So in my one and a half years in Japan and studying at two different universities, it seems that for the most part Gaijin students tend to fit into three major groups – and three very differing approaches to Japan. I’m not saying one is better than the other (or, more importantly, I’m not saying one is worse than another), but it is interesting to see how people slide into various “gaijin roles” after they’ve spent some time here. I hope that by reading this (these stereotypes, essentially) you can look inside yourself and notice if you are falling into one of these categories. Maybe you’d rather be something else! Now you have the power to notice what you are becoming.

Type 1: the “Gaijin?”

The Hollywood version

Motto: When in Rome do as the Romans do

And thus when in Japan, do as the Japanese do.

This person is probably the one you find with perfect keigo mastery. The one who goes “Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu” or the person who can seiza properly for 20 minutes without collapsing.

Often can be seen in Japanese university student clubs, especially the very “Japanese” ones such as karate or judo. Probably has hopes for living / working in Japan in the future. His goal is to immerse himself in Japan and try his best to integrate – be a member of Japanese society – as much as possible.

Pros

If you’re looking to experience Japan then this is obviously good. Furthermore, if you really want to practice your Japanese (and particularly your keigo) then this would be a great way of going about doing your business.

If you’re also looking to make Japanese friends then this is perhaps one possible way to do it. More on this in the third section but there are actually many foreigners who leave Japan after a year or more without any Japanese friends – and this approach might avoid it.

Cons

Probably the hardest out of the three to do. You have to be fluent in Japanese to at least a near-native level and be able to “空気を読む” (lit. reading the air or social situation) which may be hard too. And it takes time – a lot of it.

Furthermore, once people know that you’re a foreigner, you’ll have an giant “gaijin” tag superglued onto your head. If you look vaguely Japanese, then maybe it’s possible. But even then, unless your accent with all the intonations are correct – you are gaijin. If a Japanese person mucks up their keigo, he or she is “poorly-educated”. If a gaijin mucks it up, it’s cute – but very “gaijin”.

Every small non-Japanese thing you do will reinforce your status as a gaijin – so being fully “integrated” is extremely difficult to say the least, so expect to be pretty stressed out at times if you decide to take this path.

Type 2: the “Gaijin gaijin”

Motto: I’m not Roman so why should I care?

If the above person tries to remove the gaijin tag stuck to his head, this guy takes advantage of it. He knows he’s a gaijin, they know he’s a gaijin, and he makes sure that they know that he’s a gaijin.

Basically, he is everything that the Japanese expect from a “gaijin” – brash, extroverted, frank, loud, “kuuki yomenai”, whatever.

Everyone knows him and he almost is a campus mascot. Inwardly he probably revels in the attention too.

Pros

Through assuming the gaijin stereotype, you get awarded “gaijin space”. Basically, you won’t be accepted as part of Japanese society but you will be accepted as a “gaijin”. This means that you can often do what you want (with some limits) – keigo? Who cares? Hierarchy? What’s that? The Japanese assume that you don’t care or don’t know, so don’t worry about it!

This is also the other way of making Japanese friends – after all you’ll be known throughout campus and so you’ll have a tremendously wide social circle of people who know you (and who you don’t know). Get to know them and the problem is solved.

If you’re the feminist/gay/environmentalist/etc activist type too this approach may be good. Because the gaijin status does accord you the right to be vocal about things – whether the Japanese listen is a different question though.

Cons

How some people may see you

Not everyone is going to take well to you – because you will be indicating that you’re really different from them. Some people will find an gaijin extrovert overpowering and some people can’t forgive the lack of keigo. But you will be attracting the more internationally minded Japanese so there is a give and take.

This requires some finesse and charisma to it too. You can’t just be the critical brusque foreigner that says uncalled-for stuff all the time. That’ll earn you discrimination (as it would in the rest of the world). Also, doing this would pretty much disqualify you from joining many Japanese student clubs (with their strict hierarchy) – there would simply be too big a culture clash.

Aside from this, this is not recommended for people who dislike being the center of attention – obviously.

Type 3: The “Ghetto Gaijin”

Motto: “I am in Rome?”

From my experience this is really the default that a majority foreign students find themselves in. Basically, gaijins who clump with other gaijins – and there are many. If you go to any university with a sizable foreign population there’s usually a very obvious “foreign table” at lunch in the cafeteria.

For the most part this can’t be helped. Because you’ll likely be living in a dorm with other gaijin. If you’re taking classes in English they’re likely to be populated with other foreign students (maybe not so much for grad school). This is not to mention language barriers – if you can’t speak Japanese then you’ll be limited to interacting with other foreigners, and perhaps a limited number of Japanese who can speak your language.

There’s other things too like “soto” and “uchi”, shyness etc. But those have been written about to death already so I’ll skip that.

Pros

This is extremely ironic, but lots of people come to Japan and end up making lots of friends from other countries that aren’t Japan. So it isn’t rare that people go away from Japan with an extremely diverse group of friends and people to visit all around the world. Plus, having classes, discussing and interacting with other foreigners is, in its own way, a form of “global education” too.

But the main reason why gaijin clump is that to be frank – it is much easier than the above two approaches. After all, this does not require any Japanese ability and in school you’ll likely be together anyway. Plus there wouldn’t be any need to deal with culture shock etc.

Cons

If the point of coming to Japan is to experience it, then this approach cuts out half of the experience.

In addition, the best way to learn Japanese is to use it and be exposed to it continually – if someone is mainly speaking English with Japanese only being used in the classes then it’s really no different from Japanese classes you would get back in his or her home countries. Lots of “ghetto gaijin” go back home with an improved level of Japanese – but it would certainly be better if they were using it more regularly when they were in Japan.

To Sum Up

I think from what I’ve observed, the first one or two months many foreign students start with the “gaijin?” approach – they try to join student clubs, go for international exchange parties etc. However as time passes more and more drop out of the clubs and as the Japanese tend to clump, the foreign students do so too and “ghettoize” themselves.

Anyway, there is no “superior method” among the three here. Your personality type, Japanese ability, interests and even how your classes are arranged will affect greatly the method which you will choose. And there’s probably other sub-types and mixes and whatever that can be talked about too. But just pick the one that fits you best or maybe one that was written about in this article. But no guarantees though – your mileage may vary.

