150 Hour Study Requirement for Language School

I’m a “mature” (30+) student looking to apply for Japanese Language school through GoGoNihon. They seem to take a lot of the headache out of the application process, and I’m assuming they know their stuff to better ensure a successful application due to the volume they do.

One thing I’ve seen in the past on here was the “150 hour study requirement” pre-arrival for mature students, and students from certain countries. I subsequently read that was scrapped recently, but I’m told by GGN that it’s still a requisite.

GGN are trying to sell their extortionately expensive course with Akamonkai (almost $1,000 to get to N5), which is imo a terrible learning resource, with the idea being you get the certificate that proves 150 hours of study. (You could click done on every class, and just get the certificate, so not sure what it proves exactly, but that’s by-the-by).

I only ever hear the 150 hour requirement mentioned by GoGoNihon, or from people who’ve gone through them.

My question is 2 part:

1. Can anybody confirm that there is indeed a requirement for those over 30 from the US to prove 150 hours of study?
2. If this IS a requirement, does anybody have any experience/suggestions on how to prove your study hours?

Thanks so much!

Edit: To clarify, I’m not suggesting GGN are making this up, rather, is this perhaps an outdated practice and/or something their affiliated schools like, vs a government requirement?