₦airaland Forum

blackbriar:
You can’t go into a meeting with a professor with mere words. It wont fly, he won't even get your points. You would fail miserably to impress.

So, I will advise to make a presentation with at most 3 slides.
Share slides with Professor 1-2 hours before re-schedule zoom meeting.

Slide 1 Introduction
Add your picture
Name: Musa Chima Segun
Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Comp Sic form University of bla bla Nigeria.
Language spoken: English fluently, Japanese: zero
Work Experience: CEO and Front-End Engineer with Shell and Chevron
Vast experience in Java, Pascal programming language, Robotics etc

You get the gist.

Slide 2 Your research intention in master’s Program
With my knowledge in a pascal, I want to write a program to fly an unmanned car to the sun and back.
Hint: Add image of car flying to the sun.

Slide 3 Your future after master’s program
I want to continue to phd, so that I can invest more in my master’s research and program the car to fly to the sun and into heaven to and come back to earth safely. I would also like to do a post-doc program in Japan.
Hint: Add image of car flying to the sun and into heaven.

OR.

I want to us my knowledge from my master research to work in Japanese company like JAXA (Japan equivalent to NASA) bla bla etc.

You get the gist. So that Prof can understand you clearly and know how to help you. So, during your zooming meeting you would be sharing your slide presentation.

Keep your slides brief, no write plenty English, straight to the point and let illustrations, images speak more for you in the slides.

Thank you for the clarifications, I appreciate


Regarding the recruiter.
Well done here.
Try to understand from the recruiter point of view.
Recruiter does not have Job for you. He is not the company.
However, recruiter has personal access to companies probably IT companies.
So recruiter would go to these companies to say the following in summary:

Hello, it is me again, your good friend, Mr recruiter.
I have a good candidate for you. His profile is strong and good. He will fit right into your company smoothly.
However, he is not Japanese and can’t even say one word in Japanese, not even Ohayo.
Also, he is not in Japan, so visa required bla bla …you get the gist her as well.

so while also targeting recuriters, also target companies directly.

My humble 2 cents

Again, thank you very much Blackbriar, I now understand better Japan recruitment process

Thanks once again Blackbriar and Gerrard59 for your guidance and suggestions, I just wrapped up the zoom meeting with the professor and one of his PhD students, it really went well and he asked me to apply asap.

For the sake of knowledge sharing for future applicants, Let me explain in details.

I presented the slides and explained everything, I even used my NYSC experience to buttress why I opted for the research topic. The prof was happy and mentioned that there are two possible start dates for the program: October and April. I told him I'm aiming for the October intake, he browsed via the faculty website and advised me to quickly apply since the October deadline is this month. For funding, I told him I will self-sponsor but I am open to any funding opportunities. He said there are no scholarships for Research students at the start, but once I am in Japan, I may be able to apply for some, and they're very competitive. He shared some details about average monthly expenses and mentioned that part-time work is allowed, but might be difficult without Japanese language skills.
Lastly, he suggested that I upload my documents to Google Drive and share the links with him instead of sending PDFs by email. He said that make it easier for him to access everything without having to search via his emails.

Mr Gerrard59, I personally will prefer job over school, but I don't want to lay my eggs in one basket reason I am exploring both options. I have till October to renew my increased rent but salary never increase, so e better make I channel my small money into traveling out to where I go get better opportunity than paying the new rent or renting a new place with exorbitant agency, agreement and caution fee.

blackbriar:
You can’t go into a meeting with a professor with mere words. It wont fly, he won't even get your points. You would fail miserably to impress.

So, I will advise to make a presentation with at most 3 slides.
Share slides with Professor 1-2 hours before re-schedule zoom meeting.

Slide 1 Introduction
Add your picture
Name: Musa Chima Segun
Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Comp Sic form University of bla bla Nigeria.
Language spoken: English fluently, Japanese: zero
Work Experience: CEO and Front-End Engineer with Shell and Chevron
Vast experience in Java, Pascal programming language, Robotics etc

You get the gist.

