Language-School Register Comparison

Select institutions to compare

Required1–5 institutions

Register scopeThis workbench only lays out what the official registers record; it makes no recommendation, score, or ranking of any institution. The search covers two official registers — the Immigration Services Agency gazette (Appendix 1) and MEXT accreditation. The registers are mutually exclusive; together they describe the institutions able to host a Student residence status.

Three premises before comparingSettle the destination after language school (further study or work) first, then judge whether a course type fits.Only institutions on the official registers may host students on a Student residence status.An agent's 'partner school' or 'guaranteed admission' has no bearing on the registered entry.

Open the official-register directory Discuss how to choose with the advisor

Name searchJapanese spelling works best

Course-text keyword

Filters match the registered text only (name · prefecture · course wording) · names, locations, and course text appear exactly as registered, without rewriting

No institution selected yet

Registered entries side by side

Appears once schools are selected

What a blank meansA blank means the register carries no entry for that field, not that the institution lacks it.

Source and currency of this dataThis page mirrors two official registers — the Immigration Services Agency's list of Japanese-language institutions (gazette, Appendix 1) and MEXT's accredited Japanese-language institutions. The retrieval date appears as the data snapshot on each row, and register status can change when the authorities update it, so verify on the official pages before applying. Tuition, progression records, housing terms, nationality mix, attendance rates, and JLPT pass rates have no column in either register; those are self-reported, and the school's own answer governs — the questions below are the list to put to them.

Twenty items to verify with each school

How to useNone of the following appears in the official registers, so each must be confirmed directly with the school's admissions office. Putting the same questions to every candidate school makes the answers comparable. Requesting the reply in writing — by email or in the published admission guide — is advisable.

1. Costs and contract terms

The complete breakdown of the first-year total: screening fee, admission fee, tuition, materials, facilities, and insurance, each stated separately.
Cost items arising during the year beyond tuition, and the ceiling for each item.
The refund proportion, the reference date used for the calculation, and the filing deadline, for cancellation before entry and for withdrawal mid-course.
Accepted payment methods, whether instalments are permitted, and which party bears international transfer fees.

2. Housing arrangements

Whether school housing is a condition of admission, and whether an independent lease is permitted.
The monthly charge for school housing, and how deposit, key money, utilities, and connectivity are counted.
Occupants per room, the contract period, and the penalty terms for leaving early.
The support the school provides with guarantors and rental introductions for students who do not use school housing.

3. Class composition and teaching structure

The distribution of nationalities within a single class, and the share of students sharing the enquirer's first language.
The nominal class size and the actual average over the past year.
The Japanese-language teaching qualifications held by instructors, and the ratio of full-time to part-time staff.
The basis for class placement, when classes are reorganized, and how often this occurs within a year.

4. Attendance and residence status

How the attendance rate is calculated, the minimum threshold, and how lateness and absence are counted.
The measures applied when attendance falls below the threshold, and the effect on residence-status renewal.
The documents the school issues for residence-status renewal, and the extent of its support.
The scope of the school's guidance on permission to engage in activity outside the status (part-time work), and whether job introductions are among the services it provides.

5. Progression guidance and destinations

The form progression guidance takes: the number of individual consultations, how statements of purpose are supervised, and how entrance-exam preparation is delivered.
Whether published progression figures use total graduates or applicants as the denominator, and the academic year they cover.
The distribution of destinations by number of students, and the movement over the past three years.
The proportion of graduates who neither progressed nor entered employment, and how the school tracks destinations.

This is a general verification framework, not a list aimed at any particular school. Check the content of each answer, and its accuracy, against official material.

Senpai tips

Would the schools an agent pitched you survive the official registers?

Language schools vary wildly, and this is the most commercialized corner of studying abroad — which is exactly why this workbench recommends nothing. It offers one thing only, but that one thing is solid: the entries as written in two official registers (Immigration gazette Appendix 1 and MEXT accreditation), placed side by side column by column. Tuition, progression records, housing, nationality mix — the registers carry no columns for any of them. So this site does not speak for those figures; it turns them into twenty questions for you to put to the schools. The judgment stays yours, once you have their answers.

