Your Resource for Expat Living in Japan
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- TranSenz on Dependent Visa: How to Bring Your Family to Japan
- TranSenz on Certificate of Eligibility – Spouse Visa Japan
- TranSenz on Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship 2023/2024: How to Get a Letter of Provisional Acceptance
- lorelie on Dependent Visa: How to Bring Your Family to Japan
- bb on Certificate of Eligibility – Spouse Visa Japan
Welcome to TranSenz! My name is Travis and I am a bilingual American expat living in Japan. I’ve been an exchange student here and been stationed here with the US military in the past. Now, I’ve moved back permanently and live and work within the constraints of Japanese society. This blog is my place to share my experiences to help other expats integrate into their host community, or at least make the most out of their time in Japan!
In the blog posts, below, you can find all manner of experiences in Japan, but I’ve also collected some of the most relevant and important contact into a series of guides, linked from the pages below. If there’s something about Japan that you want to know but can’t find here, please leave a note in the comments below and I will be happy to add it to the list.
Enjoy!
Hii Travis
I want to apply for MEXT undergraduate next year in Natual science B (Nursing ) so i have some doubts about primary screening .I want to know that with application form which documents should submit to embassy . Or what should i write on application form when they asked ,What was the triggered having interest in Japan? Or what thing i contribute to my home country and Japan.
Can you please help me out of this confusion
Hi Yashvi,
For the documents to submit to the embassy, I recommend that you check the application guidelines as well as the instructions on the embassy’s website when they are released. That will likely not be until April, though, so in the meantime, you can check the guidelines from this year.
The question about the trigger for your interest in Japan and what you can do to contribute to your country and Japan are both very personal questions, particular to you, so I can’t tell you what to say. But I do have some advice for how to say it in my article about how to fill out the application form for the graduate-level scholarship (since those question are in that form, too).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I have received two letters of acceptance and hopefully will be able to go to Japan! I want to research properly about life in Japan now, and one thing that comes to mind is health insurance. I have a set of questions:
1) Does the scholarship cover it?
2) And is the medical system in Japan good, as to receiving immediate treatment if required, regular tests?
3) Is is easy to find doctors speaking in English?
Hi Ava,
Congratulations on receiving the two LoPAs! You should have no problems securing the scholarship, now.
The healthcare system in Japan is great and one of the top reasons that my wife and I chose to live/raise our family here instead of my home country (the US).
1) You will be enrolled in the National Health Insurance (It is mandatory for anyone residing in Japan more than 3 months). I think you have to pay the premium each month out of your scholarship stipend amount, but it is very affordable. It does vary slightly depending on where you live in Japan, but I think that when I last worked with MEXT scholars, it was only around 1500-2000 yen per month.
Current MEXT Scholars: I would appreciate any comments replies about what your insurance cost is and how you pay it!
National Health Insurance covers 70% of any bill for treatment or prescriptions (other than optional/cosmetic surgery type things). You could choose to get additional, private insurance on top of that, but I really don’t think it’s necessary. Healthcare costs here are quite low. I remember once going to the hospital and getting an x-ray, blood tests, and a few others and still only paying about 5000 yen out of pocket.
2) Very good, in my opinion. I have never had any trouble getting seen when I needed to, even in emergencies.
3) This is the only problem. . . It depends on where you live. In a big city, it might be easier (and your university international office should have some information about what hospitals/clinics have English-speaking doctors). But in rural areas, medical care available in English is limited. This is particularly true for mental health care.
That said, I live in a fairly rural area and even hospitals where they do not advertise that they have English-speaking doctors, a few doctors have tried to speak with me in English.
If you find yourself in an area with limited English health care available and you are comfortable doing so, I recommend asking a Japanese friend to accompany you so that they can translate/assist.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello travis. First of all, thanks a ton for all the help. I have cleared the primary screening from CoT category. I big credit for this goes to all the help I got from your blogs and question you directly answered. So, thanks one more again.
So, I had a doubt that’s been bugging me for quite a while. I read you book and it says profession like puclic servant and professor has high rate of success. So, I followed your advice and mentioned that I want to return to my country and join civil services, since I really don’t have a idea what I want to do in future. But now my peers are telling me that I shouldn’t have mentioned this because japan is in a population decline and hence they would like to take applicants who want to stay. Is this true and if yes then does this affect my chances of clearing the second screening.
Hi Rs,
Congratulations on passing the primary screening! That should be the most significant part of the application and screening process.
I do not know where your peers got that idea, but I have not heard anything of the sort.
Yes, Japan is in a population decline, but the country as a whole seems highly resistant to immigration in order to solve that issue. The job market in general is not very receptive to hiring foreign nationals unless they are fluent in Japanese or the job is a highly technical one where the supervisors could be expected to speak some English (programming, computer science fields, etc, come to mind). Even in that case, there isn’t much possibility of making a lifelong career here (again, unless you become fluent in Japanese), so it seems entirely reasonable to want to return to your home country in the future, even if you spend a few years working in Japan, first.
I do not think the goal you stated will hurt you in any way.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi
Thanks for what you done for us,my question is about arrival in Japan , can I choose to arrive in Japan either in April or September?
Eg: as I applied this year 2023 can I choose to arrive in Japan in September 2024(for que September section)
Hi EzeAuSahel,
Assuming that you are applying for the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship for Research Students, then in the application form, you can submit your preference for whether you would rather arrive in April or September 2024. Ultimately, though, it is up to the university and they will put your arrival semester when they complete the Letter of Provisional Acceptance.
(If you applied for the undergraduate scholarship, you must arrive in April and if you apply for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship you must arrive in Fall, so there is no choice in those cases.)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks very much,