Slide 2 Your research intention in master’s Program
With my knowledge in a pascal, I want to write a program to fly an unmanned car to the sun and back.
Hint: Add image of car flying to the sun.

Slide 3 Your future after master’s program
I want to continue to phd, so that I can invest more in my master’s research and program the car to fly to the sun and into heaven to and come back to earth safely. I would also like to do a post-doc program in Japan.
Hint: Add image of car flying to the sun and into heaven.

OR.

I want to us my knowledge from my master research to work in Japanese company like JAXA (Japan equivalent to NASA) bla bla etc.

You get the gist. So that Prof can understand you clearly and know how to help you. So, during your zooming meeting you would be sharing your slide presentation.

Keep your slides brief, no write plenty English, straight to the point and let illustrations, images speak more for you in the slides.

Regarding the recruiter.
Well done here.
Try to understand from the recruiter point of view.
Recruiter does not have Job for you. He is not the company.
However, recruiter has personal access to companies probably IT companies.
So recruiter would go to these companies to say the following in summary:

Hello, it is me again, your good friend, Mr recruiter.
I have a good candidate for you. His profile is strong and good. He will fit right into your company smoothly.
However, he is not Japanese and can’t even say one word in Japanese, not even Ohayo.
Also, he is not in Japan, so visa required bla bla …you get the gist her as well.

so while also targeting recuriters, also target companies directly.

My humble 2 cents

Nice one Blackbriar

Please when applying for Japan student visa at the Japanese Embassy.
Which documents are my supposed to present as a sponsor?
How can I get this underlined document?

blackbriar:
Well done so far.

For the School Bit
1. What kind of research do you want to do?
2. Why do you want to do this research?
3. What are your future aspirations; phd and potential scholarship funding?
4. My advice, make a presentation slide about your self with more of illustrations, slides, diagrams and pictures to help the Professor understand you better.

Slide 1. Introduction
Add a picture of yourself.
Contents should be name, educational background and work experience.
Keep it simple methodology (KISS).

Slide 2. Your Research intention
Keep it simple methodology (KISS).
Why, your aim and so on. Use more of diagrams and illustrations

Slide 3. Your Future intention and research
Keep it simple methodology (KISS).
Phd?
Work in Japan?


For the Work Bit

Personally, I would have loved for you to pursue this stream especially with your IT background.

Note. Employment in Japan is periodical. Japan companies mostly and greatly employ before April of each year. Not to worry though. Mid -level recruitment all year round but March and September are mostly the recruitment periods.

What to do. Improve your Linkedin Profile.
Set job search to Japan so that recruiters can see your profile. Also look for IT recruiters in Japan on LinkedIn recruiting for IT roles and send introductory messages.

Create accounts on Japan job seeking sites such as
1. https://www.daijob.com/en/.
2. https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/
3. https://doda.jp/
4. https://www.rgf-professional.jp/en/for-candidates/for-candidates-b
5. Michael Paige Japan
6. Robert Walters Japan
If Indian’s can get the jobs from India, you can also do it.

My humble 2 cents and Gambatte

You don finish work!

Mr Rictech,

What you have up there is gold! It is extremely thorough.n Follow through and good luck with it. And yes, if possible, which I highly recommend, focus on job hunting and try to get an offer.

uchman:
Please when applying for Japan student visa at the Japanese Embassy.
Which documents are my supposed to present as a sponsor?
How can I get this underlined document?

You don't need to provide any document unless stated by the embassy. It is the school that would request such, not the embassy. The embassy requires your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Except Nigerians don use POF begin dey deceive Japanese universities. 🙄

Gerrard59:
You don't need to provide any document unless stated by the embassy. It is the school that would request such, not the embassy. The embassy requires your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Except Nigerians don use POF begin dey deceive Japanese universities. 🙄

Thanks so much Gerrard59,
Now I understand it better

Gerrard59:
You don finish work!

Mr Rictech,

What you have up there is gold! It is extremely thorough.n Follow through and good luck with it. And yes, if possible, which I highly recommend, focus on job hunting and try to get an offer.

