英語

When I finished my SPM, I knew that I wanted to study in Japan but the information that was given to me by various people were confusing, and when I started to live and experience life here, some of them were wrong. So, i've decided to open this thread up so that it'll help future prospective students from Malaysia if they want to pursue that undergraduate studies in Japan!

If you just finished SPM, you can go on 2 paths if you want to study in Japan.
1) Continue you STPM
2) Come to Japan immediately and study Japanese in a Japanese Language School

The reason is because we Malaysians only have 11 years of education after we finish off our SPM, so by completing STPM or any other equivalent that bumps you up to 12 years of education. But I did #2, which is attending a Japanese Language School. If you want to do this option, I suggest you find a Language School in Japan that is certified by MEXT （文部科学省）/ (Monbukagakushou) so that after you graduate, you'll be eligible to enter a University for their undergraduate program. Of course, you can also attend the Japanese Language School we have in Malaysia called Bahasa Institut Teikyo as well.

In principle, you must have completed 12 years of education to apply for admission to a university (undergraduate), junior college, or professional training college in Japan.
※Students who have completed 11 years of education to apply for admission to a college of technology, and 16 years of education for admission to a graduate school (master's program). For further details, please refer to “Admission Requirements for Japanese Higher Education Institutions.” “Admission Requirements for Japanese Higher Education Institutions” Students from countries such as India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Mongolia who have completed 10 or 11 years of elementary and secondary school education and wish to apply for admission to higher education institutions, such as universities, in Japan must meet either of the following eligibility criteria:

1.Have completed 12 years of formal school education by taking an additional one or two years of schooling at a university or other higher education institution or a university preparatory program in their home country.
2.Have completed university preparatory courses (junbi kyouiku katei) authorized by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (provided, however, that they have completed a level of education equivalent to a Japanese High School).

Please check this link if you're still confused.
https://www.jasso.go.jp/en/study_j/search/g...aldialogue.html





日本語

SPMを終わらせた瞬間に、来日したかったことは確かにあったが様々な人に流された情報が矛盾であったため混乱してしまいました。来日し暮らし始めると、流された情報が間違った部分もあったし、ただ単に偏見的な意見もあったんで、日本に留学したい・または働きたい若者にLowyatに投稿させていただきました。

SPMを終わらせた後、来日したかったら2つの道があります。（マレーシア人のみ）
１）STPMを続くこと。
２）すぐに来日し、日本語学校で日本語を学ぶ。

マレーシア人は基本的にSPMまでは11年の教育しか満たされていないため、日本の大学に入学する条件を満たしていない。上の①か②を選択し、12年の教育条件を満たすことになります。マスター（修士）を希望する方は16年間の教育を満たすことを条件としますので、しっかり自分の教育経路を確認しておいてください。

まとめる、教育条件として以下になります。

①　大学、または母国にある学校に12年間の教育を満たすことを条件とする。
②　文部科学省に認証された準備教育課程を完成させることを条件とする。（日本の高校生と教育年数と一緒）

以上になります。
何かご不明の点がございましたら、いつでもPMをお待ちしております。

This post has been edited by Intelauto: Jul 12 2019, 06:11 PM

Well i'm not really good grade wise since I only got 1A in my exam, but I did get more than 5 credits.
However, I think they don't really look at your SPM, they just want it as proof you finished high school.

Yes, I currently live in Osaka, Japan.
When I first came here, I did feel a bit isolated but not at all whatsoever now!

Teikyo is a private university/group in Tokyo, so they don't have much influence on the entrance rate for foreign students into national universities such as the universities you mentioned above. The universities aren't just for Japanese, its just that they are very hard to get in, even for Japanese people! Teikyo's teaching method is ok since they were approved by MEXT so rather than the standard of teaching from Teikyo, its because its a private company, and universities tend to normally look at the certain students credentials only which makes it harder to get into a national university.

#2 would definitely help since you're living in Japan and everything is in Japanese, but I suggest you to go find a school supported by JASSO in Japan since they would be the best school for students to enter and find a high ranking university to get into! EJU points depends on how much hard work you put into your Japanese, so that depends on your willpower and willingness to learn.

This post has been edited by Intelauto: Jan 13 2017, 07:36 PM

Basically yes, but I studied Japanese before I came to Japan since 2014.

