Can I study in Japan? As a 15-yrs-old

As I said, I'm 15 yrs. old and want to go to japan to attend high school. My father said that there's no problem since we know a relative living there in japan (not that close though). The only problem is how?
My parents doesn't really oppose since I have good grades and can take care of myself. They willing to let me go study there as long as its not that expensive. They already approved my brother since he found a scholarship.
I tried searching it but its all about exchange students-- about host families, etc. And the forum, its full of discouraging people saying its impossible. I want to ask how I am going to make it possible by all means, legally.
I know a scholarship but its for university students. I wanna know the process, anybody?

Some more information would be useful:

1. Why Japan for high school? What would it provide that you can't get in your home country?
2. Do you speak fluent Japanese? If not, you would be looking at attending an international school, which are typically more expensive.
3. Would you be eligible for a visa to live in Japan? There are not visas for high school study. It may depend on how close your family member is. In order to qualify for a visa, you essentially need to show that there is a reason you need to be in Japan - a family member you are dependent on is there, you have been offered a job, your partner is there, etc. This does not immediately sound like the case for you.

Hmm, I've done a lot of research and the easiest way for me to not spend that much money is to get a scholarship. Being an exchange student, well, is expensive. There's a lot of organization( is that what it called again?) thats willing to give a scholarship to those who have potential.
About the visa, I guess since I doesn't have it I don't know the requirements to get it. But I do know different types of visas.
Well, its not that being away in my hometown will do me any good, but not like it will also do me any bad, right?
You sound like, " Why choose to live in a dorm, when you have your own house?"
I also have my reasons as to why I want to study in Japan. I just want to know the process how, since I can't ask my parents 'cause they're so busy at work and me who doesn't want to bother them.
P.s: Btw, I'm a Filipino( Filipina to be exact)

There are scholarship programs for high schoolers. But they are for students whose parents died or those who can't pay tuition for financial reasons. Not for foreign children who just want to live in Japan.

Parents are better to ask these things compared to internet strangers

That's why I'm looking for scholarships though?
Because I have financial reasons. Are you saying to give up on my dreams and just continue living my life being controlled to reach the others expectations? Sigh, I understand your opinions but every people are different. Just because I want to live in Japan, it isn't because of my own leisures. You yourself said that there are high school scholarships, and I have financial reasons. Are you saying its impossible for me?
P.s: Even if I was rich( I wish), you're saying scholarship is not for me cause I'm financially stable. Everyone has their own problems that they're going through. Or it can be that they just don't to be a burden anymore. Over-thinkers tend to over think that they are burden in others. (That's me (�P �P|||) )

P.s again: I just wanna know the process, don't discourage me please. I'm not asking for any other else.

Uhuh, I know. They are just busy right now and my parents are not that informative about this topic. Anyways, thanks.

since you know "There's a lot of organization", you should ask them.

That's a good idea. I tried searching for it, as I said earlier. But the only problem is I can't seem to find a school that accept a highs chooler. There is some but the due are all expired and the sometimes its not the course that I want. The only options left are MEXT and JASSO, but they accept a high school graduate. Those who already completed 12 year of education or 17-22 years old. So I'm thinking, I don't have a choice but to wait for another 2 years.

Basically, the answer is no.

As for the process, you first have to find a highschool willing to sponsor you, and then apply for a student visa. You can only apply for a scholarship after getting a student visa.
The process is the same for entering a Japanese university. So, the first step is to find some schools where you want to study and apply there (6 months - 1 year before you want to move to Japan).

Being an exchange student will be easier and likely less expensive, since you will be paying your own university's tuition fees instead of the Japanese host university.

You sound like, " Why choose to live in a dorm, when you have your own house?"

No, the poster is asking "Why did you choose this dorm when there are many dorms in the world?" Any non-compulsory ed school would ask you a similar question. I'm sure your brother was asked something like that at some point.

Also, you haven't told us whether you speak, write, understand Japanese language fluently or not.

Have you asked at your current school? What did they say?

If you have a good enough reason to live with your relative in Japan, and if you pass the competitive entrance exam for a public high school of the area, then studying in Japan as a 15-year-old is not impossible and not that expensive. Or if your grades are so good, I see no reason your school cannot find you a scholarship. In fact, you should be asking your school this question, instead of your parents.