The stuff that’ll be in the article is only meant as a guide though – the information is only correct to the best of my information and that of the people I have asked. Different schools may have their own selection processes which are different from the norm. Similarly the application processes and how to get to Japan differ greatly between what you’re also coming as – a university exchange student will have a very different process from someone coming for vocational training.

In this post I’m going to be focusing on how to get here on full length vocational training and/or university courses. I won’t be looking at exchange programs since that sort of information depends on an each individual institution (please talk to your guidance counselors for more information). On the topic of going to Japan for full length courses there is very little information to go on, so I hope to fill that hole just a little bit.

Monbukagakusho (Monbusho)

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan?

Let’s start with the Monbukagakusho scholarship – which I myself am on. This is also often otherwise known as the “Monbusho Scholarship” (which I will use for the rest of the article) or the “Monkasho Scholarship” For a scholarship with such good terms and conditions, there’s both a lack of information as well as lots of inaccurate information out there about it.

Firstly, the Monbusho is a fully paid scholarship provided by the The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (seriously, you’d think that they’d shorten it) for prospective students aiming to study in Japan. The scholarship is often referred to as the Monbusho scholarship, Monkasho scholarship, or MEXT scholarship. It involves not only a waiving of tuition fees but also includes a stipend which is more than enough to live on in Japan.

The scholarship is provided for vocational schools, undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs in Japan (exchange students also have a separate scholarship provided). However, for the undergraduate program, the scholarship is limited to public universities – so don’t apply to the scholarship hoping to go to Sophia, Keio or Waseda.

Generally aside from this the main gist of the scholarship will not differ from what privately financed students have to go through (a period of language school followed by vocational school or university).

The differences between Monbusho and non-Monbusho students will be listed in the following sections.

Japanese Language School

Most – but not all – students go through a period of language education within Japan before starting their formal education in a vocational school or university. Notable exceptions are a significant proportion of graduate students or students going through courses in English.

As you can imagine – Japanese school teaches you well… Japanese! Duh. But in addition to that many schools will also teach you academic subjects such as physics and chemistry in Japanese – which a JLPT Level 1 person does not necessarily know. Thus, there is value in going for such schools even if you have an advanced level of Japanese.

Do note that some language schools will also organize events during which representatives of universities and vocational schools will come to do outreach so this may be useful if you are also planning to apply for your further education in Japan. Don’t expect the big names like the University of Tokyo etc. to come though – these know that people will apply to them without them organizing such outreach activities.

Where I was for a year in Osaka

For Monbusho undergraduate scholars you will be doing a year long prep course in either Osaka University (ahh the good times) or the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. For Monbusho vocational school scholars you will be having a separate year long prep course in either the Tokyo Japanese Language Education Center or the Osaka Japanese Language Education Center.

The language schools are not strictly necessary though – some universities and other institutions accept direct applications without requiring a period of study in Japan. Monbusho scholars may also apply for a waiver for the language education year (which I do not recommend however). Anyway, this brings us to …

The Applications

I can’t really go that much into detail here because each university and technical school has their own guidelines and application processes.

Generally however, if you’re looking to study in Japanese most places (especially universities) will require you to have done the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU). While there are some colleges which accept a JLPT certificate, in most cases an EJU score is necessary and a JLPT N1 pass is in no way a waiver for the EJU. It goes without saying that this is in addition to typical documentation (eg. high school grades and standardized test scores) that is expected. The EJU is however, usually not necessary for students who are coming to Japan to study in English.

Some institutions may also put in place additional requirements such as a TOEFL score for non-native English speakers. Some schools will also require an additional exam in addition to the document screening – this may come in the form of interviews (in person especially for those applying from within Japan or through Skype for those applying from overseas) and/or further paper examinations.

Do note that the semester in which you will start school depends on the program and on the institution. Generally school starts in April and if you’re studying in Japanese you’ll almost surely be starting then too. Given the application period is generally near August. However, if you are studying in English you may start (or have a choice to start) in September / October. In which case your application period will likely be near the end of the year.

For applications for the Monbusho program and scholarship, the best thing to do is to contact your respective country’s embassy because apparently procedure differs. However, in terms of applications into university within the Monbusho program during your language education period things work this way.

Firstly, vocational and graduate students have their institute decided before arriving in Japan and I haven’t heard of anyone who has managed to change it. However, for the undergraduate admissions, you don’t have to go through the typical admissions process with all the paperwork (thank goodness). However, your scores in your prep course will determine where you go and you will be competing against your fellow Monbusho scholars for a limited number of places at the public universities of Japan.

I can’t stress this enough but the Monbusho is not a straight ticket to a top ranked Japanese school. Do not expect to just sweep into the University of Tokyo or Kyoto after your one year of Japanese education. Competition is tough especially for popular majors such as engineering and economics. In fact, while most get into well regarded schools in Japan, do poorly enough and you may get thrown to a university in the middle of nowhere. And even if you do decently, you’ll be (to be brutally frank) competing against people from other countries – some of which may have a better education system than yours, and some of which may be more (for lack of a better term) exam-oriented than yours.

As I said before though, most do well enough to get into highly ranked universities – but just be aware. Overconfidence is not going to lead you anywhere.

So In Conclusion…

This article is just to give you a rough idea about applying to Japan and hopefully allow you to start thinking about what to do.

There are some things which I wasn’t able to touch on though, like for example grad school applications. And while I hope that this article has been informative please do your own research! It’s your future after all.

P.S. A picture of the instructions for a urine test which I received at Osaka U!

Correction: This article originally stated that the monbusho is unavailable for graduate studies in private universities. This is false and has been corrected.

(Note: I’ll try my best to answer questions in the comments. I may write a part 2 if there’s enough questions on the same topic or if there are any requests for further topics)

Useful Links!

• http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj_stope.html – General information
• http://www.jasso.go.jp/study_j/schinfo_e.html#info2 – General information
• http://www.nisshinkyo.org/search/index_e.html – List of schools catering Japanese language education.
• http://www.jasso.go.jp/eju/tonichimae_list_e.html – List of schools allowing direct admission to overseas applicants (excluding English courses)

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遊ぶのは大学のうち – You can only play while you’re still in university.

