Tricky Interview Questions (and Terrible Answers)

Why These Questions Matter

ALT interviews are about more than testing candidates’ knowledge.

Interviewers ask questions to get insight on who you are beyond your formal qualifications. This includes weeding out candidates with:

• Unrealistic expectations
• Inflexibility
• Poor emotional regulation

Wrong answers often sounds reasonable (or even plain honest) to the applicant. This article focuses on the questions most likely to quietly kill your application, even if you’re otherwise qualified.

General ALT Interview Questions

These questions, or close variations of them, appear in almost every ALT interview. They test motivation, flexibility, and whether your expectations align with the reality of the job.

“Why do you want to be an ALT?”

The most common bad answers for this question focus on the “you” part and ignore the “ALT” part.

You should avoid:

• Your Japan-related hobbies and interests
• How much you want to escape your home country
• Anything that doesn’t connect to an ALT’s mission

The interviewers aren’t interested in your personal journey at this point. They’re asking because they need reassurance you want to do an ALT’s job, not simply exist in Japan.

Strong answers usually touch on:

• How you learned about ALT work
• An interest in teaching and working with children
• An interest in cultural exchange
• Prior experience working with kids, international communities, or both

Remember, the focus should be on why you want to be an ALT. There are other ways to get to Japan, after all.

“Why Japan?”

There are lots of people who want to live in Japan. Some have good reasons. Some have bad reasons. Most haven’t thought about the reality of uprooting their lives to move to a foreign country. You need to show that you have.

Asking this question lets interviewers identify idealization, escapism, or shallow interest. Red flags include:

• Wanting to “get away” from your home country
• An image of Japan based on pop culture
• Over-idealization of Japan

A grounded answer shows interest rooted in real interactions, lived exposure, or reliable research.

Safe reference points include:

• Interactions with Japanese friends, family, or coworkers
• Study of Japanese cultural practices/daily life from reliable sources
• Friends and family who have lived/worked in Japan
• Prior experience living/travelling in Japan

Avoid leaning on anime, pop idols, or video games. You don’t need to pretend you dislike them; just don’t make them the foundation of your interest.

“What would you do if you were placed in a rural area?”

If you’re applying as an overseas candidate (i.e., as someone who does not already live in Japan), most of the available placements are going to be in rural areas.

If you view a rural placement as a problem, then most of the available positions will be a problem. Unless you’re a top 1% candidate, that’s going to make interviewers hesitate on your application.

This question can also reveal unrealistic expectations or personality mismatch. If you say something like, “I’ll go into Tokyo every weekend to recharge” or “I spend all my time alone in my apartment anyway,” that’s going to be a problem.

“Are you willing to drive in Japan?”

This one matters more than most applicants think. Most ALT placements are rural and rural placements often require driving.

If you answer “No,” you immediately exclude yourself from the majority of placements. Even “I’d prefer not to” can signal inflexibility and/or fear of challenging experiences.

There is exactly one exception: if you have a legitimate medical condition that prevents driving, it’s fine to say “no.”

Any other reason will reflect poorly on you as a candidate.

“Do you plan to stay for the full contract?”

Schools, students, and local communities depend on consistency.

Even if you don’t know your long-term plans, this is not the moment to hedge. Leaving early creates real problems for everyone involved, and interviewers know that.

There’s only one acceptable answer here, and it’s “Yes.” While unexpected emergencies do happen, you need to treat the contract as a serious commitment. If you can’t commit, don’t apply.

Hardball Questions

Your interviewer is going to ask some “gotcha” questions to try and trip you up. It’s not that they don’t want you to pass – no ALT interviewer goes into the interview wanting you to fail!

These questions are designed to test composure, judgment, and self-awareness under pressure. They’re tripping you up to see how you react to getting knocked off script, not to test if you know the “technically correct” answer.

It won’t help you that much to memorize “good” answers to specific questions. Good interviewers will change their “gotcha” questions up from year to year or even interview to interview. If you’re relying on canned responses, you’re unlikely to do well.

Instead, understand why these questions are being asked and whether you can realistically handle what they represent.

If questions like the below examples filter you out, ALT work probably wouldn’t be a good experience for you.

“How will you deal with culture shock?”

The kneejerk reaction is to say:

• I’ll be fine!
• It’s no problem!
• I don’t experience culture shock!

Or anything else that downplays the reality of culture shock.

Even if you’ve previously travelled, studied, or worked in Japan, your experience as an ALT will be different. Different schools have different work cultures, different regions of Japan have different local cultures, so even if you “know Japanese culture,” you might still experience culture shock.

Instead, your reply should cover:

• That you expect challenges
• Have thought about coping strategies
• Know when to seek support.

Sharing information about how you have dealt with culture shock in the past can be valuable, but you need to focus on coping strategies that have worked well for you in the past. Don’t downplay the issue.

“How would you explain [an emotionally charged issue] to students or colleagues?”

