The purpose for studying abroad varies among people; it might be to learn a new language, research for your major, to get a Bachelor's degree, achieving a wider perspective through experiencing foreign culture, etc. Choosing schools varies as much according to your purpose; whether it would be a university (graduate school), junior college, vocational school, exchange student program of private universities/community colleges, or a Japanese language institution, and that goes the different for the types of visa. Therefore, be clear of your purpose and length of your stay. Let’s begin the process of preparing.

Admission requirements

You require the following qualifications in order to consider entrance to a Japanese university (graduate school),junior college, and vocational school.

① In your country, you must complete school education more than 12 years so that a international student enters the Japanese university (Graduate school), junior college and vocational school.（ The graduate school completes school education more than 16 years）In addition, people more than 18 years old to have the University Entrance Qualification Examination passer or the International Baccalaureate qualification of each country which is equivalent to a Japanese examination of university entrance requirements examination.

※ If you only need 10 or 11 years to finish education equivalent to the Japanese senior high school, you will have to be age of 18 and finish a preparatory course for entering Japanese universities at a Japanese language institution with a “preparatory course for university entrance”(see page.20) authorized by the Ministry of Education.

②〔University (Graduate School) and Community College〕In most cases you are required to take Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students and in some cases might need to pass the test for first grade of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

　〔Vocational School〕People with any of the conditions below.

・ Anyone who has attended a Japanese Language Institution, authorized by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education, for more than 6 months.
・A holder of 2nd grade Japanese Language Proficiency Test or higher.
・ Anyone who has attended one of the following Japanese schools (elementary, junior high school, senior high school) for more than a year.
・ Anyone who achieved more than 200 points (total for comprehension, listening and dictation of the Japanese language) on Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students.

Student visa

To enter Japan, you are required to get “Student” visa. There are 2 types of “Student” visa's status −“College student” and “Pre-college student”. There are two following ways of prior preparation in order to achieve the necessary visa.

① Apply for a “Foreign Student” visa at the Japanese Embassy personally in your own country.
　② Apply for a “Foreign Student” visa at the local immigration office on behalf of you by appointing a representative who resides in Japan.

② is the most usual for the prior screening for immigration. ① is also possible but applying from overseas diplomatic
facilities will take more time. For people who have entered Japan with a residence status of a student of a Japanese preparatory school, are allowed to apply for a changing of status to “Foreign Student” through certain procedures. In this case, you need not submit your identification documents shown at immigration but you might need personal references or contact people when applying for university, college or vocational school. According to the Immigration Law, which will be reissued from July the 1st of 2010, the “Pre-college student” visa will be joined the “College student” visa. So if you have “Precollege student” visa and not going to change contain of the activities, in this case no need to change it to “College student” visa.

People qualified to take the examinations will proceed to applying to the school, but to do so, you would need to submit the application forms. You will have to obtain the application forms from the schools of your choice and prepare necessary documents, examination fees for submission. Naturally, submission periods differ according to the schools. There are some cases for vocational schools that will close gates as soon as all vacancies are filled. You might want to pay special attention to such cases and an early submission would be most advisable.

After application, your will be directed to take the examination tests, however, tests methods changes depending on each school. You need to check the methods and prepare yourself for it. Mainly, there are the following methods of examinations; ① applicant screening, ② interviews, ③ Japanese comprehension tests, ④ Subject tests, ⑤ Essays, ⑥ Practical Exams. Usually, evaluation procedures are a combination of the above methods.

Furthering your studies at a university, junior college and vocational school would cost you much school fees and living costs. Make sure of the total amount that you would eventually need to pay and think of realistic methods to support yourself financially. In most cases, you will need to submit a written statement verifying your ability for supporting yourself throughout the duration of your studies.

School fees vary according to the type of institution and study field/vocation. However, even if the study field is the same, the amount could differ much depending on how the lessons are conducted and what the courses do. Our advice is for you to compare the fees thoroughly. It must be noted too that at the beginning of the first year, there would be an initial cost, mainly entrance fees and facility expenses etc besides tuition fees. Carefully check the amount and method of payment (in a lump sum or by installment) beforehand.

There are nations, local governments, private sectors and schools that have their own unique scholarship system to aid students financially with their schooling fees and living expenses. However, unfortunately, usually the scholarship alone is insufficient, and many students live on financial supplies, part-time jobs and savings. It must also be noted that not all foreign students are qualified for a scholarship and therefore will need to be prepared financially in case you do not receive a scholarship.

【JASSO Scholarship for Self- Supporting Foreign Students】
This is a scholarship system organized by the Japan Student Services Organization, which can be applied for after entering Japan through the school you attend. There is the reservation system of the results high rank person in Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students too.

Educational Institutions Covered : Graduate School, Under Graduate Courses, Junior Colleges, Advanced Vocational Schools, Vocational Schools, Foreign Students’ Program at Universities or Community Colleges, Preparatory Institutions for Japanese Universities, etc.

Besides scholarship, many schools provide their own financial aids for foreign students. It is advised that you look into these aids and the actual deductible amount in prior.

Those who are granted a residential permit for more than a year in Japan after being registered with the Alien Registration have to be registered with the National Health Insurance according to the Law. After enrollment into the insurance program, you must pay the health insurance expense every month. The amount of expense depends on district of residence, but usually is about 20,000 Yen per year. If you sustain an injury or fall ill and seek treatment, you would only need to pay 30% of the health insurance treatment fees.

The Japanese Ministry of Education is taking many measures to ensure foreign students’ accommodation; however, currently 76.3% of foreign students find accommodation at private housing and apartments. We advise you to inquire the schools’ foreign students’ room, local government or the Japan Student Services Organization about accommodation for foreign students.

There are many students who have part-time jobs after and between school hours to cover tuition fees, household and personal expenditures. If you have “College student” or “Pre-college student” residence status visa and want to work part-time, first of all you have to get permission from your school and then permission from the Local office of the Immigration Service*1. Working time and work categories are limited*2.
*1 To get “Working Permission” from Immigration Service, you have to provide official permission from your school. This permission says that part-time job will not affect studies negatively. School provides such permission if student demonstrates excellent academic progress, attendance and achieves the necessary credits. *2 Work categories limitation
Students are strongly forbidden to work in sex-related industry, commercial enterprises providing sex-related services such as adult sex entertainment, pornographic media, sex telephone services, sex clubs and others.

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