Can i go a japanese highschool in 2025?

Hi!! I'm currently wondering how i can study in Japan and how to get a visa. I know most of you will say that i might as well finish high school (10-12) before going, but unfortunately high school is my only chance :( I have an aunt in Japan who is willing to sponsor me but since she is busy living her own life and is not knowledgeable with how things like this works she told me that if i really want to go to school in Japan i have to make an effort myself. (I also cannot ask my parents for help regarding this matter since they too have no knowledge about it)

I want to go study in japan for highschool, since it has always been my dream to do so and i believe that i can achieve a higher level of education there compared to where i currently live. It might not be a sufficient reason but i do hope that it could still work :)

I Have high grades and can speak and understand Japanese enough for everyday conversations, though probably not enough to be able to understand lessons, and i also know hiragana but haven't learned katakana and kanji yet. I still have a year before i start high school, and i will do my very best to study. Also, i would just like to say this in advance but i definitely do not think that this will be easy for me, but it is my dream so i will do whatever i can do in order to make my dream come true!!!

And thus, i need the help and knowledge of those of you who are knowledgeable in this matter or maybe also those who are experienced :)

Thank you so much for the people who would be willing to take their time to help!!

NO.

Read below previous post.

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+179023

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?1+178245

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+170284

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+174579

and many more stories/post .. here I did a 'word' search for you.

https://www.japan-guide.com/search/?cx=015609760794546757367%3A7rvvvop...

Have you asked at your current school? Perhaps teachers and counselors can guide you to a student exchange program.

Otherwise, it would be very difficult for you to find your way since it seems you can't read kanji. Senior high school in Japan is not compulsory education, so any person wishing to enroll in one would have to pass an entrance exam. In other words, if you don't have the ability to pass, that means you wouldn't be able to keep up with classes, meaning that you'd be wasting your money and our taxes.

I also don't understand why you say it's your "only chance" and why you wish to enroll in one when your language ability is "probably not enough to be able to understand lessons". Are you perhaps misunderstanding high school for language school?

Help us help you.

As an international teacher - having a student being able to physically write or type answers in the home language is a pretty big deal. Hiragana is often used by Grade 1 students and students often learn until middle school the 2-3000 characters needed to be successful.

I don't know you - but I doubt few students can learn that many characters in a year when most students take 7-8 years full time fully immersed in the language.

[ I also don't understand why you say it's your "only chance" and why you wish to enroll in one when your language ability is "probably not enough to be able to understand lessons". Are you perhaps misunderstanding high school for language school? ]

It's because my parents doesn't want me to go to Japan for college so if i can't go in high school then I'd never be able to make my dream of living and studying in Japan. And no, i am not misunderstanding high school for language school i plan to apply in a japanese language school in my country and self study whenever i find time. But since we're in the topic may i ask if it's possible to transfer to a school for second year high school?

Do you realize that high school is to prepare your way for university? If your parents don't want you to study in Japan afterwards, what are you going to do with your japanese high school diploma, assuming you don't simply fail? A 2 or 3 years dream is not worth jeopardizing your whole future.

Unless you apply for an exchange program or something similar, and then you successfully win the selection process to get a spot for studying in Japan, your dream cannot be realistic under your situation.
Of course, having youthful dreams is wonderful,but you seem to be underestimating the legal and technical difficulties involved.

[Legal aspect]
As mentioned in previous similar threads, you are still a minor/underage, so living without legal guardians is illegal. (not only in Japan but in any other country as well) Generally, if you want to come to Japan to study, the guardians must be Japanese citizens or legal residents in Japan under certain visas, and they have to handle all the required procedures on your behalf, taking complete responsibility for you during your stay.
Based on your story, it seems that you can't expect any assistance from the adults around you. You said you can't rely on your parents, and your aunt did tell you clearly that she won't support you, didn't she? (her response toward you sounds "Absolutely no" to me). This means you won't have any adults who can act as your guardians.
In short (and sadly), if no adult helps you, your dream remains just a dream.

[Technical aspect]
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but your first post sounds like claiming, "Since I know how to write all 26 small letters of the alphabet, I must be eligible to attend an American college immediately!" To be blunt, your current skill level (having studied hiragana but not katakana and kanji) is equivalent to that of kindergarten children or first-graders in Japan. Although you have one more year ahead, I can't help but doubt if it's sufficient to make you reach the required level for attending classes in a Japanese high school regularly. This is especially difficult to do while you're also attending your current school. And as far as I know, there are no high schools in Japan which have classes to teach extremely elementary contents such as katakana and basic kanji.

