Studying in Japan

What Changed in Japan on 1 October 2026: Visa Fee Increase and 4 More

Five changes on 1 October 2026 matter to foreigners in Japan. Renewal and change-of-status fees now depend on the period granted, 10,000 to 75,000 yen at the counter; permanent residence is 200,000 yen, and applications accepted by 30 September pay the old fee. The minimum wage rose in 15 prefectures, Tokyo to 1,280 yen. The 88,000-yen social insurance test is gone, students still excluded. A National Pension childcare exemption and a customer harassment duty for employers also began.

2026.10.01

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Tuition Fee Exemption in Japan 2026: Full or Half, Apply Before Paying

With Student status you cannot use Japan's national higher education support scheme, but schools run their own tuition waivers. UTokyo and Osaka let international students apply for a full or half waiver, among others; Kobe limits financial-reason waivers to graduate students. Waseda cuts 50% of annual tuition and APU selects only before enrolment. Autumn 2026 deadlines: Tokyo 6 October (postmark), Osaka 5 October. At some universities, paying first means you can no longer apply.

2026.09.30

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Gakkensai Student Insurance Japan 2026: Injuries and Bike Accidents

Gakkensai is accident insurance for university, junior college and kosen students in Japan: it pays for injuries in class, at school events and, with the rider, while commuting, for 1,000 yen a year or 3,300 yen for four. It does not cover illness or what you owe others. If your bike hurts someone on the way to class, the liability add-on (340 yen a year, up to 100 million yen) pays; on the way to work or the shops, you need 24-hour cover. Language and vocational schools cannot join.

2026.09.30

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Japanese Phrases for Work 2026: 35 Lines for Your Part-Time Job

35 Japanese phrases for a part-time job, from the application call to the till. Say otsukaresama desu to your manager, never gokurousama (government keigo guidelines); 77.1% use otsukaresama to seniors after work. To call in sick, contact the shop yourself before your shift: name, reason, sorede, apology. Changing a fixed shift needs the shop's agreement. And swap ryokai desu for kashikomarimashita.

2026.09.27

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Student Visa Leave of Absence in Japan 2026: 3-Month Rule, No Work

A leave of absence does not end your Student status in Japan on the day you take it, but three months or more without studying makes the status liable to cancellation under Article 22-4 of the Immigration Control Act. The exception Immigration gives as a justifiable reason is long hospital treatment with the intention to return after discharge. You cannot do part-time work during a leave, even with a work permit, according to the University of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. If you go home, universities tell you to hand in your residence card at the airport, and your school applies for a new Certificate of Eligibility (COE) when you return. COE review takes one to three months, so contact your school at least four months ahead. Nationals of Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam also need a TB clearance certificate.

2026.09.23

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Japan Student Visa Attendance Requirements 2026: The 80% and 50% Lines

Japanese language schools work to two national attendance lines. If your monthly rate (class hours attended divided by class hours due) falls below 80%, the school must give you improvement guidance; below 50%, it reports you to Immigration by the end of the next month, with your part-time employer's name. Immigration's guidelines call 80% a floor, not a target. No attendance rate that guarantees a visa renewal is published, but renewal documents include your attendance certificate and transcript. Absence for illness or other unavoidable reasons is excluded, so hand in a medical certificate. Leave and trips home still count while you hold Student status. Universities and vocational schools have no published percentage but must track attendance.

2026.09.22

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Paid Leave in Japan 2026: 10 Days After 6 Months, Part-Timers Too

Paid leave (yukyu) in Japan arises by law after six months of continuous work and 80% attendance, whatever your nationality and even if you are part-time. You start with 10 days and reach 20 after six and a half years; part-timers on 4 days a week or fewer and under 30 hours start with 7, 5, 3 or 1 day. You choose the day, constant understaffing is no reason to refuse, days last two years, employers must make you take 5 if you get 10 or more, and leave before quitting cannot be moved. Free help lines in English included.

