If you can pay for it and pass the entrance exams I don't see why not...

vix86 wrote:

I don't know what your end goals are in doing med school in Japan but if it isn't "to become a doctor in Japan" then I would question why Japan?

This begs mentioning the additional point that without Japanese citizenship, finding a position as a junior doctor in Japan would likely be extremely difficult or impossible. In the UK for example, non-EU citizens are barred from training positions. If you came back to (I assume) Germany you'd at least have to do the medical exams all over again and I'm guessing even then it could be a problem having studied somewhere completely alien.

Last edited by dizmox (2012 June 15, 7:25 pm)

dizmox wrote:

finding a position as a junior doctor in Japan would likely be extremely difficult or impossible.

I must have edited it out in my sleep filled haze last night. But I wouldn't be surprised if there is a meter thick glass ceiling blocking any foreigner from becoming a doctor in Japan.

I hate to rain on someone's parade/dreams, but this is kind of feat sits well within the realm of the impossible for 99.99% of people. Ignoring simple language barriers, which kitakitsune stated correctly I think, I just have a hard time believing that somewhat-foreigner-cautious Japan would even consider hiring a foreign looking, Japan trained doctor. That's assuming you can even get a med school in Japan to let you in.

slivir wrote:

Perhaps you could set your sights on nursing instead? For that there is a huge demand for trained foreigners. You have to know the language of course but you don't have to have native-like fluency.

This is true, but I would research it THOROUGHLY before committing to it. The majority of foreign nurses trying to come into Japan are from the Philippines. I have no evidence to back this up save for how (SE Asian) foreigners in Japan tend to be treated; but you might be looking at quite sub-sub-standard pay compared to Japanese nurses and not even hold legit full time status. IE: You are on a constant 1 to 3 year renewal contract, meaning you have to worry from year to year whether or not they'll just tell you out of the blue, "Tough luck, we aren't renewing your contract, bye."

Thanks for your replies. Just wanted to get a bit of info concerning what studying medicine in Japan is like.. seems like it's impossible to me, even looking at the fees paid annually. In Germany you can study for free o.o

Dedication in "The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary" by Andrew N. Nelson:

To my son Richard Andrew Nelson, M.D.
who as a busy surgeon and against great odds
passed the Japanese National Medical Examinations
given both in oral and written Japanese
thus demonstrating that an American
can master the language