Most people who teach English in Japan work at one of the country's thousands of private English schools and academies (eikaiwa) that hire native speakers. The 5 monster chains, each with branches all over Japan that conduct recruiting and/or job interviews in the United States, Australia, UK, New Zealand and Canada are:
- AEON
- Berlitz
- ECC Foreign Language Institute
- GEOS
- Nova
There are also dozens of accredited international schools that offer regular curriculum in English or other foreign language.
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Interested in teaching English in Korea? 
Aeon
Nova Corp, the largest English language school in Japan, went bankrupt last year and thousands of foreign teachers lost their jobs. The competition for getting TEFL jobs in Japan has increased, but there are still plenty available.
For more information about where to look for a job teaching English in Japan, check our list of English schools in Japan
Nova
I believe it was Nova that went bankrupt not Aeon.
Nova Corp
You are right and thanks for pointing out the type-o!
Japan's economy in 2009.
Japan has the strongest economy in Asia, but it is still being hit hard by the global economic crisis, with dire consequences for English teachers. In order to save money schools are now dropping their salaries and only offering part time positions. This then means they legally don't have to pay for your pension contributions or health insurance, which is otherwise mandatory in Japan for full time employees. As a result you would need to find two companies (at least) to employ you on a part time basis, and doing this means you will work very unsociable hours to fit the clients needs. Eikaiwa (language schools) can offer some help, as they generally provide visas, apartments and a job, but you won't be able to save much unless you live a spartan lifestyle. ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) positions in high schools pay the minimum needed to get a visa (250,000 JPY month) which again just covers living costs. Japan can also be a hard place for a foreigner to live, particularly for women, with the average stay for a teacher being just 8 months (Berlitz research figures). I have been in Japan since 2001, have a wealth of teaching experience and qualifications and have been unable to find a new job for four months. The ex-Nova teachers are also working freelance, while their visas are still valid, which is taking students away from schools as they charge less per hour. Agencies here are telling me to look at a year in China or Korea as it doesn't look set to change for a while. The Japan Times usually has pages of jobs every Monday, I have stopped buying it as it has only had one job in recently. As unemployment rises, major companies are cutting back anyway they can & English lessons for employees is always the first thing to go.
Very helpful information
Thank you
Korea is the new Japan
After living and teaching in Japan for five and a half years and meeting teachers who have been in the country for ten or more years I can tell you that Japan is not going back to what it was and there are no signs that teaching conditions will improve. I actually believe they will continue to get worse. Japan has a unique culture and is great place to visit but the problem is it is becoming increasingly expensive and difficult to experience what it has to offer unless you are prepared to work multiple jobs and you will not have much time to do anything except try and scrape a living. Jet is the only good deal going in Japan and it is becoming much more difficult to get jobs. If I were a new college graduate I would be looking at Korea. They pay for your flights and apartment in Korea and it is almost a no-brainer.
Korea used to be the underdog. Only ten years ago people used to joke about Korean cars, now nobody is laughing anymore. What is the difference in technology between a Samsung Plasma T.V and a Panasonic? Korea is moving ahead so fast it makes Japan look like it's standing still. There is much I enjoy about Japan but unless urgent action is taken at Government level they look like they will soon be overtaken by other Asian nations in the near future. The Japanese also seem to have lost their enthusiasm for learning English compared to the Koreans and the Chinese as these countries realize they need it to move ahead further in the global marketplace.