It's all different for each person, and depends on your passion and how much time and effort you put into Japanese.
Some people can get very high marks with just a year of study, but some can't even get above the average marks with years of study. Also, you don't 'pass' EJU, you're just given points.

No, there are a few malaysians who have studied here before, but you'll see a lot of indonesians compared to malaysians.

Hi there maprocks!
I'm sorry, i'm currently and Japan and I never took EJU in Malaysia so I don't know..

I think the question you are asking is like asking "Can I get good marks for SPM without practicing past year questions?"
You can, but it all depends on your own ability to study and know general knowledge of what high school students in Japan learn.

I would rather suggest you have some ability in reading Japanese just in case you don't understand the question. Maths might not need Japanese so much, but i'm sure Science course 2 needs a bit of Japanese to understand the questions.

Reading Japanese for a Chinese-native speaker, it would be easy because you can analyze and understand most Kanji's, but there are a few that you will have to learn because they are created by Japanese people. For example, 畑 Or 俣, but you will mostly understand almost all of them. Speaking on the other hand, is a bit different. You'll notice some similarities, but thats where it ends. Regarding writing, its not hard.

I would recommend you to find a center that have native Japanese speakers from Japan. I personally recommend ICLS because thats where I started my Japanese journey.

Not a problem!

I studied there for 2 years when I was in high school, once per week on saturdays!

Yes, all their teachers are from Japan and are certified by the Japanese government!

For those classes, I think you would be able to speak and write Japanese at a very basic level.

Each Japanese language school has its own course, which is normally a 1 year or 1 year and a half course. You do need 11 years of education to study in Japan though. (Malaysians only have 10 by SPM)

They will help you and give you suggestions for universities/specialty schools (Senmongakkou)

Check your PM

Hi there Akihito Aniki!
Age should never factor in someone's will to study!
If you finished your degree, I don't think you need to go to Teikyo or a Japanese Language School to fulfill the 11 years of education requirement anymore! But if you want to do your degree in Japanese, you need to submit test scores such as EJU and maybe even JLPT so you will need something to prove your Japanese proficiency. Message me anytime if you need any help regarding this!

Hi there!
Not sure about your case, its best if you contact JASSO Malaysia and talk to them directly about this!

Hi there!
For Masters, its a lot more easier once you've finished your degree. Check the websites of the Japanese university you're interested in, and apply for it according to their enrollment procedures (which usually includes you sending a letter to the university either physically or digitally via internet). They normally have one in English and one in Japanese, so pay careful attention to the requirements!

If you want to do your course in Japanese, I highly recommend taking the language course!
If you're doing it in English, then there is probably no need for it, but take some basic courses for daily conversations.

A lot of Malaysians come here for engineering, especially electrical and mechanical engineering and most of them go to Tokyo!

There are a few universities in Osaka that accept JLPT N2 nowadays, although those universities are a bit lower leveled compared to others.

Not necessarily, there are a people who are privately funded who take engineering/science courses too!
For Art courses, yes of course there are! I am personally taking a course in International Relations, and I have a few Malaysian friends who are taking Visual Art courses in Tokyo

Hey there, sorry for the late reply! Been really busy these days

I mean its really the same anywhere you go around the world, there will be people whom you meet who doesn't really match up with your personality and people who you get along great! No language barriers for me as I speak Japanese fluently, but I do notice some racial barriers (especially from the older generation) if you don't look asian, but I would suggest that you don't mind it.

Thank you for replying in my stead!

Regarding the "inside" and "outside", I feel like that if you've integrated yourself into Japanese society fully (language, customs, culture) while also knowing that you yourself are a foreigner, the Japanese tend to want to put you into the "in" circle rather than treat you as an outsider. I tend to delve myself into the local culture but still keeping my Malaysian identity, and I feel that a lot of Japanese treat me as one of their own rather than a foreigner

You need to prove that you graduated high school, so if you fail BM and Sejarah I don't think
they will give you a certificate for SPM. If you don't have that, no language school will accept you as a student.

Hey there, sorry for the late reply.
The requirements to study in Japan is a high school graduation certificate (11 years of education), and either N2 or N1 level for university courses
(depending on the level of the university, JLPT requirements differ).


If you can read Japanese, you can look at the admissions page for your desired university/school for more information.
If you can't, please do PM me.

I have updated the original post on this thread.
Please check the original post on page 1 to fully understand the
conditions necessary to study in Japan. If you have any questions,
please feel free to PM me. (might reply late as I lead a busy life)