Individual Responsibilities of International Students in Japan

All residents in Japan as well as foreigners are oblliged to join the national health insurance system, which covers a substantial part of their medical costs. However, in the case of serious illness or a catastrophic accident they are requested to pay additional, sometime substantial amounts of money. Needless to say it is the responsibility of the individual to prepare for this eventuality. Further, although such instances might be very rare, in the case of death, huge amounts of money are required if repatriation of the remains is necessary. International students are not an exception in this regards. However, some international students, especially Monbusho (Japanese Ministry of Education) scholarship students, are inclined to rely on the relevant institutions such as their university and the Monbusho for all their needs. Their argument is like this: "We are the guests of the Japanese Government. Therefore we have the right to expect all forms of help from the host country, Japan." It is a matter of course that the Monbusho is not obliged to pay more than it promised as stipends. There is naturally a limit to the budget. The university has no budget either for such occaions. International students are expected to prepare for such rainy days. The best solution may be to recommend appropriate insurance to international students. In this paper I introduce the insurance recommended at some American universities and examine suitable insurance systems which are available in Japan