commitments such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's 3-year support and Daiichi Life Group's 2026 partnership), legacy/bequest donations, and Furusato Tax (hometown tax program) donations, plus inclusion in the Hachidori Denryoku electricity-bill giving program. Customer segments are hybrid: Japanese municipalities and education boards (primary B2G placement partner), aspiring teachers and career changers (fellowship applicants, persona segment), and individual plus corporate donors (horizontal funder base).
Teach For Japan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Teach For Japan
- Legal name
- 認定特定非営利活動法人Teach For Japan
- Website
- https://teachforjapan.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Teach For Japan is a certified NPO running a 2-year fellowship that recruits, trains, and places diverse professionals as public-school teachers across 34 prefectures. Funded entirely by donations, it serves municipalities, career-changers, and corporate partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Teach For Japan industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Teacher Training and Placement Services
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (61)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- TESOL / Bilingual / World Language Teacher Preparation Programs (EDAHAFAI)
Keywords
Where Teach For Japan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Teach For Japan business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Individual supporters make tax-deductible donations to the certified NPO. The organization sends receipts for tax filing purposes and offers multiple giving vehicles including one-time donations, regular giving, and inheritance bequests.
- Corporate Partnerships: Companies provide financial support and collaborative partnerships, including multi-year funding commitments (e.g., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's 3-year support) and strategic collaborations on teacher training programs.
- Bequest / Inheritance Donations: Partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank allows supporters to make legacy gifts through wills, expanding the organization's long-term funding base.
- Furusato Tax (Portion): The organization participates in the national hometown tax donation program, allowing individual donors to allocate a portion of their tax payments as donations to TFJ.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Fellowship Program — No cost to participants |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Teach For Japan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Teach For Japan operates a two-year fellowship program that recruits diverse individuals (with or without teaching licenses) and provides 8+ months of pre-deployment training combining online weekly sessions, monthly in-person regional workshops in Tokyo/Osaka/Fukuoka, individual monthly coaching, and peer study groups via Slack/Zoom. Selected fellows are then placed as full-time teachers in public elementary and junior high schools through formal partnerships with municipalities across Japan. The program is free for participants and funded entirely by donations, corporate partnerships, and government support.
Product overview
Teach For Japan operates primarily as a fellowship-based education program, offering the core フェローシップ・プログラム (Fellowship Program) that places trained teachers in Japanese public schools for two-year assignments. Supporting the core program is the TFJジャーナル (TFJ Journal), a content platform publishing interviews, columns, and reports on education topics; EduHub, an online community for education innovators; and the 教師の日 (Teachers Day) initiative celebrating teachers. The organization functions as a certified NPO connecting diverse talent with educational opportunities in Japan's public school system.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fellowship Program (フェローシップ・プログラム) A two-year fellowship program that selects diverse talent passionate about improving education regardless of teaching license status, provides 8+ months of pre-deployment training (online sessions, regional workshops in Tokyo/Osaka/Fukuoka, individual coaching, peer study groups), and places participants as full-time teachers in public elementary and junior high schools through formal partnerships with local government education boards. Open to professionals from diverse backgrounds including corporate, medical, finance, and international careers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 389 fellows currently in program, deployed across 34 prefectures and 156 municipalities
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Teach For Japan
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Teach For Japan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Teach For Japan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Toshima Village (利島村)flagshipTFJ and Toshima Village (population ~300) signed a business partnership agreement to co-create a new public education model leveraging the village's regional characteristics. This is a pilot initiative to develop innovative educational approaches in a small island community.
- Daiichi Life Group (第一ライフグループ)flagshipTFJ and Daiichi Life Group partnered to accelerate the formation of high-quality teaching staff with diverse specialized skills. The collaboration promotes mutual support for public education where society as a whole supports learning, leveraging TFJ's fellowship model and Daiichi Life Group's resources.
- Teach For AllcoreTFJ is the Japanese partner of Teach For All, a global network of 60+ independent nonprofit organizations inspired by Teach For America. The network shares a common vision of educational equity, provides international knowledge transfer, facilitates cross-border alumni collaboration, and hosts annual global conferences. TFJ serves as the inspiration and innovation hub within this network.
- Hachidori Denryoku (ハチドリ電力)minorHachidori Denryoku includes TFJ as a recipient charity in its 'Hitoshizuku Action' program, where electricity customers can direct 1% of their electricity bill to TFJ. TFJ's representative also presented at Hachidori Denryoku's support organization report session.
- Tokyo University of Science (東京学芸大学)minorTFJ is collaborating with Tokyo University of Science on the 'Co-create the Future School Together' project, bringing together teachers, companies, and education boards as a unified team to advance education reform.
