I was supposed to move to Tokyo at the end of March 2020 right when the pandemic started. I had quit my day jobs, sold all my furniture and put my apartment up for rent. I was lucky enough to be able to extend my lease for my apartment but I have been living here surrounded by carboard boxes and no furniture for over a year now. Because of the pandemic, I cannot get a job and I’ve had to rely on my freelance work to survive which has been mentally draining. I feel like it has been a year of my life put on standby, unable to make plans for the future. To say that it’s been difficult is an understatement and both my physical and mental health have suffered from this wait and this lack of purpose. Now that a whole year has gone by, I’ve had to make the decision to go temporarily live with my parents just in case I have to leave suddenly once the borders re-open. Leaving the city to go back to the countryside is a huge decision and I’m only able to make it on the grounds that this is a TEMPORARY matter. My visa has already been extended for a year so it’s getting to a point where it can no longer be extended. If I’m to move to Japan, it has to happen very soon. It may sound dramatic but this is my livelyhood in the balance here as well as I’m sure the livelyhoods of many other students here. I’m sure I’ve aged 5 years because of the stress from this past year. For our mental healths, please let us resume our plans or at least help us make a proper decision if we are to give up on our visas.
Category: English
Posts in English
Charis, 21, United Kingdom
It is very likely that I will give up entirely on my dream of moving to Japan. I really want to go, but I have wasted a year of my life waiting already and I need to move on to other things.
Alexander, 35, United States
Without the chance to live and study in Japan I do not believe that my ability to truly learn the culture and language will ever be possible. There are so many things about a language that cannot be taught by a book and cannot be learned by watching videos. There are nearly endless lessons I could learn just by waking up and living in Japan and when you combine it with the opportunity to exchange cultures, make meaningful bonds, and study there truly is no alternative choice to studying Japanese anywhere else in the world.
Austin, 19, United States
Experiencing delays is very difficult on my family and I. I quit my job back on March 1st so I could come to Japan, but now that there have been delays I am stuck with no income. This has been very stressful for me.
Julia, 27, Germany
The world would mean it for me. By that I mean it would mean another world collapsing for me and I would be devastated again. I wanted to come to Japan last year to study, but thanks to Corona that never happened and I ended up finishing school at home, via online school. I was very sad and devastated when I heard that I could not go to Japan. I had hoped that I would finally be able to enter this year to study there again and had to painfully learn again that it won’t work out. So as I said, it means the world to me when it is postponed again.
Lara, 25, Germany
Ever since I found my love for japanese folklore and art through the Anime “Inuyasha”, I dreamed about studying in Japan. In Summer 2019 I was lucky enough to study in Kyushu as an exchange student. That gave me a lot of motivation to pursue my dream of studying in Japan (and therefore the language). Also I met my current boyfriend during the exchange program 2019. Due to the pandemic we have been apart for 1 year now..I really want to continue my education and see my boyfriend again. That’s why it is so important to me to study in Japan as soon as possible.
Rebecca, 22, United Kingdom
As a student in Japan I will be able to share with my friends, family, and followers back home how amazing japan is. I would also contribute to the economy by getting a part time job while I study, and buying from small businesses, something that is very important to me. I hope to be able to facilitate a cultural exchange with my peers in Japanese and back home.
Alejandro, 25, Spain
Studying Japanese in Japan would allow me to understand Japanese culture in the best of ways. Besides, this country has always caught my attention since I was a child. After spending several years preparing to enter (learning about the country and studying Japanese at university) I wanted to deepen my knowledge and realize my dreams, studying in a vocational school where I could find my job and therefore contribute to the country (economically speaking) . Students are not a threat but a positive change for the country allowing a great diversity in education centers and helping the economy. Let us in to show you how beneficial we can be for the country
Lauren, 21, United States
I need to be immersed in the culture and language in order to fully grasp the language. I am a visual and kinetic learning, so I learn by seeing and doing. Studying japanese on my own is very difficult for me, especially because I have no native speakers to practice with
Ashleigh, 27, Australia
Due to the extensions of the entry bans I have had to defer my plans until the July Term as there are many procedures to go through before even being able to leave my home country. Converting a visa where the Australian embassy has stated there may be a delay on student visa’s in the beginning and filing for an exemption to leave Australia. These things take time and without being able to start the processes on any of these due to the entry ban means even further delays could be had.