<p>This qualitative study investigates emotional labor among foreign instructors teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) at Japanese universities. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with six instructors, it examines how participants described emotional demands in classroom teaching and institution-facing interactions, and how they regulated emotion to meet perceived expectations. Thematic analysis identified recurring classroom feeling rules associated with professionalism, including displaying patience, enthusiasm, and composure even when instructors experienced frustration or fatigue. Participants reported regulation strategies across the teaching cycle, including anticipatory mood adjustment before class, in-the-moment containment, cognitive reframing, and post-class recovery practices. While both groups described similar classroom demands, divergence was most evident in institution-facing emotional labor. EFL instructors more often described meetings and collegial relations as sites of marginalization, low recognition, and limited inclusion, particularly in contexts where English was positioned as compulsory service provision. CFL instructors also described restraint and careful self-presentation in institutional settings, but more often framed these demands as adaptation and reputation management within workplace hierarchies. The findings suggest that emotional labor in Japanese university language teaching is shaped by classroom interaction, institutional positioning, and program ecology, meaning the local organization, status, and role of language programs within the university. Practical implications include improving communication access, meaningful participation in institutional settings, and collegial support structures for foreign language instructors.</p>