Q&A time: Everything you want to know about Japanese medical students and becoming a doctor

I'm a senior in high school and I am going to University of Hawaii next year. My japanese is pretty good ( almost fluent) and I was wondering if it is possible for an American student to transfer to a Japanese University and enter the medical program?

Hi Alexander.

Speaking for my own university, which is pretty standard for National Universities in Japan- if you were to enter as a grad student you would have a chance as the 'entrance exam' and graduation research/thesis can be done in a foreign language (almost always English if so). But for the general medical program (which is what you seem to be aiming at) you would have to take the regular departmental entrance exam which is of course, in Japanese (as are all the courses). Any inability to write, read and speak academic Japanese with total fluency would pretty much rule you out.

Then again, the concept of pre-med and med in N. America and Undergrad/Grad in Japan don't exactly match so it could be awkward to transfer even if you were fluent in all aspects of J and coming from U.S. pre-med.

Japanese Medical School is 5 Years, PERIOD...

There is NO such thing as a 4 year Pre-Med requirement.
There is NO internship
There is NO Residency.

After 5 Years of a Japanese Medical School, you pay what-ever the licensing fee is, and then you are a Licensed Doctor to practice medicine in Japan...

RSM-
No. Just... no.
And no again, in case I wasn't clear.

That is, except for the 4 yr. pre-med requirement bit- in which, as I said initially, a General ed.period is part of the Med. degree.

I was wondering if you could elaborate about choice of major in the U.S. Do Japanese schools prefer one choice of major over the other?

Sorry Hannah- Could you elaborate a little more on exactly what you mean?

Well, you said that pre-med majors don't transfer well to Japanese schools, so I was wondering if the Japanese prefer certain majors. As in the case of Alexander, I would like to spend some time in Japan to acquire language skills, and then apply to medical school there.

I have considered getting a medical degree in the U.S., but I don't want to stay stuck in the U.S. for another 4-8 years. :(

Thanks for the clarification, Hannah.

Let me explain. The problem of transfer into a J medical school is not so much a matter of pre-med vs. med school or the choice of one's pre-med major but rather 1) language and 2) systemic incongruity.

If you planned to enter Japanese medical school you would be taking the same classes and practica as Japanese medical students and of course these classes are conducted in the Japanese language- university-level and rather technical Japanese at that. So your language skills would have to be at least near-native to attend, understand and pass the courses.

What most international students do in Japanese medical faculties instead is post-graduate work (not the regular med courses) in a medically-related specialist field such as parasitology, physiology, anatomy etc. and work under the direct supervision of a Japanese professor in that department. But as post-graduates, they have of course completed at least an undergrad degree in that field in their own countries prior to arriving in Japan.

There may be rare exceptions in Japan (maybe Sophia U.?) but I don't know of them.

Hope this clarifies. And best of luck with any decision you make.

hi,m student 4rm india,doing gratuation in medicine.i want 2 know entrance test for p.g. in japan.how 2 appear 4 it n wats preparation needed?

To be frank Supriya, if you are serious about post-graduate medical studies I'd tell you first to write in a style more in line with your intentions.

More to the point, there is no standardized requirement for post-grad medical study in every Japanese university. You would of course have to already have a medical or related degree. Then, after contacting a university of your choice or interest, they would likely line you up with a professor- proficient in English- who specializes in the field you wish to study. He/she would then go over requirements, standards, expectations and so forth before any decision is made.

I hope this helps.

hi! I'm half japanese and half filipino. I was born in the philipines, grew up here and finished medicine here (philippines)as well. I have been to japan several times few years back, so i know basic nihonggo, can read katakana and hiragana. As dual citizenship is accepted here in the Philippines, I was able to practice my profession here. I am planning to go to japan and hope to work there as a doctor. My plan is to 1st finish studying Nihonggo and pass JPLT N1 here in the Philippines before going to Japan. My question is... being a Japanese citizen will i be able to take the Japanese National Medical Licensing Board Examination even if i did not graduate from a japanese medical school?
I understand that if i'll be able to take the licensing exam and hopefully pass it, i will still have to go through a two year trainee (kenshu-i) program before going to a specialized field of choice. I am willing to go through it. My next question is, during the 2 year kenshu-i, will i be receiving a stipend/salary? Do you have any idea how much is it monthly? will it suffice monthly expenses? How about during specialty training (5-6years)? how much do they usually receive monthly? As you can see i'm kinda particular regarding the monthly income because i'm raising my daughter alone. I'm still thinking of bringing her with me to japan (she is also a japanese citizen,by the way) or to leave her here in the philippines with her grandparents if the salary of a trainee is not enough to raise a child there. hope you could answer all my questions..thanx!

Hi Yoko. Thanks for writing.