Cultural exchange is a major part of what ALTs do. You’re the person that your students, coworkers and neighbors will turn to if they have questions about your home country’s culture, politics, and history.

Naturally, this means fielding difficult, painful, and even offensive questions from locals who are eager to learn but won’t handle the questions with the sensitivity you’re used to.

This is why the interviewers will want to hear you explain a controversial topic in an appropriate way. This means giving an answer that focuses on educational facts, not giving a one-sided hot take.

Common topics include:

• Controversial historical issues such as slavery, war, and colonialism
• High profile news incidents such as terrorist attacks, wars, and elections
• Hot button issues such as LGBT+ rights, race, and religion
• The eternal question of “Why do people in your country do…?”

Because of the emotionally charged nature of these questions, candidates can be tempted to turn the question into a soapbox for their own views.

That’s a mistake. You need to approach the question as an educator, not an activist. This is not a debate where you need to prove the correctness of your position, it’s a chance to open minds to different cultures and ways of seeing the world.

For that reason, red flags include:

• Soapboxing or arguing
• Bad-mouthing your home country
• Bad-mouthing Japan
• Emotional ranting
• Focusing on your own feelings

Green flags include:

• Tying the question to similar issues in Japanese culture/history/etc.
• Giving background information and context Japanese people are less likely to know
• Non-confrontational presentation
• Age appropriate response

Tying the question to an aspect of Japanese culture that will be familiar to students is particularly powerful. It allows you to demonstrate your own understanding of Japan, which is another valuable skill.

“What would you do if your JTE asked you to lead a class with only five minutes’ notice?”

There will be many variations of this basic question:

• “What would you do if your JTE taught something incorrect in class?”
• “What would you do if your Board of Education asked you to cover for another ALT?”
• “What would you do if you had a personal conflict with your Vice Principal?”

Whatever the details of the scenario, the goal is the same. Your interviewer wants to know:

• Do you know how to handle difficult situations in a Japan-appropriate way?
• Are you mature, responsible, and adaptable?

While knowing the 100% perfect Japan-appropriate response is definitely a plus, it’s not the only way to pass this type of question. If your answer shows maturity, responsibility, and adaptability, you’ll do well enough to show the right potential.

Since there are many variations of this type of question, there’s no perfect canned response you can practice. However, this cheat sheet will get you through 90% of the variations:

• Say “yes” to anything you’re asked to do (assuming it’s not illegal)
• When in doubt, apologize profusely
• Never confront colleagues directly; bring in a middleman or use indirect communication

JET-Specific Questions

While JET interviews are broadly similar to those for dispatch companies, there are differences in focus. JET interviewers put more emphasis on cultural exchange, international relations, and how your career after JET will keep you involved with the Japanese community.

“How will you promote international exchange as a JET?”

This doesn’t have to be some grand project, you just need to show that you’ve thought about this aspect of the job.

It helps to mention:

• Past or current intercultural experiences
• Willingness to engage with the local community
• Aspects of your home country’s culture you would like to share

If you’re not sure where to start, do some research on traditional foods, music, handcrafts, etc. from your local area.

Since part of JET’s mission is promoting grassroots exchange between Japan and your home country, dealbreakers include:

• Trashing your home country
• Trashing Japan

It should be obvious why trash talking Japan is a bad idea, but it’s equally bad to trash talk your home country. Even if there are aspects of your home country you’re not a fan of, focus on the positive aspects that you think will enrich your students’ understanding of the outside world.

“What are your plans after JET?”

Ideally, interviewers are looking for:

• A realistic career path
• That will intersect with the Japanese community

JET wants you to promote grassroots exchange far beyond the end of your time as an ALT. This can take many forms, but it’s important to be:

• Grounded
• Thoughtful
• Clear about the Japan connection

Saying something like “I want to become an animator at Studio Ghibli” demonstrates a lack of awareness of the reality of life in Japan. Leaving the Japan connection out entirely shows you’re only thinking about JET as something fun to do for a few years.

Even saying that you want to live in Japan forever after JET can be risky if you don’t have a realistic career path. The majority of ALTs will return to their home countries eventually, so it can come across as unrealistic.

That said, you don’t need to lie about wanting to work for Japanese companies if that’s not where your interests lie. It’s fine to mention your plans to be involved with Japanese cultural festivals, JET Alumni Organizations, or other volunteer activities.

What Interviewers Are Actually Evaluating

Across all of these questions, interviewers are evaluating:

• Emotional regulation
• Flexibility
• Cultural awareness
• Professional judgment

How you answer the questions or respond to pushback/follow up questions from interviewers is just as important as having the “perfect answer”!

What to Read Next

Interview Basics and Demo Lessons

What interviewers are watching for beyond your answers.

What Recruiters Are Looking For

How hiring decisions are actually made.

Application Timeline

What happens after the interview and how long it really takes.

If you want example answers, interview strategy, and guidance on how to frame your responses without sounding rehearsed, those topics are covered in detail in So You Want to Be an ALT.