If you were in Japan, then the process for junior high is pretty straight forward. A sample resource is at:
https://www.realestate-tokyo.com/living-in-tokyo/education/enrolling-j...
However, at 15 you would be looking at senior high and as you should know by now, that is not compulsory, requires an entrance exam and also costs money. It is possible to get a scholarship for one or more years based on entrance exam grades (I know someone that got their first year at a private school funded that way), and while it might save on some school fees, they had a lot of other routine costs that were not covered (uniform, resources, activity costs).
Most of the replies above, and in other threads address the core hurdles before you even get to the enrolling in school issues. You need a valid status of residence and that is an issue for many people, not just kids wanting to go to school in Japan. You did not answer the question about your Japanese language ability, but despite saying you have good grades, your English is rough/sloppy - and yes, I will pick on that because it goes to your ability to communicate properly when you are applying to official and offices to achieve what you want. And, you say money is an issue so you want a scholarship and by implication your parents are not going to be paying. Well, the flight to Japan isn't cheap, and staying with a relative they are going to want money to pay for your food/clothes/transport/rent. Stuff isn't free and the world doesn't owe you. Sure, if you can find a scholarship, great, but it is unlikely to cover all your costs. If you were really looking for a scholarship, you would be doing that in Japanese on a Japanese language site, not an English travel website.

I am not trying to dissuade you. I asked reasonable questions that are important to know the answer to if you are going to make your dream realistic.

You have not answered the most important questions: your Japanese language ability, and whether you are close enough to your relative in Japan to qualify for a dependent visa by living with them.

As someone else has already said, getting permission to live in Japan is the biggest hurdle. If you can't live there, you can't go to school there.

I used to teach at an international school in Japan, so I understand one facet of this question more than others. Some other sections (such as Japanese schools and visas) will be known better than me.

Q1) Are there schools in Japan that accept students from overseas?

ANSWER: Yes - but it depends on the situation. Most of these schools are either international schools, for profit Japanese schools or some local private schools that has an international section. Note that these schools often cost ($8,000 USD - Indian Schools --> $30,000 USD - best international schools in Tokyo) a lot of money and receive no money from governments. As such, there are few if any schools that have scholarships as their main clientele are expats or richer Japanese parents who wish to give their students an international education

Q2) Are there schools which accept students without a guardian and provide scholarships?

ANSWER: The only school that I am aware of is UWC Japan. Note that they are only Year 10-12 and are select entry. It's also probably too late for the 2021/22 school year due to border closures and the like. I do know that competition as these schools for assistance is difficult.

Q3) Can you read, write and talk fluent Japanese?

ANSWER: If the answer is no, then honestly accessing local high schools is totally out of the question. The biggest problem you would face is accessing the content and it will take years to build up a level of academic Japanese to be usable in a school context. As a teacher of students who are learning a new language, it takes 3+ years for students to build up enough English to be highly competitive. And this is with a phonetic alphabet!

Q4) Why are there so many negative comments on JG about teenagers moving to Japan?

ANSWER: Do not take this as a comment on you at all. In general there is a thread about this topic every 1-2 months. Many students think it will be easy and that someone might pay the bills for them (or at least reduce the cost). In general it can be challenging to even get a visa to live in Japan unless there is a reason for you to be there. This might be for work or education but things can become challenging if the person is under the age of 18.

�uYou sound like, " Why choose to live in a dorm, when you have your own house?"
I also have my reasons as to why I want to study in Japan. I just want to know the process�v

At the risk of sounding mean, that's a question you absolutely have to be able to answer if you want to live in Japan, and how you answer it will determine the process you need to go through in order to live there.

In order to live in a foreign country (i.e. a country that you are not a citizen of), you need a visa, and in order to get a visa, you need a reason, and depending on the reason, the process for obtaining a visa is different. From the Japanese government's perspective, you already have a place to live and study in your home country, so why do you want to live and study in Japan? Do your parents, on whom you're dependent for food, shelter, etc. live in Japan, and you have to move there to be with them? Are you applying to some sort field of study that doesn't exist, or only exists at a very low level, in your home country? Do you have to leave your country as a refuge or to seek political asylum?

Unfortunately, "I just really like Japan and am interested in the culture" usually isn't considered reason enough for a long-term visa. There are student exchange and homestay programs that reason will qualify you for, but they tend to be at most a year in length, and you've already said you're not interested in them due to their cost.

�uEven if I was rich( I wish), you're saying scholarship is not for me cause I'm financially stable. Everyone has their own problems that they're going through. Or it can be that they just don't to be a burden anymore. Over-thinkers tend to over think that they are burden in others. �v

Pretty much every scholarship is tied to some set of conditions, and often one of those conditions is financial need. Yes, there are also some scholarships that are based only an academic merit, but there are no scholarships that are actively seeking applicants who are simply "overthinkers who don't want to be a burden."

Honestly, at this point in your plan it sounds like you're over-focusing on the financial/scholarship aspect, since you seem to think that's the next step after having good grades and finding a home to stay in in Japan. Really, though, the big hurdle you're facing is obtaining a visa, and figuring out how to do that is going to depend on how you answer the question "Why do you want to live in Japan?"