2026.09.19

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Japan Minimum Wage 2026: All 47 Prefectures and Start Dates

Japan's regional minimum wages for fiscal 2026 were answered by all 47 prefectural councils on 3 September: a national weighted average of the new amounts of 1,177 yen an hour, up 56 yen. Tokyo 1,280, Kanagawa 1,279, Osaka 1,231; the lowest is Miyazaki at 1,085. Start dates run from 1 October to 2 December by prefecture; 15 prefectures, including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi and Osaka, moved on 1 October, and Kyoto follows on 16 November; Iwate, Yamanashi, Saga, Kumamoto and Okinawa are not yet decided (Okinawa planned for 2 December). Until the start date the previous amount applies. The Minimum Wage Act has no nationality limit, so student part-timers, technical interns and Specified Skilled Workers get the same amount. Monthly-paid workers strip out commuting allowance and bonuses and divide by scheduled hours to compare. A contract below the minimum is void for that part and you can claim the difference; the employer faces a fine of up to 500,000 yen. Full table of all 47 prefectures included.

2026.09.16

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Leaving Japan on a Student Visa 2026: Going Home and the 1-Year Rule

Yes, you can leave Japan on a student visa and come back: tick the re-entry ED card at the airport and special re-entry permission is free. But you must return within one year, or by your card's expiry date if sooner, and neither can be extended abroad. Renew from three months before expiry, before you fly. Term-time trips count as absences, language schools report under-50% months even while you are home, and vacation work is 8 hours a day. Keep your resident record and insurance and the 17,920-yen pension keep running.

2026.09.16

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JLPT 2026 Registration in Japan: December Closed, Fee, Pass Marks

Registration in Japan for the 6 December 2026 JLPT closed on 3 September, with N1 and N2 full by noon on 31 August. The fee is 7,500 yen via MyJLPT. Pass marks are 100 for N1 and 90 for N2, plus a minimum in every section. Results come in late January 2027, the certificate costs 1,000 yen, and Immigration names N4 for Specified Skilled Worker and N1 for 15 Highly Skilled points.

2026.09.15

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Kakutei Shinkoku 2026: Who Must File a Tax Return in Japan

You must file a Japanese tax return (kakutei shinkoku) if you have two or more employers with unadjusted pay plus other income over 200,000 yen, side income over 200,000 yen, or a salary over 20 million yen. One employer with a year-end adjustment and other income of 200,000 or less means no return. If you quit mid-year with no adjustment there is no duty, but a refund return brings the over-withheld tax back and can be filed any time for five years. The window is 16 February to 15 March; late filing carries a penalty of 5% if voluntary and 15% or more after an audit, with no penalty if you file within a month and pay in full. Leaving Japan before filing means appointing a tax agent. Bring your withholding slip and My Number Card; a Special Residence Card counts.

2026.09.12

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Rirekisho: The Japanese Resume Template Is Free From the Ministry

The rirekisho template is free. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes it as Excel and PDF, with no sign-up and no payment. There is no official standard form any more: the JIS form was withdrawn in July 2020. On the ministry's form the gender field is optional and may be left blank, and the spouse, dependants, duty-to-support and commuting-time fields were deleted. No photo size is specified. Being asked for your residence card is not discrimination, because the employer must check your status of residence and report the hire or face a fine of up to 300,000 yen. But your registered domicile, birthplace and family must not be asked in selection.

2026.09.10

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Hello Work for Foreigners: The Four Free Centres With Interpreters

An Employment Service Center for Foreigners is a Hello Work office built for foreign job seekers, with interpreters on site. There are only four in Japan: Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. Counselling, job introductions and interpreting are all free. The languages differ by centre: Nagoya lists 10 including Nepali and Burmese, Osaka lists 7 on fixed days, and Tokyo and Fukuoka publish no list. The Tokyo centre's own English page says it serves students seeking full-time employment, not part-time work. Bring your residence card and Hello Work registration slip, plus your passport if your status is Designated Activities. If none of the four is near you, ordinary Hello Work offices with interpreters exist in 32 prefectures.

2026.09.10

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Residence Tax in Japan 2026: Starts in Year Two, Even After You Leave

Residence tax is charged on last year's income by the municipality where you had your address on 1 January. Nothing is charged in the year you arrive; it starts in June of your second year, as twelve payroll deductions from June to May or four bills in June, August, October and January. The rate is 10% of taxable income plus a flat 5,000 yen (4,000 yen per-capita and 1,000 yen forest environment tax). Low income last year means exemption: in Tokyo's 23 wards with no dependants, total income of 450,000 yen or less, roughly a salary of 1.1 million yen. Leaving Japan does not cancel it: have your employer deduct the balance, appoint a tax agent, or pay before you go. No address in Japan on 1 January means no tax for the following year.

