This article is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. Read the Japanese original（日本語版を読む）
Even a postgraduate student who has already graduated from university (that is, on a master's course) can meet the requirements of 特定活動9号 (internship). However, because a master's course is short, the "length of the course" and "whether the study schedule makes sense" are examined one step more closely than for an undergraduate.
Someone enrolled at a graduate school abroad asks how a 1-year internship in Japan is screened differently from an undergraduate's.
Yes. However, the requirements on enrolment and graduation are screened more strictly than for an undergraduate.
In conclusion, even a postgraduate student who has already graduated from university (that is, on a master's course) can meet the requirements for 特定活動9号 (internship) without difficulty.
That said, in how the ministerial ordinance on criteria under 入管法 is read (whether the 上陸許可基準, the criteria for landing permission, are met), the "length of the course" and "whether the study schedule makes sense", which are particular to postgraduate students, tend to be checked one step more closely than for an undergraduate. The underlying purpose, "that this is part of your education while enrolled", is the same, but in practice there are several points that differ from an undergraduate's case and that need care.
There is an upper limit on the period — "not exceeding 1 year, and not exceeding one half of the standard length of the course" — and on a master's course whether the two can be combined is looked at strictly.
For 特定活動9号 (internship), it is an absolute condition that you are enrolled at a foreign university (or graduate school). An application on a schedule under which you would graduate (complete the course) during the internship is therefore not accepted.
特定活動告示第9号 sets the period of an internship as 「一年を超えない期間で、かつ、通算して当該大学の修業年限の二分の一を超えない期間内」 (a period not exceeding 1 year and, in total, within a period not exceeding one half of the standard length of the course at the university concerned). The standard length of a master's course is 2 years, so one half of that, 1 year, is the upper limit. In other words, the "1 year" in this case sits exactly on that upper limit. It is not something you can extend by explaining your circumstances.
An undergraduate is enrolled for a long period of 4 years, so in many cases a 1-year internship still leaves room before graduation. A master's course, however, is generally short at 2 years. Where 1 of those years is spent on an internship in Japan, whether it can actually be done — that is, whether attending lectures, writing and defending a master's thesis, and 1 year of practical work in Japan can all be fitted into the 2 years of the course — is screened strictly.
A certificate is essential from the graduate school in your home country, confirming that it agrees to keep the enquirer lawfully on its register as an enrolled student (or as a student on leave of absence) during the internship in Japan. This may be a certificate of enrolment or a letter approving the internship.
Proving an academic connection between your research theme and the work you will do in Japan makes a strong argument.
The ordinance criteria for 特定活動9号 state that the internship must be "carried out as part of the studies at the foreign university, on the basis of an arrangement (a contract) between that university and the accepting body in Japan, and for credits or as a requirement for graduation".
For a postgraduate student, it makes a strong argument to the screening officer if you can prove "a high-level academic connection and synergy between your own research theme (the subject of your master's thesis) and the work you will do at the Japanese company", rather than credits earned simply by sitting and listening to lectures.
Because the research is more specialised than an undergraduate's, if the work at the accepting company is seen as unskilled labour such as "plain clerical work" or "light work on site", there is a risk of denial on the ground that it does not match the educational level of a graduate school.
It must of course be at or above the minimum wage, and an amount equal to or above that of Japanese employees is said to be desirable.
The pay for an internship must, as a matter of course, be "at or above the minimum wage". On top of that, an amount equal to or above that of Japanese employees (or of Japanese postgraduate interns) is said to be desirable.
The enquirer is a postgraduate student who has already graduated from university with a bachelor's degree. The accepting company should therefore not set the pay at the hourly rate of an ordinary student part-timer, but should set out in the employment contract (the internship contract) a proper amount of pay that matches a background of a university degree and enrolment at a graduate school, whether expressed as a monthly salary or an hourly rate.
4 groups of documents: from the graduate school in your home country, the contract between the company and the graduate school, the contract between the company and you, and the plan drawn up by the company.
To make an application for 特定活動9号 succeed with certainty, careful preparation of documents is needed among the 3 parties: the accepting company in Japan, the graduate school in your home country, and you.
Where a long internship of 1 year is done within the short enrolment period of a master's course, the most important thing in practice is to prove, step by step, that the plan fits the curriculum of the graduate school in your home country (its standard course length), so that no doubt arises that the enrolment is "in name only".
A master's course is generally short at 2 years, so where 1 of those years is spent on an internship in Japan, whether attending lectures and writing and defending a master's thesis can be combined with it is screened strictly. 特定活動告示第9号 also sets an upper limit on the period — 「一年を超えない期間で、かつ、通算して当該大学の修業年限の二分の一を超えない期間内」 (a period not exceeding 1 year and, in total, within a period not exceeding one half of the standard length of the course at the university concerned) — and on a master's course with a standard length of 2 years, 1 year sits exactly on that limit.
No. For 特定活動9号 it is an absolute condition that you are enrolled at a foreign university (or graduate school), so an application on a schedule under which you would complete the course during the internship is not accepted.
High-level work with an academic connection to the research theme is desirable (research and development, marketing, technical work and so on). If it is seen as unskilled labour such as plain clerical work or light work on site, there is a risk of denial on the ground that it does not match the educational level of a graduate school.
The most recent certificate of enrolment, a document proving that the internship is part of the graduate school course (counting for credits or as a requirement for completing the course), and a letter of approval from the university approving travel to Japan and the 1-year internship.
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This page is a translation of the Japanese original. Where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails.