Hello fellow Japan Teaching Redditors!
Making this a throwaway account for obvious reasons, but need to know the answer to this question so I can join the smorgasbord of foreign teachers that have been waiting for a millennia to start teaching in Japan next year. Oh yeah\~
Any who, ever since COVID happened, there were a lot of English teachers that were put on hiatus, and during this time I took up smoking weed again. I wouldn’t consider my self a heavy smoker since I am actually very sensitive to the drug, but I do smoke small amounts on a daily basis. It’s mostly used to help me focus and relax at night. I am in no way a stoner since I use it mostly for productive purposes.
I’ve applied to many organizations before COVID hit to start teaching in Japan and I know each organization does some sort of drug testing. And if I forgot any details, I know I could always check reddit to verify that info 😉 However, when it comes to ECC, I see very little to no information on it. This could be because they don’t drug test their employees. However, I’m a little skeptical on that assertion since I remember them mentioning drug testing vaguely during the interview. So I was wondering if any of you who work or worked for ECC can tell me what their drug testing policy is like (if there is any) and what kind of drug test is it (urine, saliva, etc.) so I can do my best to abstain once they confirm placements.
​
Any answer that you think would help is much appreciated!!
3 comments
Probably a saliva test if they have a drug testing policy.
Not to say it doesn’t happen but I’ve never heard of or experienced any company conducting drug tests in Japan.
You wrote you know ‘each organization does some sort of drug testing’. Curious as to where you got this info from.
Just a quick warning, but don’t do drugs when you’re in Japan; you risk being arrested and deported. Just being *near* someone else using drugs can get you into trouble.
I actually know of one genius who went to Japan as an exchange student (Japanese studies) with a medallion with “herbs” in it around his neck. Japanese customs spotted it and deported him on the spot, with him earning a permanent entry ban. Oops.
Japan in general is incredibly strict when it comes to drugs. I know of one Japanese English Teacher who lost his bag. It was picked up by the police, who checked the contents to find out the identity of the owner. They found a few grams of weed. It turned into a massive scandal, with the teacher being named and shamed in the media, getting him fired on the spot. He isn’t going to find a teaching job in Japan ever again.
So… Yeah. Keep that in mind before coming over to Japan. You may want to decrease your usage over time so it becomes easier to abstain completely by the time you get here.
Coincidentally, I didn’t know any of the companies here did drug tests. I’ve only ever worked direct-hire though.