Is it possible for me to live in Japan

Because it's what I want more than anything.
I am 17 years old and live in Australia, and I haven't just suddenly decided I want to live in Japan. My family on my mother's side is Japanese, and we travel there every year, so I have an understanding of what it's like to stay there, the cultures, food, etiquette, people, etc. I learnt Japanese both in school and outside (at Kumon) and plan to continue until I am fluent. After being exposed to the Japanese environment for so much of my life, I know that it is the place for me. I don't want to live in Australia anymore, I want to be in Japan, it's where I feel I belong.
But...I understand that it is not that easy. A foreigner can't just move there, right? Even if I had a university degree, I couldn't just live there for the rest of my life, can I? This really upsets me. I am trying really hard to be as close to it as possible - I plan to study Japanese in uni, go on holidays there to visit my family over there - but I feel it's not enough!
What should I do?
I have just graduated from high school; should I apply for a scholarship to study in Japan? Or should I wait until I get a degree here in Australia before going over there to, maybe, work?

A foreigner can "just move to Japan" if they can find a job and qualify for a visa, and yes, they can live there for the rest of their life if they continue to qualify for a visa and then maybe later apply for permanent residence. I am a New Zealander who has lived in Japan for almost 13 years, first on a working holiday visa, then on a work visa, now on spouse visas and I'm planning to apply for permanent residence soon.

Australians can also get working holiday visas, although not until they are 18, so that might be a place for you to start. Is your mother a Japanese citizen? In that case you will qualify for a "child of a Japanese national" visa. If not, then you will most likely need to get a degree if you want to stay in Japan past the end of the working holiday visa. You can look at doing all or part of that degree in Japan if you like.

All I wanted to do when I was your age was move overseas, but I decided to be patient and that it would be better for my future to get a degree first. This turned out to be a very good idea- I could get working visas in Japan,more job options were available to me, and I got to do plenty of travel after finishing university- I had visited 30 countries by the time I was 26.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hey!

If you want, you can study abroad for a summer, a school year (when you are in college), or attend a Japanese university.

These are some Japanese universities with English programs (individual schools or majors within the university, not the entire university itself).

Akita International University
Asia Pacific University
Doshisha University
International Christian University
Keio University
Kyoto University
Kyushu University
Meiji University
Nagoya University
Osaka University
Ritsumeikan University
Sophia University
Temple University in Japan
Tohoku University
University of Tokyo
University of Tsukuba
Waseda University

There will be more information on the universities here: http://onedayjapan.wordpress.com/

The Tip I can give is don't study Japanese on a Uni. to get to japan.
If you can learn in your free time japanese that that is good enough..

Learn a skill that is needed in Japan, everybody can speak japanese in japan so having done japanese on a Uni doesn't have an value here in Japan, and if you are good at the skill your learned you can work all over the world. learning japanese will give you only limited possibilities
So better is to go an Uni and then maybe do an exchange program (Japan) at the end of your education time.

And people don't hire you here because of your japanese, if they need some one with good Japanese skills they hire a Japanese person.

so learn a good skill that is needed in this country, and probability also in your own country.

I haven't lived in Japan on a working visa for long, but I've met many who have lived here for 20 years or more. Most of these people who stayed here initially meant to live in Japan for a year or two, but for some reason never went home.

But all of them have a degree from college.

Personally, I have a degree in Japanese language. So far I've been teaching English but I'm wanting to change my profession within the next few months. My career change doesn't require schooling and I can do it anywhere. But I have a bachelors, so I can easily get a work visa.

In your case, you need to decide what you want to do. Besides Japan, what else are you interested in? Can you pursue that interest in Japan? Why would you want to have that kind of occupation in Japan instead of your home?

When it comes to employment, depending on the job, Japanese ability does matter. For example, if you're in marketing, you'll need Japanese skills that are just as good as a native speaker. If you're teaching English, you'll need next to none Japanese depending on the school.

If the job requires being bilingual, perhaps you're working for Philips and you need to travel between Tokyo, America and the Netherlands on a weekly basis, then of course you'll need Japanese and English. Maybe Dutch too.

It all depends on your interests. So a combination of a degree that focuses on your interest and Japanese skills are both important. They like documentation in Japan, so best to show it off with a JLPT certificate. Or just blow them away during an interview when you reach that point.