Study medicine in Japan and obtaining a visa
Applicants for medical education in Japan must complete a form and provide a certificate to prove their eligibility to continue their studies in Japan when they visit the embassy. International students must not be banned to study in this country. The following requirements are necessary for obtaining a visa:
Provide a passport and a copy
Financial documents related to financial viability and a printed account balance
International students must prove that they can afford to study and live in Japan.
Provide documents and forms related to the University Application
A photo
Fill out the student visa application form.
If necessary, you must provide a Japanese language certificate with a score of N2.
The applicants must provide documents at the appropriate time for admission. Students can apply for their study visa immediately after admission, which may take between 2 to 4 weeks.
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Study medicine in Japan and entrance requirements
In 1874 a system was set to measure the students’ qualifications for entering medical fields. By 1879 a monitoring system was set up at the school level to regulate medical examinations. Since then, High schools have been used as an institute for preparing the students to enter medical universities. The Japanese universities’ approach for admitting students in medical fields is quite different. However, the students must take a combination of entrance exams, interviews, GPA, and high school grades, as well as letters of recommendation from the high school principals. Therefore, all 43 national schools and eight medical schools (pre-university) use a national exam under the National Center for University Entrance Examinations. The contents of the entrance exam for medicine in Japan include:
Japanese language
English language
Mathematics
Natural sciences (biology, physics, chemistry, geology, etc.)
Japanese history
World history
Therefore, the students need to take the CATO exam as a consortium of all medical and dental schools to enter medical universities in Japan. The CATO test is a criterion to ensure students’ proficiency to enter medical disciplines in Japan. This test consists of two stages: the CBT test and the OSCE test.
CBT test
This test takes six hours, and medical schools in Japan will provide its result.
5% of medical principles
20% of the general principles of natural sciences
40% of pathophysiology
10% of physiological science
15% Introduction to clinical medicine
10 % Patient care and patient health promotion
OSCE test
This test includes a medical evaluation and interviewing medical students.
Medical universities in Japan
The best medical universities in Japan are discussed in the following. These universities are powerful in medicine and biology research fields, including cardiology, general and internal medicine, gastrointestinal tract, ophthalmology, and radiology,
University of Tokyo
This university has Hongo, Kumba, and Kasiva campuses. It has two hospitals: the University Hospital and the Institute of Medical Sciences. However, the University of Tokyo has ten main undergraduate departments:
Agriculture
Arts
Economics
Law
Engineering
Pharmacy
Medicine
This university has four study periods, and the main language of instruction is Japanese. However, the students can continue their studies (in some fields of study,) in English at the master’s level. In 2019, the University of Tokyo was ranked 4th among Asian universities in the region and 1st in the national rankings.
Osaka University
Osaka University is one of the best national universities in Japan, established in 1931 as an Imperial University. It has three main campuses, and approximately 9% of the students of this university are international students. Students at this university can continue their studies in 11 main fields:
Humanities
Foreign studies
Law
Economics
Medicine
Dentistry
Pharmaceutical sciences
Etc
The educational calendar of this university is based on semesters, and the main language of instruction is Japanese. The university has several excellent libraries and a library for international studies. It is ranked 24th in the region and 3rd in the country in the regional rankings. It is also ranked 181st in the field of medicine.
Tohoku University
Tohoku University is one of the national universities of Japan, founded in 1907 and located about 225 miles north of Tokyo. It has ten faculties in different fields, and the central language of study at this university is the Japanese language. In the 2019 ranking in the region, this university was ranked 28th. Besides, Tohoku University was ranked 4th in Japan and 215th in medicine.
Required documents for admission in Japanese universities
The students need to take at least an exam before admission to any medical university in Japan. Of course, the students must take several exams for entrance to prestigious universities such as the University of Tokyo. These multi-stage exams make it very competitive to enter the medical field, and the best students can achieve it. International students who intend to continue their studies in Japanese universities must meet the following conditions:
Pass the university entrance exam in Japan, which includes academic and language tests.
Applicants must provide an English language certificate if their official and native language is not English.
International students must complete a State Of Purpose motivation letter to enter most universities and also fill out the registration form. Besides, students applying for a master’s degree must submit a letter of recommendation from university professors.
Submission of the latest diplomas and a 12-year diploma
Finally, it should be noted that Japanese universities may require different degrees from students. Therefore, the best source to check the required documents and conditions is the official website of the university.
Medical education in Japan and tuition fees
Many international applicants desire to study medicine in Japan because of this country’s advanced nature. However, after initial studies and information about the study conditions and tuition fees in this country, they may doubt. Besides, Japan is a non-immigration country, so international students must enter the labor market immediately after graduation. Otherwise, they cannot obtain residency and eventually citizenship. The cost of medical study in Japan depends on the type of university (National University or International University), and it starts from 10,000 dollars up to 40,000 dollars a year.
Other medical fields in Japan
It is also possible to study in other medical fields like pharmacy, dentistry, and nursing in Japan. We will explain their conditions in the following:
Pharmacy
Hokkaido University is one of the universities that offer pharmacy programs. This university wants to train study researchers and pharmacists. Therefore, education and research in the field of pharmacy are based on major courses such as organic and biological chemistry and physical chemistry with emphasis on understanding the chemical properties of drugs and drug interactions with living organisms. Pharmacy graduates from this university will continue their activities with the aim of pharmaceutical research in industry and academia, as well as pharmacy practice at the international level. Students will study topics required for the field of pharmacies, such as:
Pharmacy
Drug delivery mechanisms
Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacotherapy
Chemotherapy
Clinical biochemistry
Medical informatics
Admission requirements for non-Japanese pharmacy students:
Presenting an educational degree and a 12-year diploma
Applicants must prove their English language skills by presenting their test scores.
Dentistry
This field of study takes six years. The purpose of presenting the dental curriculum in Japan is to make students familiar with the basic sciences of life, clinical dentistry, and comprehensive dentistry. In the first and second year, students will develop biomedical sciences and learn oral sciences. Students also learn PBL skills by studying central courses. PBL is related to the morphology of the mouth and the oral environment. In the third year, students become familiar with the academic skills of etiology, epidemiology, and clinical features in oral treatment. Then they will pass the skills of a general dentist, including oral pathology, radiology, and imaging. Students will become more familiar with comprehensive dental care education in the fourth year (oral maxillofacial surgery and orthodontics). They can take part in clinical training after passing the national exam.
Nursing
The applicants need to complete a 12-year course of study and obtain a 12-year diploma to study nursing in Japan. After that, students must study at a nursing university for four years and get a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Nursing studies include courses related to anatomy, adult health, children’s health, disease, recovery, specialist nursing for operated patients, health and social system support, mental health, and more. After graduation, students must take exams to obtain the necessary permission from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Foreign nurses who wish to work in Japan must pass a nursing exam and receive the required certification.
Nursing in Japan is divided into three categories:
Certified Nurse
Certified Nurse Manager
Nursing Specialist
Study medicine in Japan and work after graduation
The international graduated students must find a full-time job and get an employment contract with a Japanese company or employer in Japan to extend their residence in this country. Many international students work part-time while studying so that they can cover some of their living expenses and also become familiar with the work environment and working conditions in this country. Students can apply for a job after studying by referring to employment service centers for foreigners or through job search magazines in Japan. Therefore, graduated students must change their residence to a work residence and change their temporary residence to long-term residence by working in this country.
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