For International Students

1. Money matters: currency and the cost of living, etc.
    Japan is one of the more expensive countries of the world to live in, and Tokyo prices are reputedly the highest in the country. Information on Japan’s currency and the cost of residing here can be found in the “Study Guide to Japan”, which is published by the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO).

"Study Guide to Japan"   http://www.jasso.go.jp/study_j/sgtj_e.html

2. Monthly living expenses (for one person)
    According to the findings of fiscal 2005 survey on the living conditions of privately financed international students (“the JASSO survey” hereinafter), the living expenses of international students residing in Japan averaged 136,000 yen per month.
   The monthly expenditure of postgraduate and undergraduate students residing in the halls of residence of a national university averaged 93,000 yen (100,000 yen and 83,000 yen, respectively), though your overheads will increase if you elect to live in private accommodation since rents are expensive in Japan.

* Rents for private accommodation vary according to proximity to the nearest station, the age of the property, the amount of sunlight it receives and the surrounding environment, though a one-room studio apartment will cost in the region of 40,000 to 80,000 yen per month.

3. Part-time employment
Wages

   According to the findings of the JASSO survey, 80 percent of all international students residing in Japan are engaged in some form of part-time work. Hourly rates of pay range from 800 to 1,000 yen (53.6%) to less than 800 yen (18.1%), with upwards of 70 percent earning less than 1,000 yen per hour.  

   Students studying for doctorates command the highest wages, with 11.0 percent earning upwards of 2,000 yen per hour.

Job types   

Results from the JASSO survey show that approximately 55 percent, or the majority of working students, are employed by the restaurant industry. Other popular choices include sales / marketing and language tuition.    The findings from a 1999 University of Tokyo survey are shown at right. Translation / interpreting jobs ranked highest, followed by cram, prep school or private teaching jobs, with catering in third position. This grouping remains unchanged.

Hours worked 
   According to the findings of the JASSO survey, 742 non-scholarship students (37.4%) devote 20 to 25 hours per week to their part-time jobs, with 474 (23.9%) working for 15 to 20 hours. More than 60 percent of postgraduate students have a part-time job.

Finding part-time employment (engaging in activities outside the scope permitted by your visa)

  　 In order to get a part-time job, international students are required to apply for and obtain a “permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted”. For further details, please access the link below. This page also includes information on finding part-time work.
　http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/res03/i_guide06_01_e.html

4. Scholarships
   An overview of scholarship uptake ratios is given below. Some 50 percent of privately financed international students receive some form of scholarship, though the scholarships awarded by private foundations are subject to a number of conditions and applicants will be screened by their faculty and/or graduate school and by The University of Tokyo as a whole to assess eligibility. In fiscal 2007, scholarships were awarded to approximately 22 percent of research fellows who applied to the University for recommendation (84/377).
  http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/res03/i22_e.html

5. Accommodation 　

The University of Tokyo has a number of residences for our international students, though the limited number of rooms available means that we are only able to offer accommodation to approximately 16 percent of our entire international student body. The chart at right provides information on the living arrangements of international students studying at the　University　of　Tokyo.

[UT Student Residences]

Mitaka International Hall of Residence
Toshima International Hall of Residence
International Lodge

　　Applications are accepted twice a year and international students wishing to live in any of these facilities should apply via their faculty and/or graduate school office in mid-January (April occupancy) or July (October occupancy).

[Occupancy rates]
As of October 2007, approximately one in thirteen international students were living in single-person UT accommodation. 　
Available rooms: 17
Applications: 131

　　Rental accommodation in Japan is not furnished. You will need to provide your own gas cooking stove, light fittings, carpet, curtains and so forth. In order to rent private accommodation, you will require a guarantor and must pay a sum equivalent to 5-6 months’ rent upon signing, which includes a security deposit, key money, a brokerage fee and advance rent. For further information on the guarantor requirement, please access the following link. http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/res03/i19_e.html