This is why I suggested looking into exchange programs at the beginning, in spite of its difficulty to access. Such programs send students abroad for short periods (for a few months, at most for one year) and typically do not require very perfectly high language proficiency to participants. Because their main goal is to let students experience school life in foreign country for a while, not providing long-term studies like finishing school there.
If possible, let's check with your teachers to see if any programs are available and still accepting applications. However, if there are no programs available for you, or you are not interested in such a program (we, the forum users, have seen some minor kids who rejected the idea of considering an exchange program, because their infeasible goal was to "finish" a Japanese high school), it may be time to consider giving up on this dream once and exploring other options.

Venice,

Thanks for feedback. But now I'm really puzzled.

Your parents don't want you to go to college in Japan, but they're okay about you going to high school in Japan? Most parents have it the other way around.

Well, as an adult I assure you. When you become old enough to go to college, you don't really need your parents permission to live abroad as long as you could finance/manage it all by yourself.

And what I meant was that you can't expect schools to accept you when you've already given up understanding its lessons. A student needs to keep up with the lessons to stay in that school. That's what schools are for: To learn from their lessons. Again, I wonder what else you were planning to do in a Japanese high school. If you were a teacher and someone comes up to you saying, "I want to be in your class, but I don't think I'll understand what you're teaching," would you be happy?

But since we're in the topic may i ask if it's possible to transfer to a school for second year high school?

Yes, a lot of high schools in Japan offer transfer exams. So, as long as you fill the qualifications (such as having finished your first year elsewhere and ready to have a proper visa etc.) and pass the exam, you can enroll.

To break things down further.

Due to the fact the Japanese High Schools are not seen as mandatory education (that's up to middle school) - they most of the time require entrance exams.

Most of the entrance exams will be written in Katakana and kanji which means using the information you have given us that you will not be able to access the content.

Many Japanese schools are also very different than Western counterparts. This is only anecdotal, but students normally wait for the last student to finish before everyone can progress. That's what I found when I taught Japanese students who moved to the international school I was working for at the time.

Due to this - there might be some resentment from your fellow students and teachers. The main purpose of high schools in Japan is to give students the skills to goto university or for a profession, so having a student who can talk to you but stops content from moving will cause A LOT of friction with some students.

If our comments seem harsh - it's because we normally have the following happen.

(1) Student visits the forum wanting information about going to school in Japan because of <<insert reason here>>
(2) People give feedback which is it's not possible or difficult
(3) Student does not like information given and lashes out
(4) Rinse and repeat

I'm not saying this is you - but hopefully helps explain how some of our (or at least my) responses may come across as a bit harsh.

Unlike the majority of cases on this forum where people ask various versions of the same question, where it will clearly has next to no chance of happening, there is one very important factor in this person's circumstance that in my opinion may make a huge difference.

They have a relative in Japan who may be able to be their guardian and provide a place to live.

We can only go by what OP has stated in their post, and cannot make guesses as to whether anyone is trying to politely turn them down or what their family dynamics are. I will not jump to conclusions regarding whether any family member is trying to imply anything, besides what OP themself have written in black and white.

At best, aunt and parents are totally ok with it and are willing to support but just expect OP to do all the necessary research and essentially provide them a list of what they need to do.
At worst, OP is being politely let down by aunt and parents, in which case we can't do anything to help you there.

So let us re-visit the "facts" as claimed by OP.

1 - OP has a relative in Japan. This is very important as OP will be required to live with a guardian, and if this aunt is willing to be their guardian and take them into her home, that will solve the guardianship and accommodation issue. This one crucial thing also sets this question apart from all the other wannabes, and why I did not outright dismiss OP's question with all the others who ask the exact same thing but without this crucial difference.

2 - OP claims to speak Japanese, though not very well. This is a start, but I think OP should look at an international school where instruction is in English. OP stated they cannot read kanji, which will be required if attending any school other than an international school. Learning kanji up to high school level in a year is in my opinion overly optimistic.

3 - OP claims their aunt and parents are willing to help but don't know how.

If all of the above is true, I think our responses would be different if OP phrased the question this way:

"I am going to live with my aunt in Japan who will be my legal guardian. I would like to attend an international high school for expatriates in Japan. How do I go about applying and what are the visa requirements? My aunt and parents are willing to help and we want to know how to make this happen."

That would suddenly sound more plausible.
I am not familiar with the process but there are definitely cases of minors coming to live in Japan with family.

