How can I go study in Japan at 15-16?

I’m a girl who lives in France, I’m currently 14 years old and I’m in 9th grade. I would like to go study in Japan when I get to junior year (I would be 15 almost 16) but I’m not sure about how I will do it. To start, I’ve been playing tennis since I was 4 and would like to continue even when I move to Japan so I would be very grateful if you could recommend any schools with tennis teams or good tennis academies. My second problem is that my parents will stay in France and I would like to know if it’s better to go to a boarding school or to rent an apartment, for the apartment I wanted to know if my parents could pay for it while staying in France. I also need school recommendations, in preference an international school in Tokyo, but any other city would be fine. Please, if you can, give me tips about how to achieve my dream of studying in Japan at 15-16.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_schools_in_Japan

I would imagine a boarding school is the better option as they would effectively become your legal guardian. I think obtaining residency as a minor gets too complicated.

This question gets asked every few weeks. Search this forum for the answer.

Essentially the answer is: find an exchange program or wait until you graduated from school and are an adult and can come to Japan as a language or university student

International teacher here.

You really have 2 options.

(1) Stay in France

(2) Potentially attend a boarding school, which is both expensive and probably not what you are after.

To put it simply - there is no visa which allows underage people to stay in the country and attend an international school without parents or guardians. Do note that you will struggle to find an exchange program for students who attend international schools. Why? Well - international schools are for expats or Japanese kids who often have spend time overseas.


The comment on searching for info on the forum is important. I think I've answered a similar question over 50 times.

As others have mentioned, this question gets asked a lot and it's honestly not as simple as you may think. A lot of young people get this idea of wanting to go to Japan to live and think it's some kind of wonderland that they see in manga/anime.

I would honestly suggest just to wait until you graduate high school and then come visit and see how you like it. Living in another country you've never been to before, especially being so young would be a big shock. I'm not sure why you want to live away from your family at 14 or 15 years old any way as they are the ones who look after your well-being.

The question gets asked by many teens and it's good to look around for information on what we've all said in the past. Take care.

Why Japan?
You don't know the language or anyone here.
You are a minor and that status restricts what you can and cannot do.
And as repeated in many other replies to similar questions, you don't automatically get to just more to Japan.

You may not know, but the topic you posted is asked in this forum SO OFTEN by teenagers like you.

Long story short: without getting into an exchange program, it's almost impossible for foreign minors like you to obtain visa to stay in Japan alone.

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+178245
https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+179186

Those above are the previous threads with similar topics. I hope those help you.