5 Mistakes People Make Before Going to Japan (and the Fixes)

Interest in Japan has exploded. At the last JLPT I was shocked by the crowd. People are finally realising Japan has real opportunities, from MEXT scholarships to jobs.

Why Japan, and not just the US, Canada or Germany? Japan is short of young people. Its government and universities are actively trying to bring in international students: the Global 30 universities, for example, offer English-taught programs across many fields. Japan and India also have very good relations. And compared to the West, which is already crowded with Indian applicants, competition is still lower.

Japan wants you as much as you want Japan. But it wants serious people.

Whether you're going for study, a job or an internship, these are the five mistakes I see most.

Mistake 1: not knowing your why 🎯

Most students see the neon lights, the anime world, the nature, the technology in vlogs, and think "it'll be so much fun."

All of that is real. But if your main reason is "I want to see Tokyo and Osaka," go as a tourist. Studying or working there means:

• Living alone, managing your own home.
• Washing your clothes and cooking your food.
• Cultural differences, making your own friends.
• Part-time work and managing your money.

From conversations with people involved in admissions in Japan, my sense is that they increasingly want serious students with a clear intent, not people who think it'll be a holiday. And honestly, without a strong why, you'll get bored or homesick fast once you're there.

Fix: sit down and write it out: "This is why I want to go to Japan. I want to study engineering. These are the companies I'm targeting. These are the people who inspire me. This is what I want to do there." When things get hard, and they will, your why keeps you moving.

Mistake 2: not researching your industry 🔍

"I want to do a BBA." "I want to do a B.Tech." Fine, but inside that: which field? Which companies? What salaries? What problems would you solve? Where can you grow?

Take game development. You'd look at Japan's gaming companies (Bandai Namco, Nintendo, Capcom and so on), how the industry is doing, how many foreigners they hire, the salary structure and working hours.

Use LinkedIn. Search your field with the location set to Japan, see which companies hire foreigners, and look at the skills those foreigners have. Then start learning those skills now, whether you're in class 11 or doing a master's.

And ask: will this field still be relevant in five years? AI will change many industries. Passion matters, but choose a field with a future.

Otherwise you'll get to Japan, find the course hard and unfamiliar, and want to give up.

Mistake 3: "I don't need Japanese" 🗣️

"I'm going to an English-taught university, so I don't need Japanese." Wrong.

If you'll live in Japan, work part-time, or be around Japanese people at all, you need enough to survive, and that means at least JLPT N5 and N4 level. If you're aiming for MEXT, a Japanese-taught university, or a job among Japanese colleagues, your minimum target should be N2.

There will never be a perfect time to start. Take out 30 minutes a day, starting today. Can't buy a book or join a class? Download a free app and start hiragana and katakana. Once you start, you'll pick up pace.

Be realistic: N5 alone takes about four months. Give yourself a year for a strong N5 + N4 foundation. Follow a structure, such as one textbook like Genki, Sō Matome or Minna no Nihongo. Keep a self-study notebook. And if you can't stay consistent alone, join a structured program with fixed class times, so you have accountability.

Mistake 4: the wrong people around you 👥

When you plan for Japan from India, relatives will have opinions: "Why Japan? Make him do a government exam, UPSC, IIT, NEET." They'll pressure your parents too. Friends might mock you: "What will you eat there, crabs and insects?" It happened to me.

Fix:

• Don't announce your aims to people who won't understand.
• Find your community online. There are groups of people learning Japanese together, many free.
• Make your own. Start Japanese with a friend, make a WhatsApp group, keep each other going.
• In a batch with other students, you also get healthy competition and accountability.

Mistake 5: not investing in yourself 💡

You'll need to invest time, and often some money, to learn from experienced people. Many students say, "I want to go to Japan, but I can't spend anything." The flight alone costs more than many courses!

Think about what society happily spends lakhs on: degrees that don't guarantee good placements. Compare that with the value of strong Japanese.

Why Japanese is the best return on investment

Imagine a student, let's call him Rahul:

• Path A: After class 12 he spends a year or two reaching N2. Now he can apply directly to vocational colleges (senmon gakkō) that accept N2-level students from abroad, sometimes with scholarships, or to Japanese-taught universities, or to MEXT, where strong Japanese is a real advantage, because most applicants know very little.
• Path B: He does his bachelor's in India and reaches N2 alongside it. After graduating, with an internship and an N2 certificate, he can apply for jobs in Japan. Fields like IT, finance, digital marketing, translation and interpretation have relatively low entry barriers for skilled foreigners.

Even the private route (a year of language school plus two years of vocational college) often gives a better return than many Indian degrees.

Convince your parents with research

Most parents only know IIT, NEET and JEE. If yours aren't convinced, it's usually because they don't know about these opportunities and don't yet trust your plan. You have to educate them. Do the research, sit them down, and show them the scope, the costs and the steps.

And remember: it's supposed to be hard

You chose Japan. Of course it's hard. And that's good: if it weren't hard, it wouldn't be valuable. When things get stressful and failures pile up, most people give up. Tell yourself: "I'm all right with the hard work. I won't give up."

If an agent just turns a key and drops you in Japan, you won't value it. When you get there through your own work, you'll be proud of yourself every single day.

Start here: our free Japanese course, the Study in Japan from India guide, and jobs in Japan.