Moving to Japan: Do I have to learn Japanese language efficiently?

I was planning to move to Japan by the end of the year and continue my college studies here in that country, but the question is that do I have to be good at speaking Japanese so that I can communicate with others while I'm staying in Japan? I know this isn't about video games and it's about my own life.

 

How old are you? The experience of living in a country greatly improves if you can speak their language. And I recommend learning it efficiently, yes

 

^ I'm 21 years old, do I have to study that language here in America before moving to Japan?

 

It would make things 10000 times easier.

 

It would make it easier definatley, but if you are only staying around Tokyo i would imagine it wouldn't be that big of a deal (Same with most capital cities)

 

Are there any Eigo (English) speakers that can be easier to communicate with me when I'm studying Japanese language here in Tokyo or other Prefectures?

 

Having lived in a country with no prior knowledge of the native language, I would personally recommend postponing the move so you can get semi fluent first. It's not essential, but your experience there will be so much better because you be able to much more quickly integrate, make friends, find work, etc.

 

There is enough English (often poorly done though) out there on signs that you should be able to get buy in a touristy sense. If time is short, you should definitely memorize hiragana and katakana (should only take a few days if you work at it). If you plan to live in Japan for a long period of time, you should probably learn enough to be able to do simple communications (i.e. ordering food, finding directions, etc) before you arrive. I've been able to get by with less than that because my girlfriend can easily translate for me, but I would be completely lost if I was on my own with my minimal level of Japanese knowledge. Assume that 95% of people do not know any English, because that is essentially true.

 

Maybe you should visit the country before deciding to go there...

 

A good base helps -- a lot. Not 10,000x easier. Like.... 100x easier though. Highly recommended to take structured classes. Self-study is pretty hard until you've had about 3 University courses. Of course people have done it, but it's definitely a challenge.

 

From my understanding, most university lectures are done in Japanese, and therefore require Japanese language knowledge, anyway. They DO have a bunch of English lectures, too, though. I guess it depends on what you're studying. I was looking into continuing my studies in Japan as well (because sometimes, the way in which... let's just say "New Zealand stuff" is implemented into education is intolerable).

I could be wrong, but I believe you need to have a decent grasp on the language to even get INTO a Japanese university. It seems much more strict than western university requirements, but I can't say for sure.
All I know is that I almost died when I saw they had physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics tests (which apparently didn't apply to me, anyway, but still). I suck at mathematics, and I've never done more than basic science at high school. So, whilst I can't say for sure, it'd definitely be worth looking in-depth into the requirements for Japanese university entrance before making any decisions (although I'm sure you've already looked into this at least a little bit).

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents, in case this helps in any way.

 

We're actually talking about taking courses in your home cuntry. Find the equivalent of a US community college an see if they offer Japanese 101. Take that, and hit your flash cards for 1 hour per day. If you know hiragana, katakana and at least how kanji is structured, it will save you a lot of hassle.

Never heard of anyone living in Japan and joining a university to learn Japanese - vocational schools a plenty for that but they can get pricey.

 

You will definitely survive in Japan with little, maybe no Japanese at all... But the frustration that situation will generate is huge. Probably to the point where you'll end up hating your experience.

I've been living in Norway for a while and even though 99% of the population speaks perfect English, not being able to communicate in their own language is a HUGE minus for everything (work, socialising, dating, you name it...). Now imagine that situation in a country where 5% of the population has a rather low level of English. It's not gonna work in the long term.

Go to class and learn some Japanese...

 

when in rome do as the romans do.... just try your best, making the effort in any country with their language is half the battle. no one expects you to be fluent, just little by little day by day.

 

I've been sort of studying Japanese on my own for several years, and I still have a pretty minimal understanding of it. Certain aspects of it - the alphabets, the pronunciation, some vocabulary - I have down pretty well, I think. But I'm still not even to the point where I could have any kind of meaningful conversation with someone. Taking formal classes is probably the best way to go about it. It just seems like the classes are pretty demanding. I'm not taking any other classes (I graduated in 2012), so it probably wouldn't be too difficult, but I'm still not sure if I could handle the amount of work and study necessary.

I would have an advantage in an introductory course since I already have some basic understanding of the language, but it still wouldn't be easy.

 

I just returned to Canada after three months in Japan. One thing I would recommend: start listening to Japanese, all the time. When I first got there, I could not even comprehend what people were saying, it was all gibberish. After two months, even though I didn't understand the meaning of what they were saying, I could hear the words. I have heard that language experts suggest that you spend 800 hours listening to a language before you delve in too far. There is a lot of truth to that.

 

Well I have looked into this myself and iv found out almost no university will teach anything in English so yes Japanese is a must. The only thing most Japanese collages seem to teach in English is Japanese language to help you learn and maybe if your lucky 1 basic subject. There is a nice school in Nagoya but they only teach Japanese and a few select history classes in English anything ells you need to know Japanese for. I have heard of people living in Japan and getting by just fine not knowing Japanese but most of them already graduated and most of them just teach English. Also just because you go to Japan does not mean your going to magically learn Japanese ether you need to study up on it and use it with people do even if you suck at it and make mistakes. Also for future in case your interested sense you know English its kind of a plus. If you learn Katakana you will see that a lot of words in Katakana are just taking the English word and converting it to the available sounds in Japanese granted not every Katakana word is but a good lot of them are.

Personally I wouldn't even bother considering going to a collage in Japan unless you plan to spend time of from all your regular studies just to learn the language well enough to even take a class. They may even make you take a test before even letting you take any classes i dout the book or even the teacher will teach you in English. The only people iv heard that went to Japanese university for non language learn and did well were people who had a good foundation on Japanese from the get go. It is just something for you to consider.

 

Are there any English-Japanese translators around Japan to let the translator answer my response in Japanese to the professors like any other American Sign Language translators throughout America?

 

There are tons. Many major universities offer English degrees. It's the latest thing since Japanese are afraid to study abroad now.

 

You can certainly learn it if you are dedicated once you get here, but a little study before hand will help. If you aren't sure about the country - do as Shou mentions and come visit first.