I'm trying to crowdsource for an answer to this.

Has anyone ever heard of a US bank/lender providing a private student loan to someone going to a school in Japan? Most online information seems to suggest that its not easily doable/possible. I want the option for a loan in case I need money to cover unforeseen costs.

Before the sub-prime loan crisis this was possible. The loans required a co-signer and the interest started immediately. However when I tried to get this information for a friend a few years ago I couldn't find any banks offering these loans anymore.

Try a google search for "foreign enrolled student loans". That should get you enough broker hits to determine who still has these available.

Ya, most of the info I'm seeing seems to be pretty similar to what I've already seen. Theres basically this list of predetermined foreign schools that the banks will lend to. I've emailed Sallie Mae to find out more info but we'll see. I have a co-signer too, so that improves the odds of a anything I can find.

I'm more curious to hear if anyone had ever heard of anyone getting a school to meet the bank's requirements which allow the loans to be disbursed. This would require the school to email/fax information on education costs I think.