These are all various sayings which I have heard the Japanese use to describe their college lives. In my last article I mentioned how academics are really not Japanese universities’ strong points and this article aims to flesh this point out.

If you buy into the stereotype of Japanese people being hardworking you would be very very wrong when it comes to college students. As said before, if you’re looking for deep probing academic vigor and intellectual stimulation Japanese universities really aren’t for you.

What certainly is true is that barring certain exceptions such as med school, the majority of Japanese students don’t (and often don’t need to) take their college life seriously. But four years is a long time to just be slacking off and enjoying freedom – the question therefore is why go to college at all?

And what do I mean by “Spring Break”?

Not that rare a sight in the typical Japanese college student’s life

Perhaps to illustrate the point better, let’s use the example of an imaginary Japanese youth – let’s say his name is Takashi. Assume that he’s a current student in a mid-to-high tier university.

He doesn’t really study during college. But then he’s really not the only one. The statistics are clear – Japanese students do not study. An earlier Japan Times article quoted some University of Tokyo research which stated that Japanese students study far less than American college students. Takashi skips a few classes a week, and for the lessons that he goes to, even if his classmates are physically present a large number are having a mental vacation in dreamland while the lecturer drones on.

What do Takashi and his schoolmates do then? Some of his classmates spend their time on partying and doing gõkon and playing computer games etc. He occasionally joins his classmates for all-night mahjong games at his friend’s house. Some of his friends spend their time on part-time jobs. Heck, being from a relatively high-end university many of his friends who do not go to school spend all their time earning an income teaching high school students on how to work hard for their exams. Then there are those, especially sportsmen, who pour all their time into sports clubs or other student activities.

Basically, anything but their books.

Before and after

Congratulations on you getting accepted into a high ranking university – otherwise known as a four year “study break”!

Takashi was miserable in high school, as many Japanese students are – though this is very true for East Asia as a whole. Starting from the second year of high school Takashi started gearing up for the all important university entrance examinations. So, depending on his subject combination, he may have to slog through calculus and memorize a history curriculum that almost seems to aim to make students into mini-Wikipedias. Looking at his notes on classical Japanese, he tries to figure out the language of his great ancestors about 20 generations ago but all that comes to his head is a big maji de?! (like really?!).

Say he screws up an examination. If his family can afford it then he’s most likely off to extra classes at a cram school (juku). Actually, he’d likely end up going to those extra classes anyway even if he didn’t do so bad. If you fail to make it into your target university you become a ronin, which basically means you have to wait another year, study hard, and then take the entrance examinations again. It’s not something that most high schoolers want to experience once, let alone twice.

So after a possibly delayed year and after puzzling through both classical Japanese as well as English grammar, he finally enrolls in college. He moves from one of the more rural parts of Japan to Tokyo, the big city, for university. The first day he takes the train to school at around 8:30AM and gets squashed by the morning crowd of half-asleep suits and stifling neckties. In the morning Tokyo train, almost nobody smiles.

He goes to school and finishes all his classes the first day – dutifully attending all of them. He finishes near 6PM and is just on time to be hit by the evening rush of people who actually don’t have overtime. Some other day within the first week he goes to an introduction session by one of the student clubs – maybe a sports club, maybe a band circle – and tries to board the train around nine. Even at this time the trains are still full, now from those who worked overtime. Another time he stays back for a shinkan(welcome) party and boards the train at 11PM. The crowds have thinned a bit but the number of people still in suits is obvious. Some of them are reeking of alcohol from a company nomikai (drinking party) and are entirely red in the face.

On the train rides home looking at the drunk salarymen on the train he realizes that he’s looking at a reflection of what he will be four years down the road. But then that’s what he came to college for anyway. Get a degree, a nice university’s name to your resume and start work, and work and work and work and work (and work).

The day after the shinkan party he had a class at 9AM. But he misses it because he can’t wake up. After all, since he’s going to work and work and work anyway, what’s the point of working so hard right now? It can wait.

Not getting up becomes a habit because work can wait and sleep can’t. Especially because his parents are not around to parent him, his attendance, especially for morning classes, slumps.

There’s other stuff too

Job applicants heading for an interview at Nissan

The above is the “conventional” explanation for why students like Takashi don’t take their college life seriously, but if you think about it, if not studying actually had an impact on Takashi’s future career, he surely wouldn’t take things so easily.

Luckily, it does not. Japanese companies – based on anecdotal evidence – do not really look at an applicants’ grades when they apply for jobs. What they do instead is look at the university name and after document screening subject job applicants to a barrage of interviews, internal tests, discussions and the like right in the middle of the school term – which in itself indicates how much companies value the education that the universities provide for their students.

Takashi may have joined a sports club which requires him to wake up for morning practices in addition to afternoon practices which coincide with lessons. It is obvious which he will prioritize. If the club is vigorous enough it is likely that he will have to repeat a year in university.

But this to him is indirectly investment in the future – in exchange for holding up the reputation and achievements of the club, the alumni of the sports club are very likely to pull some strings such that the club members will get a foot up during their job searches. One friend of mine in a judo club even says that members have their names on the name-list highlighted in yellow during job interviews for companies where alumni are already working.

And more other stuff

Photo by Tambako the Jaguar

But in the first place, why should Takashi come to class?

After all, for some classes he is packed into a lecture hall with 400 other people for a lecture – in such a case obviously no attendance is taken. Even if attendance is taken in other classes he can just ask his friends to sign on his behalf. In any case he can just study for the exams – someone in the class is attending the lecture and he can just ask that person for his notes later.

And about the exams, well they’re not that hard. After all, 80% of sociology papers involves multiple choice and filling in the blanks (note: true story, it happened to me). And since there are so many lectures with big class sizes – and because the lecturers do not want to commit suicide – the only form of grading occurs from that one end-of-term examination. After all, which lecturer would want to read 400 students’ assignments?

And even the workload for small classes isn’t that high. Many exchange students comment on how outside the Japanese courses (which can be intense), the amount of readings they have to do per class is really low compared to their home universities. In my university it is also not uncommon for students to take around 16 different courses in their first semester. That’s right, sixteen different courses. This does not mean that they pull all-nighters every day to do their work (they’re more likely to pull all-nighters drinking or at mahjong). It means that the courses themselves aren’t very intensive.

