Peernovo
Special needs education school teachers

How to become a Special Needs Teacher

Also called: Special needs school teacher

Teaches young children and school students with disabilities at special needs schools and in special needs classes.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

To do this job you are normally expected to hold a special needs school teaching licence as well as a teaching licence for primary school, lower or upper secondary school or kindergarten. Teaching licences used to be separate for schools for the blind, schools for the deaf and schools for children with other disabilities, but a revision of the School Education Act and related laws in April 2007 combined them into a single special needs school teaching licence. However, special needs classes in ordinary schools only require an ordinary teaching licence, so most special needs class teachers do not hold the special needs licence. Special needs schools also have a supplementary rule saying that 'for the time being' people may teach without the special needs licence, so it is possible to work as a teacher there without it. Under the Special Act for Educational Public Service Personnel, new teachers must complete one year of induction training, attending sessions once a week at an education centre or similar. Support such as a mentor teacher is provided so that they can work independently after a year. After that, training to build expertise and careers runs throughout the year. Each special needs school offers different training, for example in movement-based methods (dohsa-hou), feeding support, medical care, Japanese Sign Language and developmental disabilities.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a Special Needs Teacher?

To do this job you are normally expected to hold a special needs school teaching licence as well as a teaching licence for primary school, lower or upper secondary school or kindergarten. Teaching licences used to be separate for schools for the blind, schools for the deaf and schools for children with other disabilities, but a revision of the School Education Act and related laws in April 2007 combined them into a single special needs school teaching licence. However, special needs classes in ordinary schools only require an ordinary teaching licence, so most special needs class teachers do not hold the special needs licence. Special needs schools also have a supplementary rule saying that 'for the time being' people may teach without the special needs licence, so it is possible to work as a teacher there without it. Under the Special Act for Educational Public Service Personnel, new teachers must complete one year of induction training, attending sessions once a week at an education centre or similar. Support such as a mentor teacher is provided so that they can work independently after a year. After that, training to build expertise and careers runs throughout the year. Each special needs school offers different training, for example in movement-based methods (dohsa-hou), feeding support, medical care, Japanese Sign Language and developmental disabilities.

How much does a Special Needs Teacher earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,025,500 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other teachers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Special Needs Teacher?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 94% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Special Needs Teacher?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026