�uI can't ask my parents 'cause they're so busy at work and me who doesn't want to bother them.�v

Again, at the risk of sounding like I'm stepping on your dreams, if you can't find/make time to talk with your parents about this, you're probably going to have to wait a few years, until you're a legal adult, to live/study in Japan. At the age of 15, you'd be a minor in the Japanese legal system, and so any residence status you'd be applying for in Japan will require extensive cooperation from your parents.

And once more, I apologize if my, or the other users' responses, sound overly harsh. We often get queries from teens who have an interest in Japanese culture/society and think that the main things they need to live in Japan are an adult willing to let them live with them and money for living expenses. Really, though, the much larger, more important things are obtaining a visa and being proficient enough in Japanese to keep up with high school-level classes designed for native Japanese-speakers. Many teens vastly underestimate how difficult those will be and fixate on finding a place to stay and scholarships.

Learning enough Japanese to function in a regular Japanese high school class takes several years, and obtaining a multi-year visa that will let you go through all three years of Japanese high school is very unlikely if your parents don't live in Japan. The more realistic option is a student exchange program, which would generally be for a year or less, but you've said you don't want to do an exchange program. Alternatively, as mfedley mentioned, you could apply to an international school, but those tend to be very expensive, and then there's the question of how "Japanese" the experience would be if many of your classmates aren't Japanese and your lessons are taught in English.

Really, it sounds like the best option for you would probably be to wait until you finish high school, then obtain a student visa to come to Japan as a language school student for a year or two. Like international school, this would unfortunately mean that your classmates would not be Japanese, but language schools are much more affordable, and many foreigners who move to Japan then transition to a regular Japanese university. If that doesn�ft sound appealing to you, you might want t reconsider exchange programs if you�fve really got your heart set on studying in Japan ASAP.

'Just because I want to live in Japan'

Schools are not for that, what they provide is education. And, scholarship is for those who have reasomable purpose and motivation but have single jobless parent for example, to tuition.

The reason why many cases are exchange programs or International boarding schools, is because being abroad without a guardian is not practical or even realistic for those aged 18 and younger. So what everybody say is not a comment to discrage you, it is sincere advise based on reality.

Many people who want to live in Japan think that going to there as a student is easy because visa is not hard to get and everything is free because of scholarship so that you can even make money to send for family. This is only what 'some agencies' say, but what you will acually be offered is like a loan that they call their 'financial support'. Your Japan life end up with just working, working and working to pay back and to pay your bed and food. There are even victims who are arrested due to work without attending classes. Please be reminded if you want to live in Japan, being told dreamy stories by someone.

Good news! I found a program. Asia Kakehashi program that are willing to take 15-18 years old. But the problem is its due last February 10, 2021. And it says it will be available again next year. I just need to work hard since there will be a lot of competitions.
As for Japanese fluency, I can now read and write Hiragana and Katakana. And I already memorised 80+ Kanjis.
I appreciate all of your opinions. My mom said that I can just apply next year since I can't apply this year. I know that its not easy to live without family but it says as long as I am able and willing to live in Japan unaccompanied.
And its also says that it provides full scholarship.
I can't get overly excited about it since there's a low chance that I will be accepted but what's wrong about being excited? I can't help myself!
Anyway, guys!
Thank you about the opinions you guys shared (although it didn't help -_-) I'm not trying to be annoying.
P.s: You guys can't stop me �S(`�w�L)��I have high grades and belong in top 25% in my grade level since that's the requirement.

What is included in this scholarship?
The scholarship covers domestic and international round-trip airfare, dormitory fees, normal school expenses, health insurance in Japan and all program costs.

What is not included in the scholarship?
Expenses not covered by the scholarship include, but are not limited, to:
* Vaccinations and other medical examinations and documentation
* Travel expenses to the regional Japanese consulate to obtain a visa
* Additional spending money
* Fees for additional or oversized luggage

Happy to hear that you've found a program - good luck with your application!

Also, not to put you down, but knowing hiragana, katakana and 80 kanji is really only scratching the surface - the language is much, much more than that. Make sure you look at sentence structure, vocabulary, reading/writing/listening/speaking practice as well, since it looks like the program expects you to know some Japanese (it is looking for "learners of Japanese", which to me implies students studying it in classes, so they would have practice). Consider using online tutoring programs like Italki.

Also note that the current program isn't starting until August this year (almost definitely delayed due to COVID) - perhaps they will still accept applications for 2021?

That exchange program is only for one year, is it really what you were looking for ? If so, it seems to be an excellent opportunity to live in Japan. I hope your application is successful and wish you good luck :)