How realistic is it for him to move to Japan? -

I am moving to Japan for 14 months on a foreign exchange program in which I pay an outrageous amount of money to live there and take language and culture immersion classes every day. Good deal, though I am way excited. My boyfriend of two years is Japanese too, and I am kind of thinking of asking him to come with me. He would live rent-free because my tuition covers on apartment, so how expensive would it be for him to live there? He is not 20 yet but he has dual-citizenship and his fluent. I am not familiar with the college system there.. would he be able to work on getting the equivalent of his AA or BA? And would he be able to make enough money with just a normal job to put himself through college amp; pay for food? I know that it is extremely expensive... but I also think it will be an incredible experience together. We are both 18.

If he is a Japanese citizen, then he has a registry. First, was he born in Japan or states? If he was born in states, then most likely, parents sent a birth certificate through the Jap. embassy/consulate to get him on their registry; which means, they know he has Am. citizenship. Don t make him use the Am. citizenship to register as Foreigner because then he s gonna need proof that he has a job or university entrance approval as well as other stuff. Safest thing to do is use Jap. citizenship. This ll make it much easier for him to find job. If the clerk asks if he is going to claim his Jap. citizenship, say quot;Yesquot;. They re not gonna make him denounce his U.S. citizenship or anything (it s only verbal declaration). He can apply for a Jap. passport if he wants to. He s gonna need to know the address of his Legal Residence. He s also gonna have to register as a resident w/the City/Town Hall of where he ll be residing. In doing so, he s gonna have to submit info. regarding his legal residence (his parents should know). If he has relatives in Japan, ask if he can use them as a contact should anything happen. You re both 18, so you re both considered a minor; no drinking, no smoking and jobs will be limited (can t work in certain quot;nightquot; places) Also, he s gonna automatically go under the social insurance which ll take care of his medical/dental/optical bills (pay 30% at hospital), but there is a yearly fee which is based on income. If his relatives are very nice people, he might want to ask if he can go under their household (check how much the yearly fee will be and if its cheaper for him to be alone, go with that) He might be able to find part-time work (its normal to have BA/BS or AA for regular companies), but school is another matter. Check to see if his school has some kind of exchange program with a Jap. college. thats the safest and hassle free way. Otherwise, he s gonna have to apply as a returning jap. local with schools that have this system (Sophia is famous but very expensive). Don t apply as regular Jap. cause then he s gonna have to take entrance exam tests (read and write in Jap) and pay huge amounts of money; plus, the school year starts in the spring. Also, the cheapest are National colleges (colleges sponsored by the country)　and Prefectural colleges (prefecture sponsored) Tuition ll cost about $5,000 - $6,000 a year, but entrance is pretty strict and costs about $3,000 - $4,000 (place reservation fee). Tokyo University is one of the top universities, but think of it in the same rank as Harvard or other high-ranked schools. Transportation and food will also cost a bit; so, considering all the complexities, unless he can get his school funding covered, moving to Japan is pretty expensive and complicated.

Before I answer your questions, the first think you need to do is to confirm with your boyfriend that he is not forced and willing and ready to take the chance and risk to move to Japan with you for the next 14 months. Finding a job in Japan should be no problem for him and should be just enough to pay for food but definitely not the tuition fees. The BA or college degree there does not necessary equivalent to the BA or college degree in the U.S. It depends on the college or the university (Tokyo University should be good). You should confirm with the school first. Hope your boyfriend can make it.