Living costs
Livable and convenient environment
Living costs for students
Shown below are monthly living expenses (including tuition) spent by students from overseas. Expenses in Fukuoka are relatively low because of lower commodity costs compared to Tokyo and Osaka.
Source: JASSO data
Item |
Fukuoka |
Tokyo |
| Price index (national avg.: 100)*1 | 97.9 |
108.7 |
| Rent for private housing (per 25 m2)*2 | ¥35,856 |
\69,826 |
| Monthly expenditure per household*2 | \309,400 |
\328,300 |
Source: Data of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for 2002 (*1) and 2006 (*2)
Part-time jobs
Students from overseas are able to work part-time with the Immigration Bureau’s “permission to engage in an activity other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted.” Please note, however, that working hours are limited to 28 hours per week except for vacation periods. Approximately 84% of self-financed foreign students work part-time to pay tuition and living expenses (according to JASSO). Most students work at restaurants, where hourly payment is around ¥800 in Fukuoka. The national average of monthly income earned by these students is ¥72,000 (according to JASSO).
Scholarship programs
Scholarship programs in Japan are mostly run by (1) the Japanese government, (2) JASSO, (3) municipalities and international exchange promotion organizations, and (4) private businesses and organizations. Of self-financed students from overseas, 45% receive scholarships, whose monthly amount is ¥56,000 on average (according to JASSO).