2026.09.08

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Nenmatsu Chosei 2026: Japan’s Year-End Tax Adjustment Explained

Nenmatsu chosei is the December procedure in which your employer settles the difference between the income tax withheld from your pay all year and the tax you actually owe, usually as a refund. You are covered if you filed the dependants declaration and are employed in December; you hand in three forms. From the December 2026 adjustment the basic deduction becomes 1,040,000 yen for income of 4.89 million or less (950,000 in 2025 for income of 1.32 million or less) and the minimum employment-income deduction from 650,000 to 740,000, so salary-only earners pay no income tax up to 1.78 million yen. Withholding through November is unchanged. Quit mid-year and you usually file your own return; leaving Japan is adjusted at departure. Family abroad needs relationship and remittance documents, with a 380,000-yen remittance rule for relatives aged 30 to 69.

2026.09.05

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How Foreigners Actually Find Jobs in Japan: 37.8% Through Friends

Japan's labour ministry survey (31 Aug 2026): 37.8% of foreign residents found their job through friends, 19.1% through job ads, 5.8% through school.

2026.09.02

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After Japanese Language School: 4 Roads and What Each Needs (2026)

A language school has no job pipeline, and that is not because you are behind.

2026.09.01

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Student Part-Time Work in Japan: Why Social Insurance Does Not Apply

Student part-time workers in Japan do not join employer health insurance or the employee pension.

2026.08.31

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National Health Insurance Japan: The 70% Reduction You Must Ask For

Japan cuts the flat part of your National Health Insurance bill by 70, 50 or 20 percent when household income was low.

2026.08.31

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JASSO Scholarship 2026: 30,000 Yen a Month, Language Schools Included

Before you take on more shifts: the Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship pays 30,000 yen a month at a Japanese language school and 48,000 yen at university.

2026.08.29

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Living Costs in Japan for International Students 2026: 199,000 Yen

International students spend 170,000 yen a month on average and 199,000 yen in Tokyo, according to the JASSO FY2023 survey.

2026.08.25

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Japan National Pension for Students: 17,920 Yen and How to Defer It

Residents aged 20 and over must join the National Pension, students included, and the premium is 17,920 yen a month.

2026.08.25

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Changing Schools on a Student Visa in Japan 2026: Two 14-Day Notices

You can change schools in Japan and keep your Student status. What Immigration asks for is two notifications, each within 14 days: one for leaving the old school and one for joining the new one. You file them yourself, online at any hour, and not filing can mean a fine of up to 200,000 yen. Between schools you are enrolled nowhere, so part-time work is not allowed, and three months without study makes your status liable to cancellation. At the next renewal you also submit the old school's attendance and grade certificates.

2026.08.18

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Research Student vs Master’s in Japan 2026: No Degree, 2-Year Visa Cap

A research student (kenkyusei) in Japan is a non-degree student: no master's, no credits. The status is the same Student visa, but only two years as a research student, other universities included. Mainly-Japanese study stopped qualifying on 26 April 2024. Work is capped at 28 hours a week. National graduate tuition is 535,800 yen a year as standard, JASSO's 48,000 yen grant can cover research students, and the job-hunting visa does not.

2026.08.17

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EJU Exam 2026 in Japan: November Registration Closed, Fees, Scores

The EJU measures the Japanese and academic skills of international students entering Japanese universities, with scores instead of pass or fail. The November 2026 exam is on 8 November and registration closed on 30 July. Your university chooses the subjects; the fee in Japan is 12,000 yen for one or 23,000 yen for two or more. Scores last two years, and ticking the box when you apply can reserve a 48,000 yen monthly JASSO scholarship.

2026.08.12

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Internship in Japan for International Students: Visa, Paid or Unpaid

A paid internship on a Student visa needs permission to work. Up to 28 hours a week (8 hours a day on long breaks), the standard permit covers it. Over 28 hours, you need an individual permit, mainly for final-year students with about 90% of their credits; review takes two weeks to two months, free. Unpaid internships need no permit. Students from abroad use Designated Activities No. 9, Cultural Activities or Temporary Visitor.

2026.08.11

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Vocational School in Japan for International Students 2026: N2 & Fees

A vocational school (senmon gakko) in Japan is the specialised course of a specialised training college. To enter on a Student visa you need one year at a Japanese language school, JLPT N2 or an equivalent score, or one year at a Japanese school; six months became one year on 26 April 2024. For a work visa you need the senmonshi or kodo senmonshi title and a job related to your course. First-year fees average about 1.3 million yen.

2026.08.04

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