Thank you. Gerrard59 and Blackbriar
Is it a standard practice in Japan for schools to request for original physical documents during application stage? When i had the Zoom call with my prospective supervisor and one of his PhD students two weeks ago, he told me to upload my documents to Google Drive and send the link to his email, which I did last week after paying the screening fee. Since I hadn’t heard back from him and the deadline for the October intake is this week, I sent a follow-up email. He replied, informing me that I need to send the original documents to his postal address via EMS or FedEx. I though original documents are during final enrollment /in-person registration when admission has been granted as is the case with most universities.

With regards to Jobs, it has been a nasty experience, the recruiters keep ghosting after telling me to pick a date

Rictech:
Thank you. Gerrard59 and Blackbriar
Is it a standard practice in Japan for schools to request for original physical documents during application stage? When i had the Zoom call with my prospective supervisor and one of his PhD students two weeks ago, he told me to upload my documents to Google Drive and send the link to his email, which I did last week after paying the screening fee. Since I hadn’t heard back from him and the deadline for the October intake is this week, I sent a follow-up email. He replied, informing me that I need to send the original documents to his postal address via EMS or FedEx. I though original documents are during final enrollment /in-person registration when admission has been granted as is the case with most universities.

Yes, it is very necessary. Japanese have a predilection for hard/physical copies. Something that could be done online, they request papers. They love paper documents way more than online copies. Get a notary to certify those documents. Don't send your original hard copies as you know how hard it is to obtain them in Nigeria. Here, such documents are easily obtainable. If the deadline is so close, plead for a two week extension and explain why you did not send them on time due to original documents being a one-time thing unlike in Japan.

With regards to Jobs, it has been a nasty experience, the recruiters keep ghosting after telling me to pick a date

Unfortunately, that is how it is when outside. Maybe ask Blackbiar the agencies those Indians who got here directly from India went through. I am not familiar with applying for jobs here while outside the country.

Rictech:
Thank you. Gerrard59 and Blackbriar
Is it a standard practice in Japan for schools to request for original physical documents during application stage? When i had the Zoom call with my prospective supervisor and one of his PhD students two weeks ago, he told me to upload my documents to Google Drive and send the link to his email, which I did last week after paying the screening fee. Since I hadn’t heard back from him and the deadline for the October intake is this week, I sent a follow-up email. He replied, informing me that I need to send the original documents to his postal address via EMS or FedEx. I though original documents are during final enrollment /in-person registration when admission has been granted as is the case with most universities.

With regards to Jobs, it has been a nasty experience, the recruiters keep ghosting after telling me to pick a date

Yes, you are correct. originals are for enrolment and only for you and for you alone.
Weird of him to ask for originals of your documents.

Please kindly contact the International division of the School (kokusai-ka), they handled all international students application.
Forward all the mails to them, the ones you have had with the Professor and phd student.

For recruiters, kindly try contact this info with introductory mail and resume
priyanka@autosoftindia.com

blackbriar:
Yes, you are correct. originals are for enrolment and only for you and for you alone.
Weird of him to ask for originals of your documents.
Please kindly contact the International division of the School (kokusai-ka), they handled all international students application.
Forward all the mails to them, the ones you have had with the Professor and phd student.

For recruiters, kindly try contact this info with introductory mail and resume
priyanka@autosoftindia.com

Originals must be sighted during the admission process. They are not only needed for enrolment, except the term "enrollment" means a different concept. The belief by the Japanese is that these documents could easily be obtained, sent, and replaced when needed. Unfortunately, Japan is not Nigeria. I could obtain my transcripts by using the faulty machine 10 times annually - free of charge. It is hard to even get a transcript from the typical Nigerian university. Yes, Richie should send the documents to the admission department and they must be originals or notarised. If he applies to say three schools, he needs to send them to those schools. See why the concept of the Japanese does not align with ours?

Notarised copies.

