For the past decades study abroad programs have drawn hundreds of students to places like London and Ireland, Scotland and Paris. But, recently , Japan has appeared on the radar as a high priority destination for abroad study. In fact, educational programs in Japan are quickly becoming sought after by thousands of students.Japan offers a standard of living comparable to western developed countries. It is a comfortable and safe place to live with an extremely well-developed infrastructure.

At the same time, Japan has close cultural and economic ties to Asia, a region that is gaining importance on the world stage. The experience of living and studying in an Asian country will give you insight, knowledge and contacts that will be invaluable to your future career.

Rama Kandel, MD at Nepal Japan Sewa Centre, Lazimpat, Kathmandu says that Universities in Japan have a high reputation for academic excellence: a postgraduate degree from Japan is a prestigious qualification. In addition to the studying that you don on the program, living in Japan will also enable to widen the perspective and gain vital cross-cultural and language skills.

Kandel further shares that those who have preferred Japan for their further study need to know Japanese language.Secondly, they should know Japanese culture because it is totally different from Nepalese culture. Kandel advises students to be aware about the difference between culture, language, belief, syste, college, universities, climate and so forth before moving to Japan.

Japan is a stable and highly developed country with a parliamentary democrary.Japan does have peaceful environment, so, students don’t have to feel insecure.It comprises vocational colleges as well which is equivalent to university degree. While technology is the center of many study abroad programs in Japan, the country’s culture is also a fascinating field of study. Moreover, Kandel says,” Students can take work and study at the same time in Japan.”

Japanese embassy organizes scholarship tests which lets students get full scholarship. This scholarship is provided according to scores obtained in the test i.e. only those who deserve it. And, according to Kandel, if a student gets admission in a national college of Japan, they will have to pay only 50 percent of their tuition fee.
Talking about the average cost for national colleges in Japan, she says,” One had to pay 8 to 9 lakh Japanese Yen. Likewise, for vocational college one has to pay 7 to 12 lakh Japanese Yen annually.”

She suggests students to prefer the college in Japan on the basis of their affordability. She advises the students who are making up their mind to study in Japan not to depend on others or deceptive advertisements. As these days internet is accessible in almost every one’s home, she advises, to make research visiting different websites.

source:Yes Magazine(2011)," Study in Japan",Yes Magazine,Issue 14, 16-30 August 2011