How to get degree&start a living inJapan?

I want to get my degree in Japan, but before that, I think it is necessary to go to a japanese language school in Japan to get the full language experience and culture to prep me for college/univ in japan. I was planning to take a 1 year intensive language school in japan before i go to a college/univ but I don't have the proper funds. I estimate that $20,000 USD will put me on the safe side to cover cost of living and school tuition for that 1 year. Beyond that, if I do complete the 1 year program, what comes next is cost of college/univ which will be roughly the same amount per year. I currently do not hold a degree, so getting a job while studying at the same time will be troublesome.

If I was lucky, I would envision that after my first 6 months of studying in japan, I could get a part time job. This however, will obviously not cover the costs that will follow. Perhaps after that 1 year studying, I can turn that part time job into full-time and temporary hault studies, but I don't think this can happen, and I'm in no way relying on this option. Even now, if I work full time in my home country, it can take over a year, maybe 2 years, just to get the expense of studying 1 year abroad in japan because I'm degree-less. Moreover, it can take me over 6 years just to get my degree.

What can I do? what path should I take?
I'm trying to fufill few objectives, and they are:
to go japan as soon as possible to get my degree without having to leave for irrational reasons
and start a permanent living there.

This may be considered a different question, but is getting a BA at a 1 year college an option to consider?
With the BA, maybe I can become an english teacher and I believe some programs offer japanese courses to the teachers.
This way, I can get the japanese training that I need rather than going to the 1 year language course, meanwhile, I can find a job in japan for when my 1 year teaching is up.
Do the english teaching programms consider candidates with a BA from a 1-year college though?
Is the japanese training for the english teachers intensive enough?
And there might be long-term problems in the future if i take this path as well, but atleast I can maybe work full time in japan to save up to complete studies at a more accredited college.

So any ideas? maybe someone who has been in a similar situation?
or maybe direct me to another thread that is similar?
I'm US Citizen
I have studied Japanese for 2 years at an organization which is not a college
I currently have only 27 College Credits, only 6 of the credits are GE
The past 2 semesters, I have only been taking one class a semester.
For those who will be giving considerate and helpful responses, I already know what life is like living and working in japan.
Although I have not experienced it first hand, I have read enough articles and heard from a lot of people what it is like, and I am sure this is the decesion I want.
Only kind and respectable people please reply.

I'm not very experienced in getting a degree while in Japan, but I'll voice my concerns.

Firstly, I don't know of any universities that offer a 1 year BA. Are you perhaps thinking of a 1 year Associate's degree?

Secondly, I believe it's required to pass the JLPT 1 to be accepted to a Japanese university. I don't know what your level of Japanese is, but it may be difficult to gain the necessary proficiency so quickly.

With that being said, have you ever considered taking out loans and applying to an American college and majoring in Japanese? In your second year, it is possible to study abroad, thus allowing you to intensively study Japanese, live in Japan, and complete your degree. Also, I hear it is much easier to get financial aid from a U.S. university, with special scholarships to study in Japan.

Even if it were possible to get a one year BA, which I have also never heard of. the requirement is actually for a 4-year degree, so the one year BA wouldn't be sufficient.

I agree- why not start university in the States and then transfer to Japan after a year or two?

It is usually considered that 3 years full time Japanese study will prepare you for JLPT 1. These days though there is a new exam- the Nihongo Ryuugaku Shiken which is now the university entrance requirement.

Otherwise there is Temple University Japan or a couple of others that have degree courses in English available.

Which university offers the 1-year BA program? If it's regionally accredited it should be ok.

The requirement is for you to have a bachelor's degree, and that necessarily doesn't take four years.

The requirement I most often see is "a 4-year degree from a reputable university". I have my doubts about the 1-year BA personally.

Just to clarify, as Jammerie says, the requirement is for a bachelor's degree. This is often misquoted as "4-year degree" by people from countries (e.g. America) where four years is the norm, but in the UK, and presumably other countries, it generally only takes three years to get a degree, and this is perfectly acceptable to Japanese Immigration. As Sira says, a 1-year BA programme sounds highly suspect.
To the original poster, the quickest and easiest way to move to Japan long-term would be to get a university degree in the States first.

Where did you see "a 4-year degree from a reputable university?" Was it from an official government website or at some internet forum? Please provide a link.

Although I wouldn't advocate getting a 1-year BA (especially to a 18 year old), it is possible. As long as it's accredited and requires at least 120 s.h. credits, it is "equivalent to a 4-year degree."

Which universities qualify as a "reputable university"?

thank you for all those who responded.

i think i may answer everyone here indirectly in my following statements.

about the 1-year college, i looked at it again, and mistook the program for acquring a degree, not a BA. i did however, find a college in NY that can possibly take 2 years for the BA, and I already have 1 years of credits, but I'll still cross this out from my plans.

why not just study in the states? well...this would probably be the most logical action to take, but if I knew I was going to do this, I wouldn't be here writing. so i hopefully can find an alternative

I cannot get approved for any private loans at all. I have taken out federal loans though, and I'm already in debt because of that, and I don't think i will be taking out those loans anymore for awhile. In addition, I have applied for a ton of scholarships, but have not gotten a penny.

student_jay, I can study abroad after my second year? well...so far, the colleges that I have checked in my area do not have exchange programs to japan. This also makes me wonder something else...I assume my college credits from US institutes cannot transfer to a japan college can it? if it does, i guess it would depend on the college, right?

If I complete studies in the States, it can take almost as long to get my normal degree, but I don't want to be an old man by the time I get to Japan. I would much rather try and face the same hardships, but in Japan instead.