- Osaka University of Education (大阪教育大学)minorTFJ's proprietary teacher training program was published in the journal of the School Leader Research Society based at Osaka University of Education's Professional Graduate School for Teaching. TFJ's Executive Director (理事) Tanaka Mikiko serves as a Specially Appointed Professor there.
- Kaga City (加賀市)minorKaga City and TFJ signed a comprehensive partnership agreement centered on the fellowship program, aiming to transform education from classrooms and spread innovation regionally.
- City Lab Tokyo (シティラボ東京)minorTFJ co-hosted events with City Lab Tokyo on SDGs in education and school reform, including a joint event featuring an SDGs picture book author and Ministry of Education officials.
- New Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (新日本フィルハーモニー交響楽団)minorThe New Japan Philharmonic donated proceeds from its charity concert 'SMBC presents New Wind Special Concert' to TFJ, demonstrating cross-sector arts-education collaboration.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Teach For Japan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Teach For All: Network umbrella organization that TFJ belongs to — not a competitor but the shared infrastructure/parent network for 60+ country partners including TFJ. Provides program design, training, and global convenings.
Direct peers
- Teach For America: Direct peer — the original Teach For All network member that pioneered the 2-year teacher fellowship model. Recruits non-teaching graduates to teach in high-need US public schools; shares curriculum, training, and impact frameworks with TFJ via the Teach For All network.
- Teach For Malaysia: Direct peer — Teach For All network member placing graduates as teachers in Malaysian high-need schools. Shares identical 2-year fellowship structure, recruitment philosophy, and training approach.
- Teach First: Direct peer — UK's leading education charity placing high-achieving graduates as teachers in low-income schools for 2 years. Operates under the same Teach For All network with identical fellowship structure and employer branding.
- Teach For Korea: Direct peer — Teach For All member focused on South Korea with a similar 2-year fellowship model. Strongest geographically and culturally proximate peer given shared language and educational challenges.
- Teach For India: Direct peer — Teach For All network member placing fellows in low-income Indian schools for 2 years. Highly comparable mission, structure, and training pipeline; serves as a regional peer in the same network.
- Teach For Bangladesh: Direct peer — Teach For All member running a 2-year fellowship program in Bangladesh. Same model of placing non-traditional candidates in underserved schools; comparable alumni network and mission.
Emerging players
- ETIC (Entrepreneurial Training for Innovative Communities): Japanese NPO focused on youth leadership and social entrepreneurship, including education-adjacent programs. Comparable scale and donation-funded model; overlaps with TFJ in mission-driven talent development in Japan.
- Ashoka (Japan): Adjacent education-focused NPO in Japan supporting social entrepreneurs and changemakers in education. Different model (fellowship for changemakers broadly) but operates in the same Japanese education-NPO ecosystem with overlapping donor pools.
Broad incumbents
- Benesse (Benesse Educational Research and Development Center): Large Japanese education company providing K-12 services, teacher support, and educational publishing. A broad incumbent that competes for corporate education CSR budget and partners with municipalities on teacher development — adjacent rather than directly competing with TFJ's fellowship model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Teach For Japan social profiles
Digital presenceTeach For Japan compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Teach For Japan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Teach For Japan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Teach For Japan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Teach For Japan M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Teach For Japan
What does Teach For Japan do?
Teach For Japan operates a two-year fellowship program that recruits diverse individuals (with or without teaching licenses) and provides 8+ months of pre-deployment training combining online weekly sessions, monthly in-person regional workshops in Tokyo/Osaka/Fukuoka, individual monthly coaching, and peer study groups via Slack/Zoom. Selected fellows are then placed as full-time teachers in public elementary and junior high schools through formal partnerships with municipalities across Japan. The program is free for participants and funded entirely by donations, corporate partnerships, and government support.
Is Teach For Japan a public or private company?
Teach For Japan is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Teach For Japan founded?
Teach For Japan was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Teach For Japan based?
Teach For Japan is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Teach For Japan make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are corporate Partnerships, bequest / Inheritance Donations and furusato Tax (Portion).
Who are Teach For Japan's main competitors?
Teach For All is listed as an others. Direct peers are Teach For America, Teach For Malaysia, Teach First, Teach For Korea, Teach For India and Teach For Bangladesh. Emerging players are ETIC (Entrepreneurial Training for Innovative Communities) and Ashoka (Japan). Benesse (Benesse Educational Research and Development Center) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Teach For Japan have an API?
No public API is recorded for Teach For Japan.
What industry is Teach For Japan in?
Teach For Japan's product category is Teacher Training and Placement Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAFAI, TESOL / Bilingual / World Language Teacher Preparation Programs. Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 8200.