Gerrard59:
Originals must be sighted during the admission process. They are not only needed for enrolment, except the term "enrollment" means a different concept. The belief by the Japanese is that these documents could easily be obtained, sent, and replaced when needed. Unfortunately, Japan is not Nigeria. I could obtain my transcripts by using the faulty machine 10 times annually - free of charge. It is hard to even get a transcript from the typical Nigerian university. Yes, Richie should send the documents to the admission department and they must be originals or notarised. If he applies to say three schools, he needs to send them to those schools. See why the concept of the Japanese does not align with ours?

Notarised copies.

He cannot send originals. if the schools receives the originals, it becomes the school properties.
He can send notarised copies even via email. Go to a magistrate court to get "certified true copy" on all pages of the certificates.

However, he needs to follow up with international department immediately (kokusai-ka).
They understand the admission policies and are in charge of admissions for international student.
The professor might be wrong with his assertions.
Admissions processes for locals and international student slightly differs.

My humble 2 cents.

blackbriar:
He cannot send originals. if the schools receives the originals, it becomes the school properties.
He can send notarised copies even via email. Go to a magistrate court to get "certified true copy" on all pages of the certificates.

However, he needs to follow up with international department immediately (kokusai-ka).
They understand the admission policies and are in charge of admissions for international student.
The professor might be wrong with his assertions.
Admissions processes for locals and international student slightly differs.

My humble 2 cents.

School
I politely replied the prof that physical original hardcopy documents are sensitive and irreplaceable to send via courier to another country, and i was under the impression that original documents are only presented after admission is granted, reason i sent the scanned copies of my original documents. It seems he informed the admission committee because this morning, i received this email (Urgent request) ..... University: Application Documents for Research Student (Oct 2025)
from the student affairs division(kokusai) cc the prof email which i have since replied.

Job
One recruiter that ghosted me also replied: Hi ......,
Thank you for your patience to my reply!
I was checking requirement with the manager and turns out they need someone who is a tech lead..
Can we keep in touch in case other opportunities come up?

Thank you once again Blackbriar and Gerrard59, i will keep you guys updated

Good day everyone, does it mean that those without science background no get hope?

originalwarriman:
Good day everyone, does it mean that those without science background no get hope?

Look for schools that admit international students into their graduate programs (assuming they've English programs) or come in as a language student at a Japanese language school. Or get a job directly from Nigeria.

[quote author=originalwarriman post=136005198]Good day everyone, does it mean that those without science background no get hope?
a great

No, thats not true

Thare are many a great schools in Japna that they all accept all backgrounds, even Medicine.
However you may not be able to do medicien, may be an associate degree in medicine.

Japan is also great for MBAs with top ranking schools like prestegious Waseda University, Keio University , Sophia University , Doshisha Universities.

So kindly do your research and re-draft your questions.

Kind regards

My humble 2 cents

I want to start my Japan tourist visa application, please I want to know how much total it may cost me, documents requirements..

Jimiyke:
I want to start my Japan tourist visa application, please I want to know how much total it may cost me, documents requirements..

Check the Japanese embassy in Nigeria website. Everything is stated there.

Ok. Do you have idea how someone who entered through tourist visa can regularize his stay and get job?

Gerrard59:
Check the Japanese embassy in Nigeria website. Everything is stated there.

Jimiyke:
Ok. Do you have idea how someone who entered through tourist visa can regularize his stay and get job?

No, there's no regularizing

Jimiyke:
Ok. Do you have idea how someone who entered through tourist visa can regularize his stay and get job?

That is not possible and actually illegal. To secure a job as a foreigner, you require a resident permit, also known as a Zairyu Card. To obtain this card, you must have exchanged the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) that the employing organisation issued to you at the airport. Without the COE, you cannot obtain a work visa to come here. A work visa is different from a tourist visa. A tourist visa cannot be exchanged for a work visa. Anything aside from the standard work visa and you desire to work here would lead to SUFFER HEAD. Life would be MISERABLE!!!!

