From Japan With Love

Dear Foreign Students,

Yokoso, Japan welcomes you!

If you have any remote chance of coming to Japan, to presue a degree, hopefully, instead of idling around Harajuku, then you are at a right place. Today, Monbusho, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, has proposed to increase the number of foreign students to Japan, from current 120,000 to 300,000 by year 2020, Yes, that's a 150 percent increase. It means that you might be one of them flying over Tokyo Tower some day, too.

Prime Minister Fukuda seems to be also a big supporter of the plan.

Before you begin packing, consider the following:

1. You have to be excellent. In Japanese, that means you have to be a jinzai, a talent. Are you one of them?
2. Japanese language study. Yes, you do have to speak the language in the country, no matter how westernized you heard about Japan and every corner of Tokyo has a Starbucks. Kanji, Anyone?
3. The plan has to be supported by money. That means the budget request has to get a yes from Japan's congress next year. But, it is never too early to prepare.

As a graduate from a Japanese professional school myself, I can testify that it worths the wait, and the Hiragana education, Japan has certainly more than Sushi to offer you.