Life of a Dispatch English Teacher in Japan
“Life of a Dispatch English Teacher in Japan” is a visual novel about living through a sudden and chaotic job loss, and making tough choices.
Story
In “Life of a Dispatch English Teacher in Japan,” you play as Maria Ramirez, an American working in Japan as an English teacher. It’s a rewarding, fun job, and you’re beloved by students and coworkers alike–until suddenly, one day you lose your job. You work for a dispatch English teaching company, and they lost their contract with your school, just one month before the end of the school year.
Out of nowhere, you must change the course of your life. You have a loving girlfriend to support you and other friends facing this alongside you, but ultimately you must make an extremely tough choice about your future.
This game is based on the real-life experiences of English teachers throughout Japan, an issue that tens of thousands of people endure every single year, and is designed to provide an up-close viewpoint of what the dispatch contract system does to the individuals impacted.
The game is intended to be distributed to city halls, politicians, and media in Japan to help communicate a pressing issue.
Features
- Live through real-life shock – You’re an English teacher in Japan, and suddenly, your life is turned upside-down. Experience the chaos of a last-second life meteor.
- Make tough choices – End your relationship? Risk it all? There are no easy answers to how to face your future.
- Exploration of underdiscussed issues – Tens of thousands of English teachers in Japan face the same problems every single year, and “Life of a Dispatch English Teacher in Japan” sheds light on these solvable issues to a mainstream audience.
- A myriad of social issues – Job loss, foreign work visas, cross-country moves, same-sex marriage, adult loneliness–this game covers many different factors in a short time span.
- Brisk story – Across all endings, the story runs about 6,000 words long, so a full playthrough should take thirty minutes or less.
Fact Sheet – “Life of a Dispatch English Teacher in Japan”
Developer: Yuri Kissaten
Based in Kyoto, Japan
Engine: Ren’py
Price: Free
Platforms
Itch.io
Release Date and Price
PC & Linux Release: Fall 2025
Web Release: Fall 2025
Android Release: TBA
Screenshots
Download all assets in full resolution here.
Social Links & Contact
Contact us at yurikissaten@gmail.com, or fill out our press list form.
About Yuri Kissaten
Yuri Kissaten is a game studio that makes narrative-focused games about girls loving girls, founded in 2024 by Fruz and Beatrice Baker. We create experiences with strong stories and memorable characters. All Yuri Kissaten projects focus primarily on LGBTQ+ characters and their relationships, romantic and otherwise. We hope you enjoy our games!
“Life of a Dispatch English Teacher in Japan” Developers
Directed by: Beatrice Baker
Art by: Fruz
Story by: Beatrice Baker
Programming by: linguisticSpaceship
Music by: Various wonderful Creative Commons artists