Please I want to ask how is kobe in Japan, I am working on admission at kobe institute of Computing. It's private and really expensive.
Is there any hope for scholarship and can I get jobs to cover the tuition?
Thank you

Nfest:
Please I want to ask how is kobe in Japan, I am working on admission at kobe institute of Computing. It's private and really expensive.
Is there any hope for scholarship and can I get jobs to cover the tuition?
Thank you

Kobe is a nice city as well.
Prettyy close to Osaka.

As a private university, i am not so certain of scholarships.
Why not look into MEXT?
Or beeter still ask your professor, some schoool gives some tuition discount for students from developing countires.
So use it, you are self sponsoring form a poor country and want to go to schoool ad need financial help.


Also look into Rotray Scholarships, but no accessible once on ground.

As a sizeable city, there will be jobs.
Some may warrant commuting by train to osaka.
try to make your driving licence in Naija current. It may be helpful.

Better stil go to on facebook, linkedin and look for Nigerians/africans in the school and ask more question about part time jobs in Kobe.

My humble 2 cents.

Nfest:
Please I want to ask how is kobe in Japan, I am working on admission at kobe institute of Computing. It's private and really expensive.
Is there any hope for scholarship and can I get jobs to cover the tuition?
Thank you

Part time jobs in a city like Kobe isn't the issue, but why are you applying to a private university? Here, mostly children from middle class to upper middle class families do so. So, why would an African with less funds apply to a private university in Japan? I know from a distance two lasses at the same institute, one from Nigeria, and the other from Benin Republic, but both are on Japanese government scholarships.

Unless you come from a well-to-do family, it makes no sense whatsoever to apply to private universities in Japan. Also, except for a few, private universities are not highly ranked and have fewer scholarships for international students from Africa.

Anyway, should you get admitted, log on to studyinjapan website to thoroughly search for scholarships. In fact, commence it the moment you get the admission before coming here. You would need money to live in any country, especially a distant country which is the first time you are inside.

Gerrard59:
Part time jobs in a city like Kobe isn't the issue, but why are you applying to a private university? Here, mostly children from middle class to upper middle class families do so. So, why would an African with less funds apply to a private university in Japan? I know from a distance two lasses at the same institute, one from Nigeria, and the other from Benin Republic, but both are on Japanese government scholarships.

Unless you come from a well-to-do family, it makes no sense whatsoever to apply to private universities in Japan. Also, except for a few, private universities are not highly ranked and have fewer scholarships for international students from Africa.

Anyway, should you get admitted, log on to studyinjapan website to thoroughly search for scholarships. In fact, commence it the moment you get the admission before coming here. You would need money to live in any country, especially a distant country which is the first time you are inside.

Honestly my neighbour here in Nigeria left and went to the same school, he advised me to come over but by the time I started the search most schools had closed. I found only one public school and the professors was another hurdle,I couldn't get any. The only one that responded said he was fully booked.Then m6 neighbour suggested Kobe,I put in for the admission, did the interview submitted the required documents and I got admitted. School fees is around 8.5million naira per semester. Can any job give me that kind of money to pay up for second semester?
School resumes in October

blackbriar:
Kobe is a nice city as well.
Prettyy close to Osaka.

As a private university, i am not so certain of scholarships.
Why not look into MEXT?
Or beeter still ask your professor, some schoool gives some tuition discount for students from developing countires.
So use it, you are self sponsoring form a poor country and want to go to schoool ad need financial help.


Also look into Rotray Scholarships, but no accessible once on ground.

As a sizeable city, there will be jobs.
Some may warrant commuting by train to osaka.
try to make your driving licence in Naija current. It may be helpful.

Better stil go to on facebook, linkedin and look for Nigerians/africans in the school and ask more question about part time jobs in Kobe.

My humble 2 cents.

Thank you,I just hope I can get a scholarship o job that will cover the tuition.