So in conclusion…

The view outside Hitotsubashi University in full spring

In Japan college isn’t that intensive at all. But this does depend on the subject (medicine is an exception), the university (there is a gradient) and of course the individual student. Takashi is just an example for one of the many Japanese students who really take their college “educations” as spring breaks – there are certainly many who do not.

However, that being said, not paying that much attention to school is not in itself a bad thing. After all, instead of trying to pay attention to a sleep-inducing lecture, some people do take their time out to do volunteering, activism or exploring the world outside the confines of their university.

But this is not the majority – so do not come to Japan expecting that you’ll be adding that much to your formal academic education. To be frank, Takashi is not, so neither should you.

Things are supposedly changing though. Employment prospects in Japan have supposedly been worsening over the past few years and companies are taking a closer look nowadays at what people do during their university days before hiring them. But the situation has remained largely unchanged in the everyday lives of Japanese college students.

This article may seem to conflict with the earlier article I posted about why you should come to Japan and to some extent it may. However, the point of coming to Japan is not the education per se but other reasons.

I’m therefore thinking about writing an article about not “why” you should come to Japan (like the previous one), nor about “what” actually happens here, but “how” to approach university in Japan, as well as what I think are the main types of approaches which people employ when they are here. Let me know what you think in the comments!

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The Reasons

The famous red gates (赤門) of the University of Tokyo

Now, going overseas for college or for an exchange is widely considered to be a good thing – for your resume, for your worldly knowledge, or even for your plain and simple enjoyment.

The question then is: “why Japan?” Obviously if you’re doing a Japanese Studies major or have a very strong interest in Japanese stuff like many of the writers on this blog, the reasons are obvious. But for those who are wavering between Japan or another country, or those still a bit unsure, here are some reasons for your consideration.

1. It really isn’t that expensive

Lots of people probably have heard that Japan is ridiculously expensive – pointing out the many “Most Expensive Cities in the World to Live In” in which Tokyo and Osaka often rank near the top.

The first thing to note is that such surveys often measure the cost of a working expat. Thus the cost of renting an apartment and a car is often factored in. Obviously, as a student you probably aren’t aiming to own your own car in Japan and if you’re in a hostel the rent is significantly lowered. Plus, if you’re from North America or Western Europe, you’ll find the typical 500 yen meals fairly cheap. Think about eating out every meal for about 5 US dollars/3 pounds/4 euros. And there’s no tipping too. Nonetheless things (and especially fruits!) may look expensive if you’re not from the above areas though.

If you’re thinking of spending your whole college life in Japan, tuition is also relatively cheap. For example (the information below is from the official websites), the University of Tokyo’s annual tuition fee is ￥585,800 or about 5,400 US dollars. Private universities tend to be a bit more expensive with Waseda’s School of International Liberal Studies’ school fees near ￥1,500,000 or near 15,000 US dollars a year. While this may be expensive for someone who comes from a country with no tuition fees, it certainly does not reach say, US college fees.

In addition (and which will be covered in a later article), scholarships for both exchange students and full time students are quite common in Japan. Many foreign students in Japan under them have a large part (if not all) of their living expenses etc. covered.

2. You will (be forced to) learn a different language

But can’t you learn the language without going to Japan? Well, yes, somewhat, but there’s a whole new depth to things when you have to live in a different language. For example, very few textbooks are going to teach you what an onion is in Japanese – tamanegi. And certainly none of them are going to tell you what the kanji (玉葱) are. But going to a supermarket in Japan and puzzling over what the things are is in itself a very big opportunity to learn Japanese.

Basically, no one is going to look at you and say “oh this person is at so-and-so level of Japanese and so let’s make the kanji easier for him.” – the level of immersion quite simply is different.

No guarantees though – some people come and don’t put in the effort to learn so it’s no surprise that they go back with a poor grasp of the language, stopping at somewhere between “konnichiwa” and “sayonara.”

3. You (probably) won’t need to study hard

This does depend on the university. But generally, if there’s one thing that Japanese universities are not known for, it is academic vigor. So, if you come to Japan hoping for deep discussions with the Japanese students about Japanese philosophy or some probing into the problems of Japanese society with great academic depth you will most likely be disappointed.

This is because firstly, the Japanese students don’t really take college that seriously. After all – as someone once told me before, in Japan “college is the spring break of life.” (more on this in a later article) In addition, if you’re here on an exchange program or a degree course in English, well, let’s just say that much of the teaching staff doing the courses aren’t really fluent in English.

But on the other hand, generally speaking you’ll have enough time to travel or do whatever you want. So if you’re looking to have a relaxed time or if you subscribe to the mentality that “the real learning happens outside the classroom”, this can be an opportunity in itself.

4. But you will learn nonetheless

And I don’t mean just the language.

This is because Japan as a society is just really different. Even to other Asians, it is just really different.

It is precisely because it is so different that you may oddly learn more about your home country after coming to Japan – for the simple reason that living in Japan will offer you a basis for comparison by which you can judge your home country.

And of course, you’ll learn about Japan first-hand. No matter how much someone reads this blog or any other website on Japan, the fact is that we can only provide a limited view of Japan colored by our respective biases. Nothing beats, and nothing can beat, experiencing Japan first hand with its ups-and-downs.

You’ll also probably learn more about yourself. If you’ve never lived alone before you’ll have to learn. If you have never lived in another country before you’ll experience the culture shock and learn to question all the assumptions that you had about life. Like, how you would think that ATMs, being machines, do not need rest (they apparently do in Japan).

5. Better to do it while you’re a student

I’ll be honest here. Japan isn’t for everyone. Every year lots of foreigners come to Japan to work not knowing a single thing about Japan and expecting paradise. If they like it – then all’s well, but for a significant proportion of people it ends up being an entirely different experience.

The good thing about coming as a college student is that because it is “the spring break of life”, you have time to observe, listen to stories from people currently working in Japan, and then make a decision on whether or not staying in Japan for the long term is for you.

You certainly wouldn’t want to be in the situation which many foreigners working in Japan find themselves in. More precisely, one where you come to Japan having a distorted view of it, find out that it isn’t what you expected and then are faced with the dilemma of enduring or going home and having to do the job search all over again.

