Will I need to fulfill 150 hours study requirement for Japanese language school?

5 comments

1. I’m 21 and applied for language school with only self study, nothing official. I also have my GED. Got my COE and turned in my visa application 2 days ago. I think it should be fine without, but also i’m from the USA, so I don’t know if it differs if you’re from a different country.

2. I saw that language requirement on GoGoNihon and I asked a friend who works at KAI Language school and he never heard of it. So I wouldn’t worry about it.

3. There was no requirement of 150 hours prior study when I went to a Japanese language school. All I needed was to show proof I had finished high school.

4. I believe this does not apply to people under 30 of from western countries.

5. I had to submit proof of 150 study hours for my application with Yamasa.

   Here is an article from GoGoNihon about it I just found with a quick Google search:
   https://gogonihon.com/en/blog/150-hour-study-requirement/

   It basically says it’s a government requirement for anyone applying who either hasn’t finished high school, has been out of school for 5 years or more, or is over 30 years old.

   The schools mainly want to know you can afford it, but they need to follow governmental requirements to continue to operate.

   I was able to use the university classes I took 20 years ago. Submitted transcripts and also had to provide a certified letter from the school listing the names of the instructors, dates of classes, and the school policy on equivalent study hours to course credits.

   My understanding is the government has been doing this to crack down on fraudulent visa applications. People were using language schools to circumvent the work visa requirements to enter the country and disappear, so now there is more burden of proof to show you actually want to learn the language for groups they see as uncommon applicants.