So my answer to that question would be:
-Start contacting international schools in Japan. It would be ideal if said aunt can do the talking. OP should do the googling and find the required contact numbers and as much about the process as possible, but I think the school would be more receptive if an adult guardian (or in this case, their soon to be guardian) contacts them, because for all we know they may also be inundated with another wannabe every other week. The question would be: "My niece/nephew is coming to live with me, would you be able to help me apply to have them study at your school?"
-Contact immigration/your local Japanese consulate in regards to visa. Again probably better if a parent or the aunt can check with immigration in Japan. The question would be: "My niece/nephew is coming to live with me, what do I need to do to get them legal permission to live with me in Japan and becoming their legal guardian?"

I do not know how likely it is to succeed and I do not know the legal/official process of doing this, but I felt the need to mention that this case is a bit different, and less hopeless, than the others who ask the same thing here every other week.

the situation described above will not happen.

[ Do you realize that high school is to prepare your way for university? If your parents don't want you to study in Japan afterwards, what are you going to do with your japanese high school diploma, assuming you don't simply fail? A 2 or 3 years dream is not worth jeopardizing your whole future. ]

Actually if that were the case than I'm sure my parents would allow me to continue studying in Japan but i certainly don't think they would let me go there for Collegethat wasn't the case .

@ TD - international teacher here who has worked at a Japanese international school.

Apart from boarding schools - international schools have no knowledge or say over visas as the students who attend are either Japanese OR the students visa is attached as a dependent to one of the parents work visas.

[ Your parents don't want you to go to college in Japan, but they're okay about you going to high school in Japan? Most parents have it the other way around. ]

If i remember right it was about something like having to spend another year of study when i decide to cone back to my home country even after i already finished college or university i also would prefer to already have some experience in living in Japan before going to a university there since overall i think i would have more opportunities if i was familiar with the place enough to be able to comfortably live alone in that time. Since there's a chance that the college or university i want to go to is far from my Aunt's place.

[ Yes, a lot of high schools in Japan offer transfer exams. So, as long as you fill the qualifications (such as having finished your first year elsewhere and ready to have a proper visa etc.) and pass the exam, you can enroll. ]

If that's the case do you think I'd have a higher chance or possibility of being able to go there if i had 2 years to study? I'm quite confident with my memorization skills and if i stay consistent I'm pretty sure it wouldn't take me too long to atleast reach N5-N4 level since the words i know are mostly in N5 and N4 (1-3months maybe?) the only thing i would need to study is the Kanji. And I've been studying so now i know both Hiraga and Katakana. I might seem overconfident but there is one thing im sure of, and it's that as long as i stay motivated and consistent it wouldn't take me as long as it would to a complete beginner. (I am still a beginner in writing but i won't say the same with talking)

You can have a look at the past high school entrance exams:
https://resemom.jp/feature/public-highschool-exam/nagano/2019/socialst...
The answers are at the end, so you can do them as mock exams and compute your own grades for each subject.

Assuming you can get a dependent visa with your aunt, you will also need to be physically present in Japan in February 2025 to take the exams.

do you think I'd have a higher chance or possibility of being able to go there if i had 2 years to study

But... study what? You seem to be thinking it is only a language issue but that is not the case. You are going to compete against other Japanese students, so being able to read and write is only a pre-requisite. How are you planning to study classic Japanese literature and history?

Transferring in year 2 or 3 will be more difficult, because you will be quizzed on the content of the cursus from the previous year(s).

[ But... study what? You seem to be thinking it is only a language issue but that is not the case. You are going to compete against other Japanese students, so being able to read and write is only a pre-requisite. How are you planning to study classic Japanese literature and history? ]

To be completely honest that totally slipped my mind but i think it's possible to study that alongside the language like listening to lessons about Japanese Literature and history. Or practice reading using workbooks in Japanese Literature and History. I don't think it's impossible just needs effort and motivation.

[ Transferring in year 2 or 3 will be more difficult, because you will be quizzed on the content of the cursus from the previous year(s). ]

I am learning in my country and it seems Japan is a little bit late compared to mine when it comes to the topics in math and science and english isn't an issue either so i think the biggest problem for me qould be japanese Literature and history.

By the way, where are you from? And in which part of Japan is your aunt (you potential legal guardian, as long as your parents can't come with you) living in? (I notice that nobody has asked them to OP.)
Those may help us to understand your situation and to consider possible solutions for you more accurately.

[ By the way, where are you from? And in which part of Japan is your aunt (you potential legal guardian, as long as your parents can't come with you) living in? (I notice that nobody has asked them to OP.)
Those may help us to understand your situation and to consider possible solutions for you more accurately. ]

I'm from Philippines and my Aunt is from Saitama.

by what way, does the aunt get a guardian position ?
in other countries, is it easy ?
to get a guardian position, a family court decision is necessary in Japan.
immigration requests the official document which proves it.