And to end off…

Perhaps one big reason for why you should come to Japan is that Japan needs you. At the moment the whole of Japan is captivated by this idea of “internationalization” (国際化). In short, having largely not been that accepting of foreign input, many Japanese companies and perhaps Japan’s society as a whole have been coming under intense pressure from foreign competition.

Japan is thus starting to realize that it needs to accept more diversity and allow for a wider range of viewpoints. Due to this, Japan is facing the challenge of bringing in more foreigners as employees, researchers and of course as students.

How effective Japan’s attempts at “internationalization” are is up for debate, but what is also true is that in the universities right now, there are too few international students for there to be any effective “internationalization”.

Obviously the problem is deeper than that – the culture of homogeneity needs to be addressed too – but Japan still needs you here to give it some international stimulation. So, I hope that this article has given you some information to think over – and who knows? Maybe I’ll see you studying around in Japan soon!

Update:
Hey people, I think I’ve been a bit unclear and misleading with the title. Basically, while I do indeed hope that some people will come for the full four years for college, this article also applies to people who are thinking of study-abroad programs. The next article will tackle directly the idea of Japan’s universities being spring breaks of life so I hope to address that too.

Cram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals such as achieving good marks or passing the entrance examinations of high schools or universities. Many Japanese students feel relentless pressure to get ahead of the 受験戦争 (Juken-sensou), also known as the “entrance examination war,” so many kids attend a full day at school and then a few additional hours of cram school in the evening before doing a couple more hours of study at home so they can get to bed right around midnight. That’s a pretty heavy load for a child, isn’t it?

KUMON

Look at how sad that Kumon logo face looks…

My first cram school was 公文 (KUMON), which is a math and reading cram school. I forget exactly when I started it, but I’m going to say it was around my third grade of elementary school. Following that, I moved on to another cram school when I began junior high school. Unlike usual cram schools, KUMON is intended to supplement rather than replace school lessons, so students work individually and progress through the program at their own pace, advancing to the next level when they have mastered of the previous level.

The system was pretty well suited for me since I prefer studying at my own pace and the sheets that we worked on were kind of like a fun puzzle for me to complete. When I was a university student, I even worked at KUMON as an assistant teacher, so I’ve spent a lot of time at Kumon schools. It’s now even present worldwide, and I was even able to find a couple in the Canadian city close to the town that I’m currently living in. So maybe you’ve seen it before even in your own home country?

For The Entrance Examinations

Despite all this Kumon time, I found myself wanting to go to a different cram school when I reached junior high school. I needed something that would specialize in high school entrance examinations. In order to go to the new cram school, I had to take a train every evening, so my parents at first didn’t want to enroll me there. However, I begged them because many of my friends were there. Wanting to hang out with my friends was not the only reason, though. I also didn’t want to find myself academically lagging behind my friends. Keep your friends close and your high school entrance examination enemies closer, eh?

Although the new cram school was much more competitive, and everyone could see how well you did on the mock examinations by looking at a board with all the student’s names on it, I honestly didn’t dislike the school. As I mentioned earlier, the school was a couple of stations away from my town so I had to take the train which was sometimes a bit troublesome, but it also allowed me to make new friends from different schools. The teachers were great, too. I enjoyed that school a lot and was glad that I made the move. When I became a high school student, I once again changed cram schools to focus on the upcoming university entrance exam. At this point it wasn’t that big of a change, so I enjoyed the new school as well.

Special Events

As for special events, both KUMON and the cram school I attended during junior high school had a “New Year’s Eve All-Night Studying Event” (年越し徹夜勉強会/toshikoshi-testuya-benkyoukai). The teachers encouraged us not to fall asleep and to keep studying until morning. There were even a few games to help stimulate and relax students as well. It was a lot of fun to stay up late with my friends, but everyone reaches a wall and you would get sleepy at some point and find it nearly impossible to keep studying. Granted, it wasn’t an effective way to study at all, but it did teach us some discipline.

I know you’re probably sarcastically thinking “Right on! That sounds like a fantastic way to spend New Years Eve!” However, after saying that, studying all night together actually made us feel as though we achieved something great and it was a real confidence booster. The New Year’s sunrise, known as 初日の出 (hatsuhinode) was quite memorable, too. Everyone made the same New Years resolution: study hard to achieve good marks on the entrance exam.

The Interview With Juku-experienced People

Now, you may think I’m a bit of an oddball because I actually liked juku (cram school), but I’m not the only one. I interviewed some people who attended cram schools when they were younger and I found that every single one of these girls really enjoyed going, at least in retrospect.

Rina (pen-name), who is 19-year-old female, went to cram schools while she was in elementary and junior high school. Although she had to go there every day, except on Sundays and summer vacations, she said she liked it. 

塾は好きでした。他の人と楽しく勉強できて行くのが好きだし楽しかったから。勇気づけるための言葉とか目標とかをいつも言ってくれたり、壁に紙がはってあったり、先生が面白いから毎日塾に行きたがってた！
I liked my cram schools. It was enjoyable to study with my friends. Teachers also gave us many quotes, posted phrases on the wall and set goals for us, all with the purpose of encouraging us.  I found it fun and funny so I wanted to go to the cram school every day.

Paeja (pen-name), who is 28-year-old female, also liked her cram school. She went to her cram schools during all of her elementary, junior, and high school years. Her cram school also had a New Years Eve camp-in for working on a collection of past entrance exams from many choice schools.

他校の友達としりあえたし、塾の先生が好きだったから塾は好きでした。
I liked my cram schools because I was able to get to know students from other schools and I also liked the cram school teachers.

I also asked her why she liked the teachers. She answered they were nice and funny and she gave me a couple examples of why she thought so.