Decide where the language school leads

study and work paths need different support.

Separate the course types first

short programs do not grant a student status.

Narrow to one to three prefectures

Tokyo has more options and higher costs.

Match intake month to course length

back-plan or you wait half a year.

Compare totals, not tuition

add screening, admission, materials, housing, commuting.

Use official information for the same intake

a listing is evidence, not a verdict.

Select institutions to compare

Required1–5 institutions

Open the official-register directory Discuss how to choose with the advisor

Name searchJapanese spelling works best

Course-text keyword

Filters match the registered text only (name · prefecture · course wording) · names, locations, and course text appear exactly as registered, without rewriting

No institution selected yet

Registered entries side by side

Appears once schools are selected

What a blank meansA blank means the register carries no entry for that field, not that the institution lacks it.

Twenty items to verify with each school

1. Costs and contract terms

The complete breakdown of the first-year total: screening fee, admission fee, tuition, materials, facilities, and insurance, each stated separately.
Cost items arising during the year beyond tuition, and the ceiling for each item.
The refund proportion, the reference date used for the calculation, and the filing deadline, for cancellation before entry and for withdrawal mid-course.
Accepted payment methods, whether instalments are permitted, and which party bears international transfer fees.

2. Housing arrangements

Whether school housing is a condition of admission, and whether an independent lease is permitted.
The monthly charge for school housing, and how deposit, key money, utilities, and connectivity are counted.
Occupants per room, the contract period, and the penalty terms for leaving early.
The support the school provides with guarantors and rental introductions for students who do not use school housing.

3. Class composition and teaching structure

The distribution of nationalities within a single class, and the share of students sharing the enquirer's first language.
The nominal class size and the actual average over the past year.
The Japanese-language teaching qualifications held by instructors, and the ratio of full-time to part-time staff.
The basis for class placement, when classes are reorganized, and how often this occurs within a year.

4. Attendance and residence status

How the attendance rate is calculated, the minimum threshold, and how lateness and absence are counted.
The measures applied when attendance falls below the threshold, and the effect on residence-status renewal.
The documents the school issues for residence-status renewal, and the extent of its support.
The scope of the school's guidance on permission to engage in activity outside the status (part-time work), and whether job introductions are among the services it provides.

5. Progression guidance and destinations

The form progression guidance takes: the number of individual consultations, how statements of purpose are supervised, and how entrance-exam preparation is delivered.
Whether published progression figures use total graduates or applicants as the denominator, and the academic year they cover.
The distribution of destinations by number of students, and the movement over the past three years.
The proportion of graduates who neither progressed nor entered employment, and how the school tracks destinations.

This is a general verification framework, not a list aimed at any particular school. Check the content of each answer, and its accuracy, against official material.

Senpai tips

Would the schools an agent pitched you survive the official registers?

Decide where the language school leads

study and work paths need different support.

Separate the course types first

short programs do not grant a student status.

Narrow to one to three prefectures

Tokyo has more options and higher costs.

Match intake month to course length

back-plan or you wait half a year.

Compare totals, not tuition

add screening, admission, materials, housing, commuting.

Use official information for the same intake

a listing is evidence, not a verdict.

Language-School Register Comparison

How does the register comparison work?

Select institutions to compare

Registered entries side by side

Twenty items to verify with each school

1. Costs and contract terms

2. Housing arrangements

3. Class composition and teaching structure

4. Attendance and residence status

5. Progression guidance and destinations

Would the schools an agent pitched you survive the official registers?

Language-School Register Comparison

How does the register comparison work?

Select institutions to compare

Registered entries side by side

Twenty items to verify with each school

1. Costs and contract terms

2. Housing arrangements

3. Class composition and teaching structure

4. Attendance and residence status

5. Progression guidance and destinations

Would the schools an agent pitched you survive the official registers?