Selection Process
The programs are selective. In an average year, about 1 in 3 applications are
accepted, though there are seasonal variations explained below.
Most Japanese language programs at institutes in Japan (particularly university based programs) cater to very young high school graduates from
China, and to a lesser degree - Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is not unusual for a school in
Tokyo for example to have 90% of the
students from just one country - usually China. By contrast, our admissions process is designed to:
Restrict the number of students who share the same native language to within a target ceiling.
Give priority to applicants with solid academic backgrounds and career experience.
Provide opportunities for lifelong learning.
Build language/age/experience diversity as far as possible into each class.
Take proficiency level into consideration when presetting quotas.
During the course of each academic year the number of applicants greatly exceeds the number
of available places so we are not able to accept all applications, even when the minimum
entry requirements (which vary per program) are met. For this reason we strongly advise early applications,
especially if you are relatively young, a college or pre-college student, and a native speaker of either Mandarin Chinese
or English. If you are applying for a student visa and aren't sure what to write for your essay, this file
outlines some of the considerations involved in the admissions process.
Selection is basically points based, with the points distribution being constantly re-weighted. For short courses (ie
programs of 3 months duration or less such as the Hokkaido Summer Program) the sorting will be done by database.
For student visas the selection is made by Admissions staff. Our principle considerations are:
Language - This varies from year to year and by course, but through quotas we try to limit applicants who share the same
native language to no more than 25-35% of each program. As a general rule Mandarin Chinese and English language speakers
who apply late may find that the database parameters built into the online application process are already set.
This may mean that if there are two candidates applying for one remaining program place, with identical education
backgrounds and not much to choose between them, and one of them is a native English speaker and the other say, a native
speaker of Icelandic or Hebrew or Polish, then the chances are that the native English speaker would not be able to join
the program - hence the advantage of applying early.
If you are a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese or English, apply early, especially
for peak seasons such as summer or when a student visa is required. There are no country based quotas. An application
from a native speaker of German from Switzerland will be processed in the same way as one from Austria. (Similarly the
nationality of a native English speaker is not taken into any consideration at all. If there are 5 places remaining for
native English speakers, and 10 applicants - say 5 from the USA, 1 from each of Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and
Singapore - there is no reason why all 5 places could not go to the applicants from the USA. With nothing to separate the 10
applicants by native language, selection would instead be made according to age, gender, educational background, careers/work experience and
(in the case of student visas - aptitude as judged from the essay). The objective is simply to ensure
that as far as possible the only common language becomes Japanese, helping you learn the language in an
immersion environment.
Age - The minimum age requirement is only that. Very few students are under the age of 20. There is no upper
age limit. As a general rule though the application process does have a slight statistical bias towards mature age students. This means
that if there were two candidates applying for one remaining program place, with similar educational backgrounds, then
if there is not much to choose between them the probability is that the older student may be offered a place first due to
longer career/work experience (see below).
Gender - There are no quotas in place, however if there are two candidates
applying for one remaining place, and there is not much to choose between them, then
the chances are that the under-represented gender will be given priority. In the case of short courses of 3 months or less,
this is done automatically through the databases.
Educational Background - Most students have completed undergraduate studies and many already have higher
degrees. While you will not be disadvantaged if you haven't completed college level studies (it is not a prerequisite),
the weighting of the points used in the application process does create a slight statistical bias towards students with higher
degrees due to points allocated towards aptitude (see below).
Careers/Work Experience - Careers in a Japan related field or work experience is not an entry requirement, but
careers & work experience are taken into account, especially if your career to date has involved interaction with
Japan and the Japanese language. For those seeking student visa places, we are
particularly interested in what your plans are for after you complete your studies.
Aptitude - In addition to academic abilities, we are interested in motivation, experience of foreign language
study, and other indicators of an aptitude for language learning. This also means that in addition to foreign language
studies, we are going to also take into consideration command of your own native language - for example if an application
form from a native English speaker contains poor English grammar and so forth.
Health Advisories - In the event that the World Health Organisation (WHO) issues an emergency travel advisory
for the locality in which you reside, we may choose to refuse or defer your application. Although this is rarely required,
we maintain a WHO Advisory Updates file for this purpose.
This file has been published here for reference purposes. If you have questions regarding the selection process, general
questions are best asked via the bulletin boards. Specific questions by
email.
C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R S
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Hattori Foundation (est.1919) - The Yamasa Institute
1-2-1 Hanehigashi-machi, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, JAPAN 444-0832
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