・夏期講習の最終日に友達が家出をしたが、塾の先生が親身に面倒をみてくれていた。
・同じ塾に通っていた兄が通塾を拒否し無断欠席を繰り返したら、塾の先生と学年主任が夜中にアポ無しで家庭訪問に来た。
・地理の授業で地図の特産物マークを「ワカメちゃん」「綿花ちゃん」と擬人化する先生がいた。
・On the last day of the summer program, one of my friends ran away from home. The cram school teachers were genuinely worried about her and looked after her after she was found.
・My brother went to the same cram school I did, but he rejected the idea of cram school and was repeatedly truant. His teacher and the head teacher of his grade worried about him and unexpectedly visited our home at night after the cram school closed.
・In a geography class, I had a teacher who always personified the principal product of each country’s district like ‘Wakame-chan (Seaweed-chan)’ or ‘Menka-chan (Cotton-chan)’. I found it funny and it helped me memorize them.

Surprisingly, she confessed to liking the cram school teachers so much that she even fell in love with one of them. She ran into him 10 years down the line and they actually dated for a while. She also told me that it’s fairly common for a student to develop a crush on a cram school teacher. She had a friend who had a crush on a teacher while going there, too. She remembers that she dreamt up an imaginary love story between her friend and the teacher and wrote the short story out for her, but it was discovered by the teacher somehow and both of them felt monstrously embarrassed.

Yukari (pen-name), who is 28-year-old female, also liked her cram school, though she had a rather bitter experience there.  The teacher scolded her for having a secret Christmas party in the self-study room with her friends. As you might presume, she had a lot of friends there and that was the reason that she liked the cram school so much. She also worked at a cram school when she was a university student. She often looks back on that period in her life and remembers how busy her days were. 

３年間進学塾で中学理科を教えていました。塾の講師は自分のプライベートな時間はほとんど取れなくて塾内でのコミュニティが全てという感じになっていました。
そのため、昼ドラのようなドロドロした恋愛模様がそこら中でありました。”
I taught junior high school level science at a cram school for three years. Being a teacher at a cram school means being very busy. I barely had any private time and  neither did the other teachers. Our whole lives existed within the cram school. Therefore, there were actually a lot of complicated, soap opera-esque relationships among the cram school staff.

However, there are of course some people who don’t like cram schools and 8-chilis (pen-name) is one of them. He didn’t like cram school because you are bound to a lot of things. He once attended a winter session when he was in junior high school, but he thought he could do it by himself because a cram school is just a tool and not necessary.

稲田塾憲法249条: Article 294 of the Inada-Juku Constitution

Although he succeeded in doing well on his high school entrance exam, he failed the entrance exam for university which resulted in him becoming a 浪人(rounin). Rounin means a masterless samurai, or a jobless person / high-school graduate who has failed to enter a university and is waiting for another chance to obtain a place. While he was a “rounin,” he finally went to a cram school because he felt that he needed to regiment his studying and also thought it would have been fruitless to continue studying by himself for one year without seeking any assistance. After doing so, he successfully rewrote the entrance examination and was accepted to Kyoto University a.k.a Kyoudai, which is the second oldest Japanese university and one of the highest ranked universities in economics in all of Asia. It is also one of Japan’s Seven National Universities. However, he told me that he still didn’t regret his decision of not going to cram school when he was younger.

たらればで、もし塾いってたらどうなってたかなーとは考えたけど、行ってても落ちてたと思うわ。
ちゃんと受かった人って志望校も目的意識もはっきりしてたけど、俺にはそれがなかったから何回やっても結果はだめやったと思うねん┐(￣ヘ￣）┌
そんな状況でよく浪人して受かったな～と思ってるぐらい(笑)
He continued, “Of course I imagined the “what if” stories, but I probably still would have failed the exam, even if I did go to a cram school. The people who did move on to university had a clear goal in their minds, but I had no such goals. I figure that even if I could go back to that time and try the exam again, I would fail it. So I kind of impressed myself when ended up passing the exam after one year of being a rounin”, he chuckles.

Remember, he still ended up going to Kyoto University, so he was a smart guy after all, but we can’t be sure how a cram school may have benefited him on his first exam, if he had gone to one. Initially he told me that he disapproved of cram schools because he didn’t want to feel bound to it in order to succeed, however, after one year of being a “rounin,” that is the exact reason why he placed himself there. He utilized his time and motivation very well. Anyways, I’d say that becoming a cram school student is a very wise path to walk down, although it is often an arduous and uphill one. Whatever your reasons for going, rest assured they are probably good ones.

The Importance To Be Liked By Students

Granted, there may be some drama among the cram school staff, like Yukari mentioned, but there are many teachers beloved by their students and it is one of the main reasons why students continue to go back to cram school, as Rina and Paeja did.  I think it’s fair to say that most teachers would agree, to some extent, that being liked by students creates a better learning environment and eases the job of being an effective teacher.  However, there is a secondary truth to that, as well, which is that if teachers are not well liked or accepted among the students, they face the possibility of losing their jobs.

According to a research study conducted by Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry about cram schools, of 2,071 parents who have one or more children attending a cram school, over 90% of them agreed that teaching methods are incredibly important, but they also believed the eagerness of the teachers and how intently they take care for their children is critical.

Additionally, another research study, conducted by the Japan Juku Association, administered a questionnaire to over 5,000 separate cram schools with the intent of discovering what criterion they hold as the most important in the evaluation of teachers. The results showed that 46.6% of employers consider teacher reputation among students as the main benchmark and it was the single most important criterion. Surprisingly, academic improvement was secondary to reputation with a score of (45.8%) and the third most important consideration when evaluating teacher performance was teacher reputation among the students’ parents (41.3%).

So it seems that the primary requirement for a teacher’s longevity in a cram school is that they are liked by the students.  This study may not be something that those teachers should read as it might add a whole new level of stress as they attempt to cross off yet another strenuous goal on their list of career accomplishments – acceptance.

I can just imagine all the elderly teachers wearing parachute pants walking into a classroom with a boom box blaring AC/DC or Run-D.M.C. planted firmly on their shoulder and saying “Ah yeah, this is my jam!” while passing out sticks of peppermint bubble gum and yoyos to a room of bewildered students. 

‘Hayashi Osamu’ Boom

47-year-old Osamu Hayashi is probably the most famous and successful teacher currently working in Japan. He teaches contemporary Japanese literature at a nationwide cram school called Toshin High School that mainly focuses on preparing students for university entrance exams. 

