My Experience Studying Abroad in Japan

Andy Morina

Going to Japan had always been a dream of mine, as I had never experienced the culture of a country so far away. I’ve also watched a bit of anime, and so there were many places I wanted to visit, as there really is no place to see anime references like Japan. So, studying there for a month whilst exploring Tokyo sounded like a perfect plan. For those of you wondering how to also do something similar, your university may have something called the “Turing Scheme” whereby they will provide a certain amount of funding per day, as well as funding for your flight tickets. It is definitely worth looking around for how to apply, but definitely make a note of the deadline. Some universities may also have exchange programmes, or other abroad schemes that will help fund, or even completely pay for you to study in a different country. It really just depends on your university and what they have.

As I study finance, I wanted to learn more about the sustainable side of things. So, I studied the UN’s SDG goals in Japan and how they meet them. I also studied Japan’s international relations since WW2, which allowed me to understand alliances such as ASEAN, and how it benefits Southeast Asian countries. Studying these topics was definitely beneficial to my overall studies, as I was able to understand how companies, and Japan, try to hit their SDG goals, exploring the capital needed to do so, and the overall changes and regulations implemented to successfully fulfil the goals. Furthermore, understanding how Japan’s economy boomed since WW2 was definitely extremely insightful, and applied concepts I had learnt from a few finance modules, so seeing theory I had learnt on paper, translated to real life was quite surreal, as Japan is a very interesting case study of a country that rapidly developed post WW2.

The field trips we had were also very beneficial, like us visiting a development bank called JICA, whereby they showed us the countries they have worked in and the infrastructure they helped to develop. I would love to work for JICA, and potentially stay in Japan for a year or so, as I really resonate with the work that JICA do, and loved my time in Japan as it was so clean, safe, and advanced. It really felt like a dream sometimes, but it is always crowded in Tokyo, so just be prepared for that. Their train system is so much better than ours, too.

I was also able to have the most incredible month abroad, meeting people I would’ve never otherwise met. I would really recommend making friends with people in your university if you do go abroad, as the Japanese students in the university I attended were extremely friendly, and invited me and my friends to watch a baseball game! (I couldn’t go as the game was scheduled for after I left, unfortunately). At the very least, do try to speak to the people at your university, as it makes the experience much more enjoyable, and you can really meet people with very similar interests, and have a lot of fun going out and exploring places together. I would recommend going to small events set up by the university, such as having lunch with fellow students, or even approaching small groups of people, as they will be happy to practice their English. It’s always a great idea to learn basic phrases of the country that you’re in, so try to show that you have also invested some time in learning their culture and language. They’ll really appreciate it!