ukyou

Great to hear from you too Renato It was sure lost of fun in the old board days (it still is!) Thanks for the great follow-up. True regarding writing the thesis in English being not just limited to the university itself, as the decision might come down to the faculty member supervising you at the micro level. If the desired field of study is scientific (i.e. Engineering or any technology related field like Mechatronics) there is a good chance that one under the consent of the faculty and the advisor, one might be able to write and submit work in English. I had to write mine in Japanese as well since my work was related directly to the Japanese language itself. I heard of cases where extra funding was supplied in cases where a campus is located far from the place of residence or in some different regions (I was in Tokyo so it was a fairly standard case) With the current financial crisis, the Japanese government is trying hard to cut costs and the MEXT scholarship monthly is always in danger of being decreased. Under the current "Shiwake" or public budget review, JASSO (Japanese student services organization) which helps out in providing dorms and other services to Japanese and foreign students, got quite a beating. But all in all, the monthly stipend provided by the Government MEXT program is still more or less enough for most people and a small part-time job on the side like translation or language tutor (although a bit tough to manage at times) will give one some extra financial support. I was there last April so most of the info is not that old, but I agree that with such a volatile economy all over the world, things can change without notice. The best thing is to base one's plans on the application forms released in April, but would advise taking a gander on last years's application and guideline to get a general heading on things. Also it is quite worthwhile to check out other scholarship opportunities, both governmental and private.

I hope this information is of help I went to Japan several times and got to complete my masters over there. I also applied last year for PhD studies through the Monbukagakusho (MEXT) scholarship and got accepted. Sadly I had to return for personal reasons, but I hope I can give some useful information. First of all, as noted in other replies, especially Renato's great replies, MEXT is a great option to study in Japan. Going on your own expense and without out any sort of private or governmental scholastic funding is hard in my opinion especially in Japan and especially in this economic environment (The yen is very strong against the dollar). If you need any help with MEXT application forms and procedure, I can help, so please feel free to PM me any time. The Japanese Embassy will start posting the new application forms for the next scholastic year at the end of march or the beginning of April of the next year. This is a good starting point to your research on studying in Japan : http://www.g-studyinjapan.jasso.go.jp/en/ My other advice is the careful choice of your university of choice and your prospective academic supervisor, and making sure that you are going to an institution that will have the field of study you specifically want. Sadly this is sometimes hard as some universities don't maintain their English language pages with useful information (Of course Major ones like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and many private ones like Waseda, Keio and Sophia universities do). Most post grads start with a very general idea of what they want to study, but you will find out that you need to tackle a very specific research topic as you progress. It is good to know as much as possible what work you would like to be doing, in which institution and under which supervisor by reviewing some existing literature on your field of interest. Hopefully it will be in English if possible. Also good advice is to get into contact with Alumni from Japanese universities where you live, as they will give you GREAT advice. This is just general advice. Other advice already mentioned in the replies is searching for a university with good international student support program. If your Japanese language is not enough to communicate, an efficient international student office will be a very welcome lifeline especially in the first few months. When contacting universities, note the time to reply for your sent inquiries and the amount of information the contact person is able to give you. It sure helps to know that you can have someone you can consult with if you face any situation over there. The language barrier exists. This is a given fact. This is why it is important to make sure that if your Japanese language is not up to academic standards, that your supervisor has good English communication skills and will agree that you can submit your work and related papers or presentations in English. Also make sure you can write your thesis in English as well (This is a deal breaker for some). If this is cleared, you will find that you only have to learn Japanese for simple day to day communication in daily life and school situations. (Although as a Japanese language teacher myself, I really advise you to get a good grip on Japanese as much as you can). If you go with the MEXT option, you will be required to first enroll as a research student for six months and in most cases sit for an entrance exam to the faculty of choice. The nice thing about MEXT is that you can apply at that point to several universities even though your initial application is to a certain university (I personally advise against this and advise that instead choose wisely before you go so you don't have to deal with the need to reselect your university in Japan). This period will also give you time to study the language (usually through an intensive course all through this 6 month period, fitted to your needs and provided through the university) and to gradually adjust to life in Japan. Although undergrad university study is considered a grace period for most young Japanese (after a very tough high school examination hell), Post grad studies are a different ball game and a positive attitude towards long work hours in the lab and facing day to day scholastic tasks and pressures is a very important factor. That does not mean that you will not have your own fun time, but the more you are able to handle the tasks efficiently the more time you will have to enjoy the experience of living in Japan. One big no-no is procrastination (although most do it) As for life in Japan, it is really convenient and efficient as long as you know how to flow with the "System" over there. Make sure to have a good relationship with the people around you and make use of all the support systems provided like resident assistants at your dorm or life and academic guidance counselors. There is some stress associated with living in Japan, There will be ups and downs, but it is not that unmanageable if you prepare your self both mentally and emotionally for the challenging work ahead. But this is a price that is easy to pay when you think that you might be doing front line research in your field. Of course in addition there are many great and unique experiences to be had in Japan and this also is worth the work you need to do to achieve your goal. Regarding health care, you can enter the kokumin hoken (Public health insurance) system under the MEXT (and I guess any other programs as long as you are a resident in Japan) and you will be paying some money (around 20-30 dollars monthly) if memory serves, and you will be exempt of 70% of health care costs (which quite a big deal), please check it out on the net. I wish you all the best and I hope you get the chance to do the research and work you are hoping for, be it in Japan or any other country