Toshin High School is known for its unique TV commercial series, which focuses on some of their most popular teachers and shows a few quick clips of their actual classes. Each teacher has their own distinct character and uses strong words to encourage their students. Hayashi is one of the teachers that appears on Toshin‘s commercial series, and his  signature phrase during class and on the commercial is: “Itsu yaru ka? Ima desho!“, meaning “When will you act? It should be right now!”

The message was originally intended for students planning on taking college entrance exams and, in fact, he was already famous among students even before making his way into the TV world. Yet, some business people recognized the phrase’s great potential and thought of how to use it. He started  appearing in a number of TV commercials and campaigns, and the phrase became a nationwide catchphrase, especially among the younger generation.

The phrase is now used in many places such as drinking parties or even business situations. For example, some people ask their colleagues, “If you don’t drink now, then when will you?” in order to make them answer, “Imadesho“.   Salesmen try to encourage their clients who are hesitating on signing a contract, “We have a great campaign rate at the moment and if you don’t sign up now, when will you sign up? It should be done right now!”

So what does the fad of Hayashi tell us about Japanese cram school education? After all, is cram school a business whose “product” quality is solely based on their number of admissions? If the reputation of a school is decided upon by children and their parents, and if advertising helps to develop a positive reputation for your school, then all the more power to you. Thanks to its commercials, Toshin High School is now famous for having “unique” teachers, though its mission is simply to help their students to pass the entrance exams for some of the top universities in Japan, including the University of Tokyo from which Hayashi himself graduated.

From my experience, I felt that my teachers were in it for more than just money. You could probably pick that up from Paeja’s comments, as well. Some teachers even visited a family for one student because they worried about her brother’s future. It may have been a part of their business’ protocol, but to me, it’s more than that. If things like this were done solely for business purposes, I don’t think that they would have bothered to take so much care of a runaway girl, either.

Now, what do you think of the Japanese cram school? Do you think that it’s too much work load for children? Or, have you had harder experiences in your country? As for the teachers, do you think that they are doing favors for themselves? Or, do you think that they are truly worried about children?

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“This looks awesome!” says a much younger Koichi

Then I grew up, and everything became sad. Now I’m working at Tofugu (speaking of trash and garbage). Ugh, my boss at Tofugu is so horrible I might as well be a prisoner! I can tell you one thing. Don’t drop the soap around here. You’ll totally have to clean it up yourself so nobody slips and hurts themselves.

What Japanese Kids Want To Become

All that aside, Daiichi Life Insurance Company in Japan ran an interesting survey recently, finding out what these kids’ aspirations were. Some of the top responses made sense to me, others less so. Here, why don’t you take a look yourself?

Boys

1. Soccer Player
2. Scholar or PhD / Doctorate
2. Police Officer / Detective*
4. Baseball Player
5. TV or Anime Character
6. Astronaut
6. Food Related Worker*
6. Train, Bus, or Car Driver*
9. Doctor
10. Fireman
10.Paramedic*
10. Carpenter*

Girls

1. Food Related Worker
2. Nurse
3. Kindergarten Teacher
4. Doctor
5. Flower Show Worker
5. School Teacher / Cram School Teacher*
7. Animal Handler / Pet Shop Worker / Animal Trainer
8. Piano Teacher / Pianist
8. Police Officer / Detective*
10. Designer

* Tied with the previous item on the list.

There’s some fun ones in there. Of course, you have the TV or Anime Character kids, who want nothing more than to “Catch ‘em All” or some other BS like that. Then of course you have the girls wanting to become food related workers right from the start (I guess they start molding them early in Japan). One interesting one was the piano teacher. I wonder how many of these girls were even learning piano at the time. Lastly, I thought it was cool how some girls wanted to become police officers / detectives too, just like the boys (even if it was farther down the list). You go, girls.

There was also some interesting insight into this survey from the source, too. For example, the top spots for both girls and boys (soccer player / food shop owner/worker) has been the top spot for 16 years in a row now. For #2 on the boys’ list, it’s the first time in 21 years that “Police Officer / Detective” has been ranked this high. Last year, nurse was #5 for girls, but an increase in popularity for nursing has apparently shot it up to #2 this year. Doctor has also risen from 12th last year to 4th this year. Was there some kind of popular doctor / nurse drama or show in Japan over the last year?
I seem to recollect at least one, though Daiichi Life Insurance seems to think it was in response to the giant Tohoku Earthquake. These kids just want to help out! That’s super sweet of them, I think.

The most interesting thing to me is that a lot of these occupations are the kinds of things that American kids (and other countries too, I imagine) would want to get into as well. Besides a few exceptions (piano teacher, scholar, and flower show worker being a few), it seems that kids will be kids. What about you, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Where College Kids Want To Be

Photo by Jason Bache

Fast forward a bunch of years. Now these kids are in college, and they’re about to graduate. Real life is about to start! While I couldn’t find surveys on what they want to be now that they’re in college (I think it really starts to vary a lot more when people get older), I did get a survey that figured out where students would like to work, divided by both gender and type of college degree. That’ll have to do. Here are the results:

B.A. Students (Male)

1. 三菱商事 Mitsubishi Corporation
2. 住友商事 Sumitomo Corporation
3. 三菱東京ＵＦＪ銀行 The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
4. 伊藤忠商事 ITOCHU Corporation
5. 東京海上日動火災保険 Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
6. 丸紅 Marubeni Corporation
7. みずほフィナンシャルグループ Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
8. 三井住友銀行 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
9. 三菱ＵＦＪ信託銀行 Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
10. 三井物産 MITSUI & CO., LTD.