I have several answers to your question(s). First, all the official details about qualifying for the Kokushiken (Med) are found at www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2005/10/tp1005-1.html and www.mhlw.go.jp/kouseiroudoushou/shikaku_shiken/ishi/ but of course all in rather technical, bureaucratic Japanese.

The short answer is that nationality is no barrier to taking the Kokushi and thereby getting a Japanese medical license. The two obstacles are:

1) Language. The test is in quite technical Japanese, no unless you are close to absolute fluency in reading and writing medical Japanese it will be very difficult. For students coming from abroad some proof of Japanese proficiency is required.

2) Your alma mater abroad. Some medical schools abroad will be recognized by the license-granting bodies in Japan but some will not. Suffice to say that if you graduated from an established medical faculty in a country with well-regulated health and education systems, it would probably be recognized. But you do have to send in forms and documents concerning this in advance (as per the links I pasted above).

Good luck in your endeavours and if you think I missed anything in my answer please write again.

Hello, I'm a high school student and I want to study medicine in Japan. I want to know if I get my doctorate in Japan, would I be able to practice in America or any other country?

I have a few questions.

1. Does this program here give an MD if you complete the masters and the doctorate program?
http://www.m.u-tokyo.ac.jp/mms/english/sche.html#shushi

2. I've heard that, in Japan, you can transfer in your second or third year of an ordinary college to a medical school. Is this true?

Hi Isabelle.

In answer to your questions...

1. No university in Japan has the authority to grant a medical license. That is done by the government, upon the candidate succesfully passing the national medical licensing exam.

2. Yes, most medical schools will allow transfers after the second year of study elsewhere but there will be various conditions- such as passing the medical school's entrance exam (for national universities at least). The number and value of credits transferable from the previous university will also vary, Rather than jumping straight into 3rd year med it is far far more likely the transfer student will be considered a 1st year med student but will be exempt from several courses.

Hope this helps.

Hi Mike,

I've seen several doctors working in dermatology and emergency medicine at the nearby hospitals who look very young, probably mid 20s. 6 years of medical school + 2 years of training + 5 years of specialization would put them at at least 31 years old, right? I highly doubt the ones I've seen are even 30. Could it be that they're still in their 5 year specialization period? They didn't seem to need to consult with any senior doctor.

Also, do medical schools here really let students repeat classes so frequently without kicking them out? In the US, they'd be kicked out if they failed class; certainly if they failed more than 1 class.

Hi Al.

There could be a number of explanations for what you've seen. The first is that Japanese often look younger to Westerners than they are but, assuming you've already factored that in...

...the 'doctors' you saw may actually be 5th or 6th year students doing Clinical Clerkship, in which they go around all the departments but in full doctor regalia. A closer look at their name-badge will reveal their gakusei status. They may be as young as 22-24.

Kenshu-i status doctors (2 year work rotation after graduation/licensing) are officially MDs but will often be in their mid-twenties.

A new post-kenshui doctor now based in one department might be as young as 26. One with a specialist license under 28 would be very rare indeed.

My wife is an MD. she did clinical clerkship at age 23-24 and graduated/passed the kokushi exam at 24, worked as a kenshu-i MD aged 25-26. She got her specialist license at age 30. If the hospital you refer to is a teaching hospital or university affiliated you will definitely see many younger doctors and those who look like doctors.

(Also ORTs, teachnical assistants, can often look outwardly like doctors too).

I have three questions:

1.) How would I know the extent of knowledge expected of a someone taking entrance exams? Because I've been educated in the US, I don't exactly know how the curriculum I've studied compares to the typical curriculum for a high school student in Japan (I'm sure US high schools are way below Japan academically). I don't want to take an exam blindly, so how can I find out what exactly it is I need to prepare for?

2.) What would the post-grad training period be like if I wanted to become a peds surgeon?

3.) What if I ever wanted/needed to move back to the US, would my medical license from Japan transfer to the US so I could practice there?

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! It is very helpful!

Hi Anna. It's a little difficult to answer your questions until I get a clearer picture of your intentions. You can write to me at mikeguest59@yahoo.ca offlist if you wish.

For the time being my answers are:
1) You will need native-like Japanese ability to pass a standard entrance exam at a Japanese medical school. You can tailor your subjects on both the national entrance exams and the 2nd stage (individual university exams) but although you would have no problem with the English section, obviously, the rest.... if you are not very fluent in Japanese.... hmmm.

Post-grad foreign researchers however can apply, take an entrance test, and conduct research all in English, depending upon the universty and indivdual Prof overseeing your specialty.

2) To be a Ped in Japan you have to pass the Nat'l licensing exam first (in Japanese) and then complete 2 years as a trainee doctor before assuming your specialty. After that you can easily start post-grad research. Post-grad research can be very hit and miss in Japan- some institutions make their students do little except carry out their regular work and publish a research paper (often in English). Some do hands-on intensive training in complex, gradiated programs. It varies wildly.

3. I'm not American so I think you could find this out more easily than I.