Study
Language schools, JLPT, and student life
Choosing a school
Choosing a Language School
How to evaluate Japanese language schools — visa outcomes, progression rates, class composition, location economics, and the red flags agencies won't mention.
Accredited School List
Since 2024 the gatekeeper for language schools moved from Ministry of Justice notification to MEXT accreditation — the four accreditation rounds so far, the official lookup portal, the March 2029 transition deadline, and what "not yet listed" actually means.
Senmon Gakkou
How senmon gakkou works — the 2-year diploma, which fields actually convert to work visas, admission requirements, and where the route beats university.
University Admission
How university admission works for international students — the EJU exam, university-specific tests, English-taught degrees, and the professor-first graduate school route.
Study Agencies
How study-abroad agencies for Japan actually make money, which services are legitimate, the debt traps documented across sending countries, and a checklist before signing.
Costs & scholarships
Cost of Studying
What studying in Japan really costs — language school, senmon gakkou and university tuition, living costs by city, first-year setup money, and how far part-time work stretches.
Scholarships
The real scholarship landscape for international students in Japan — MEXT, JASSO, university waivers and private foundations — with odds, timing and application routes.
Language & what comes next
JLPT Guide
The JLPT from N5 to N1 — what each level means for jobs, visas and study, realistic preparation hours, test mechanics, and the alternatives (JFT-Basic, BJT).
From School to Work
How students actually convert to work visas in Japan — the shūkatsu calendar, the change of status, the one-year job-hunting extension, and who gets left out.
More guides
Free Community Classes
Volunteer-run Japanese classes at community centres cost ¥0–500 a session and 23,281 of Japan's 46,257 Japanese teachers staff them. What they are, what they are not, and how to find yours.
Do You Need a School?
Language schools mainly sell a visa, not teaching. If you already hold a work visa, the free community class plus self-study plus the JLPT is a legitimate route — here is where that stops being true.
The 適正校 Rating
Immigration grades every language school on how many of its students go wrong, and that grade decides how much paperwork your visa needs. The names are never published — so here is the rule, and the question to ask.
Officially Flagged Schools
Once a year Japan names the universities where too many international students dropped out because of the school. The FY2025 list has two names — and the five criteria behind it tell you what to check anywhere.