B.A. Students (Female)

1. 東京海上日動火災保険 Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
2. 三菱東京ＵＦＪ銀行 The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
3. 住友商事 Sumitomo Corporation
4. 三菱ＵＦＪ信託銀行 Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
5. 三井住友銀行 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
6. みずほフィナンシャルグループ Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
7. ジェイティービー（ＪＴＢ）グループ JTB Group Organization
8. 丸紅 Marubeni Corporation
9. オリエンタルランド Oriental Land Co., Ltd.
10. 三井住友銀行 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

B.S.  Students (Male)

1. 東日本旅客鉄道（ＪＲ東日本）East Japan Railway Company
2. 日立製作所 Hitachi, Ltd.
3. 住友商事 Sumitomo Corporation
4. ＮＴＴデータ　NTT DATA Corporation
5. 東芝 Toshiba Corporation
6. ロッテグループ Lotte Group Organization
7. 三菱商事 Mitsubishi Corporation
8. 丸紅 Marubeni Corporation
9. 東海旅客鉄道（ＪＲ東海）Central Japan Railway Company
10. 伊藤忠商事 ITOCHU Corporation

B.S.  Students (Female)

1. ロッテグループ Lotte Group Organization
2. カゴメ Kagome Co.,Ltd
3. サントリーホールディングス Suntory Holdings Limited.
4. 明治グループ（明治・Meiji Seika　ファルマ）Meiji Holdings Limited.
5. 森永製菓 Morinaga & Co.,Ltd
6. ミツカングループ本社 Mizkan Group Corporation.
7. 日清製粉グループ Nisshin Seifun Group Inc.
8. 味の素 Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
9. 資生堂 Shiseido
10. 森永乳業 Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Inc.

See any familiar companies? I bet you see some. Do all of them make sense to you, in terms of how they’re ranked?

One thing that I thought was funny was how the B.S. Students (Male) seemed to still be into trains. Remember how boys wanted to be train conductors? Well, apparently they still like trains, because both #1 and #9 have to do with trains in some way or another. While it doesn’t say what they want to do with trains, the connection is still there no matter what, and I got a little chuckle out of it. Choo choo!

Another thing I noticed was that at least in the B.S. category, women seemed to favor more food related companies. If you remember back to the earlier “what I want to be when I grow up” list, girls really wanted to be working at a food shop. So, during that time growing up they were still interested in food, and still hoped to get into a food related business, even if it’s not opening your own restaurant or something along those lines.

Dying For Your Job

Growing up, graduating, then finding a job isn’t all fun and games, though. In a third survey, I learned about the 早死にする職業ランキング, i.e. the ranking of occupations that will kill you the fastest. These jobs will cut the years off your life (or perhaps even simply just drive you to suicide). There were a few things they talked about that could influence your longevity.

1. If you can decide what to do by yourself.
2. If you don’t overwork or over drink/eat after work (as a part of work, with clients, etc).
3. If you work on a fixed shift.

So for example, being a salesman in a big advertising agency (#1 on the list) will cause you to have to work crazy hard for your boss, make you overwork a ton, and then lastly send you out late into the evenings to drink and eat the nights away with clients. While all this drinking and eating doesn’t sound so bad at first, it really does grate on you. This required near-alcoholism (or maybe not even “near”) isn’t going to be good on your long term health. Not to mention how little sleep you’ll be getting most nights. In the long run, this is going to be very bad for you. So, because of this difficult work schedule, it’s thought that being a salesman at a big advertising agency will bring on our friend The Reaper the fastest.

You already know number one, but here’s the top ten ranking for occupations that will make you die young, according to the survey:

1. 大手広告代理店の営業: Salesman at a big advertising agency
2. IT企業の下請けSE: SE (System Engineer) subcontractor for an IT company
3. チェーン飲食店店長: Manager of a chain restaurant
4. 若手官僚: Young bureaucrat
5. 病棟勤務の看護師: Nurse working at a hospital
6. タクシー運転手: Taxi driver
7. LCCの客室乗務員: Cabin attendant of LCC (low-cost carrier)
8. 自衛官: Japanese Self Defense Force member
9. 公立学校の教員: Teacher of a public school
10. トラック運転手: Long-haul truck driver

There was also some explanation as to why some of these jobs were considered killers of your long life. For example, with the system engineer subcontractor (#2), the manager of a chain restaurant (#3), and Japanese Self Defense Force member (#8), you’re overworked and have no self-decision. I think you can see how this would shorten your life string.

On the other hand, if you’re a young bureaucrat (perhaps they don’t live long enough to become middle-aged or old bureaucrats?) you have no self-decision because of your age. Then, you’re overworking yourself to prove yourself. It’s said that 3 of every 20 young bureaucrats killed themselves within ten years of starting their jobs. They do, however, make a very good salary for how young they are, so… money > life & happiness, right?

Lastly, nurses (#5), taxi drivers (#6), cabin attendants of a LCC (#7), and teachers at public schools (#9) are all overworked, have irregular shifts, and have no self-decision. Don’t worry, though. If you go teach English in Japan, it’s not anywhere as bad as the regular teachers have it. In fact, some would say it’s quite an easy job, though you will probably have a problem with “no self-decision.” So you probably won’t have to worry about JET cutting a decade off your life, I’m pretty sure.

Still, looking back to survey number one, you can once again see some connections. Some of those kids’ dreams have come true! Sadly, those dreams will kill them off earlier rather than later. Taxi driver (driving a car!), long haul truck driver (driving a truck, beep beep!), nurse, manager at a chain restaurant, and teacher were all mentioned in one way or another on the survey that listed the children’s life aspirations. Someone should tell these kids that maybe these jobs aren’t what they’re cut out to be. Apparently, the kids who wanted to be Ultraman when they grew up had the right idea. Who knew?

They called my dreams stupid… but now they’re all dead. DEAD! AHAHAHA!

So there you have it. We went through the Japanese child’s mind, seeing what they wanted to be when they grew up. Then, we jumped to the Japanese college graduate and saw where they wanted to work most. Lastly, we took a look at the Japanese jobs that will kill you the fastest, and saw how many children followed their dreams… even if it meant an earlier death for them (dun dun dunnnnn!).

Whatever the results of these three surveys are, though, every person and every job is going to be different. There are a lot of broad assumptions being made in surveys like these, so it’s best to take it all with a grain of salt. Still, it gives you a little insight into the hopes and dreams of kids as well as work society in Japan, so I think it’s interesting nonetheless.

As for you, what did you want to be when you were growing up? What did you end up becoming? I definitely had a few weird phases as a child (even besides a garbage picker upper). They included Power Ranger, “Inventor,” and “owner of a giant castle filled with robots to fight the US army that would undoubtedly come for me after they learn of my aspirations for world domination.” Sadly, only “inventor” kind of came true, though I still have the rest of my life for the other two. I hope the quotes around “inventor” worry you a little bit. You should be worried. Or maybe just “worried.” I don’t know.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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