Nfest:
Honestly my neighbour here in Nigeria left and went to the same school, he advised me to come over but by the time I started the search most schools had closed. I found only one public school and the professors was another hurdle,I couldn't get any. The only one that responded said he was fully booked.Then m6 neighbour suggested Kobe,I put in for the admission, did the interview submitted the required documents and I got admitted. School fees is around 8.5million naira per semester. Can any job give me that kind of money to pay up for second semester?
School resumes in October

No, because you are restricted to 28 hours per week. The jobs that could pay higher (salaries are usually lower outside Tokyo) would require an intermediate to somewhat higher level of Japanese. Warehouse jobs could earn you Y200K per month, but this is if you max your work hours and also work during holidays (no hourly limit). In summary, you cannot entirely rely on part-time jobs to fund your education. Seek scholarships and tuition waivers/deductions. This is the same mistake those in the UK made, an English speaking country with a strong Nigerian/Black presence, have issues. Here is Japan.

Wait o, I checked the conversion of N8.5m to yen and it is almost a million yen? Nah! It is not possible. That is fees alone, no living expenses. Get a scholarship or have well-to-do parents.

What does this your friend or neighbour do for a living in Japan as a student or while as a student? How were the expenses settled?

Gerrard59:
No, because you are restricted to 28 hours per week. The jobs that could pay higher (salaries are usually lower outside Tokyo) would require an intermediate to somewhat higher level of Japanese. Warehouse jobs could earn you Y200K per month, but this is if you max your work hours and also work during holidays (no hourly limit). In summary, you cannot entirely rely on part-time jobs to fund your education. Seek scholarships and tuition waivers/deductions. This is the same mistake those in the UK made, an English speaking country with a strong Nigerian/Black presence, have issues. Here is Japan.

Wait o, I checked the conversion of N8.5m to yen and it is almost a million yen? Nah! It is not possible. That is fees alone, no living expenses. Get a scholarship or have well-to-do parents.

What does this your friend or neighbour do for a living in Japan as a student or while as a student? How were the expenses settled?

My neighbour went there when naira still made sense,went there like 6 years ago he is now doing his PhD on scholarship
He said he had to struggle to pay,then later got a scholarship
School fees is 800000yen
Is there any way I can get scholarships before resumption ?

Nfest:
My neighbour went there when naira still made sense,went there like 6 years ago he is now doing his PhD on scholarship

I see why.
All PhDs are sponsored. In fact, it does not make sense paying full tuition for PhD anywhere outside Nigeria.

He said he had to struggle to pay,then later got a scholarship
School fees is 800000yen
Is there any way I can get scholarships before resumption ?

Obviously, he would struggle as private universities are very expensive. When I was searching for schools, I had two private universities - Keio University (the equivalent of Covenant University) and Kwansei Gakuin University. The former is way too expensive, while the latter offered me a scholarship only after passing the exam (to be physically written in Japan).

Ask the professor and the admissions team if there are scholarships that admitted students can apply for before entering the country. Again, log in to StudyinJapan website to search for scholarships, especially those with application deadlines within two months of resumption. See, this is Japan - you have to do everything by yourself and follow up. The school might show you scholarships, but you have to do the follow-up and applying, not them spoon-feeding you. It is your duty to apply for scholarships even if they are posted on a billboard. You have to meet the deadlines. You have to work things out, and quickly.

A friend of mine who finished masters in one Tokyo university last year, and is currently on a PhD program which should be due by 2027 is asking if there are platforms to leverage his PhD and get papers in Japan. Folks with experience, do Japan have special PS schemes for PhDs in Japan?

chaiks:
A friend of mine who finished masters in one Tokyo university last year, and is currently on a PhD program which should be due by 2027 is asking if there are platforms to leverage his PhD and get papers in Japan. Folks with experience, do Japan have special PS schemes for PhDs in Japan?

Does "papers" here mean permanent residency? What's "PS" in this context?

If it's permanent residency, the only platform is the point system pathway. The other option is to marry a Japanese, which has nothing to do with possessing a PhD degree.

How does the point system work please?yes he meant permanent stay.

Gerrard59:
Does "papers" here mean permanent residency? What's "PS" in this context?

If it's permanent residency, the only platform is the point system pathway. The other option is to marry a Japanese, which has nothing to do with possessing a PhD degree.