What are the requirements for being a foreign exchange student in Japan?

Question

Such as, how much Japanese do you have to know? Where do you sign up for the program where you and a Japanese student exchange homes((i.e:you go to japan, and they come to America and you live in each other's homes))Also, what year of high school do you go if you sign up for the program? How many spots are there? Are there limited spots?

Answer 1

When I went, it was through Youth For Understanding.
Though this program is not the same sort of thing you are thinking of (no switching with another student; your family doesn't have to host), it is a great program that is very interesting.
I went for a summer term. There is also a full year and a semester term that you can do, but the requirements are different.

You are not required to know Japanese, but they will send you a basic course in it if you ask. It's best to know all you can.

I got a scholarship, so all I had to pay was a small application fee.


Your grade in school there depends on a few things, like if you have a host brother or sister.

Answer 2

Some USA schools have sister city programs which are safer than just finding an exchange placement agency. In Tulsa Okalahoma, the students exchange with the Utsunomiya Japan students. If your school does not have a sister city exchange then be very careful about the agencies - check them out because the agencies do not check criminal backgrounds of foreign homes. In the USA it is the 1st year that host homes have had some kind of criminal check but it is still taking a chance living with a stranger family on the other side of the world. Check the Committee for Safety of Foreign exchange Students and check the Internal Revenue Service 990 records on www.guidestar.org You must speak enough Japanese to study high school level classes. If you are in college you can go on an exchange to learn and speak to become more fluent(immersion exchanges). The college exchange is sponsored by the college and you get college credit but not in high school. High school exchange does not give you credit. The spots are not limited. The agencies will take your money no matter what and then when you get to the foreign country if there is a dirty home, don't get along with the family -- you lose your money. No money back guarantee so watch out.

Answer 3

It all depends on the program you use as each program has different specifications. However, it's probably good that you have at least a year or so of Japanese (that is, know how to read kana and basic kanji, have an understanding of Japanese grammar) since spending a year away from family and not knowing even the basics of a language would be very stressful, especially to a younger student. I've seen many places that, as a requirement, need a "mature" student.
Most of the people I know who have done foreign exchanges did them in either their junior or senior year of high school with, naturally, a couple years under their belt of the language. This goes for people leaving the U.S. and people entering the U.S. from another country.

I would check to see if the city you're living in is sister cities with one in Japan. (Usually Wikipedia is helpful and easy with this.) If there is, there's probably a greater chance there's a sturdy company you can get in touch with that does regular exchanges between families.

Answer 4

I signed up for this program under the Lions Club and I have just back from Japan. Basically not much Japanese can understand English. Maybe you will have communication problem with them. I have few Japanese friends in Fukuoka, Japan. So I went to one of my friend's high school. She was studied in grade 2.

Answer 5

The requirements vary with each school and program. When I was in college (SFSU), our school had two different programs, one with Waseda Univ and another with Aoyamu Gakuin Univ. Both programs had required at least 4 semesters of Japanese grammar, writing and reading. These were you basic Japanese 101, 102, 201 and 202. They also required at least 1 semester of intense Kanji study. Finally there was a required semester of conversation class needed. On top of that you had to complete all of your other fresh-soph gen ed classes and maintain a min 2.5 GPA. The Waseda program was competative and there were only 2 seats available for our university. The Aoyama program was more open. My year, 4 of my friends went to Aoyama for one year. One final catch that caught me by surprise, was the financial requirements. You had to pay you regualr university fees, plus a bunch of extra fees for the Japanese dorms and general living expenses. On top of that you had to have and show proof of a bank account in your name or your joint with your parents that shows an average balance of $15,000. This was a final back up plan for any financial unseen financial burdens that might happen. This was all for a full university academic year. In this case sign up and information meetings were all coordianted through the university foreign language department.
If you did all that, you came back for your 4th year of langauge studies and then graduated. While on the exchange program, you only studied Japanese. All other studies were on hold. If you were a double major (Japanese : something else), you still had two+ more years of college. If you were a Japanese minor+major in something else, you had the minor requirements completed, but still had to complete your major studies.