Leaving for Japan

It’s time for me to unveil the next phase of my life. I received a surprise letter from the Japanese Embassy on 10 March 2006 informing me that I have won the prestigious Monbukagakusho Scholarship to do a postgraduate study in Japan. It’s a short notice and I am supposed to leave for Japan early April 2006.

What would I be doing?
I’ll be doing an MBA programme in the International University of Japan (IUJ), one of Asia’s highly ranked MBA schools.

See the difference of the two pics. You will agree that Tokyo is really a big city while Niigata is much smaller.

Where is it?
The place in Japan where I’ll be studying is called Niigata. It is approximately 300km northwest of Tokyo. With the shinkansen (bullet train), it’ll take about 1 hr 50 minutes from Tokyo. With a population of 800,000, Niigata is known for its ski resort, manufacturing, port facilities and rice production.

How is the scholarship?
The Monbukagakusho scholarship is a Japanese government scholarship offered to Malaysians under the Look East Policy. There are about 800 to 1000 applicants every year but only a handful of Malaysians are offered this scholarship to study (both undergraduate and postgraduate) in Japan. An average of 30 scholarships are offered every year. The scholarship consists of full tuition fees, entrance examination fee, maintenance allowance and a round-trip airplane ticket.

First, applicants are shortlisted for an English Language exam. The exam marks would decide who gets to go for an interview. An interview panel consisting of Japanese and Malaysians holds the interviews. From the interviews, the embassy would then nominate about 30 to 38 names to the Japanese government (to be exact it’s the MEXT or Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Government of Japan). The government would sieve the list again to arrive to the final figure depending on the quality of candidates and budget for the year.

The scholarship does not come with a bond. However, scholars are expected to return to Malaysia and contribute towards the development of the country.

You may read more: http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/EN/Press_Release/2006/scholarship02_2006.htm

When would I be leaving?
I will be leaving on 3rd April which is about 2 weeks from now. I have tendered my resignation from work employment a few days after receiving the reply from the Japanese Embassy.

I will be taking a 6-month language training in Niigata University before going into the MBA programme in IUJ. The MBA would take a further 2 years and I should be back by 2008. Thank God, the MBA programme is an English programme, so language would not be an issue other than day-to-day communication with the locals. But that would be taken care of, hopefully with the initial language training there.

How prepared am I?
Not really prepared. I haven’t even packed anything yet. I am in the midst of sorting out all the stuff in Malaysia like income tax, getting a laptop, transfer of work to my successor etc….

What about running/triathlons?
I will continue running and swimming wherever I go. I heard Niigata is a fantastic place for sports. I will continue writing about running when I’m there. I hope to hook up with some Japanese running club so I can participate in their activities too. I am sure it would be a different experience there.

As for Pacemakers, I hope to be kept as a member still and get my medals tallied from abroad.

Hey if there’s a Niigata Marathon or Triathlon, I’ll inform you guys!

Will I be back between 2006 and 2008?
Definitely. I will try to come back as often as I could. This will also depend on how much I could save from my monthly maintenance allowance. Of course, even though my allowances may allow me to come back every month, it doesn’t make sense to do it so frequently. I would like to travel Japan as much as I could before I come back for good.

Will I take visitors?
Of course! Do come visit me if you happen to be in Japan. The question is not whether I could receive you as a visitor but rather, are you willing to spend your money and time to travel 300km to see me and sacrifice your precious time on a countryside. There are many other places like Mt Fuji, Osaka, Disneyland etc to visit. Unless you love skiing in the winter! Putting up in Japan is high maintenance especially for a Malaysian, and that’s why it’s precious time in Japan.

But for the first few weeks, I don’t advise you to come visit me because I’d be an alien just like you. And maybe you could be better than me if you know Chinese characters. Let me settle down first and I’ll tell you.

By the way, I'm there to study ok!!!

Sayonara! Samishi ku naru yo! (I will miss you!)