From China
Kyoto Campus / Intermediate III-1
Shougeido Co Ltd (Entrepreneurship)
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Ying Li. I am from Shanghai, China. Before coming to Japan, I studied at Bournemouth University, MA Multimedia Journalism in the UK. Since graduation, I have been working in the theater and have been in contact with artists from all over the world. However, I have always loved Japan and always dreamed of living and working in Japan, so I decided to study in Japan.
Why did you choose Kyoto as your study destination?
I believe that everyone has a place outside of their hometown where they feel a spiritual home, and on my first trip to Kyoto in 2012, I found this city to be such a comforting place for me.
It was also by chance that I enrolled in the Kyoto school. When I first saw ISI's website, I knew it was a large and decent school, so I applied for admission. Just around January 2021, Japan temporarily opened its borders, so I was able to enter the country during that time.
How is your learning experience at ISI?
When I first came to Japan, my Japanese was at a zero level and I could not even greet people in Japanese. I also did not understand what the clerk at the convenience store was saying. ISI's direct teaching method and learning each skill of Japanese in a well-balanced manner helped me a lot to solidify the foundation of my Japanese language skills.
ISI has many exams and J-test can be taken at the school. When you reach a certain period of study, you can take the test to objectively measure your Japanese language skills.
Can you share your experience of starting a business in Japan?
I have been involved in theater production all over the world for many years, but this job allows me to work wherever I am because I keep in touch with artists in different countries mainly by phone and e-mail. I would like to continue working in this industry after coming to Japan, and I would also like to explore new markets. For example, I would like to help foreign artists to come to Japan, or help Japanese artists to expand their business overseas.
The most difficult part of starting a business was the issue of changing visas. Initially, we considered changing from a student visa to an entrepreneur visa. In that case, I would be able to establish a company after obtaining the visa. So I made a lot of inquiries to the government agency in Kyoto, and the career teacher at the Kyoto school was very helpful and gave me a lot of advice. However, I later found out that it takes a very long time to be examined for a business start-up visa, so I decided to change my visa status to a business administration visa and applied for the visa change after setting up my company first.
There are many risks and hardships involved in the process of starting a business, but I have no regrets because it is a privilege to be able to do what I love where I love.
Please give a message to younger students who are considering studying in Japan.
If you have decided to study in Japan because you like Japan, experience Japan from as many different angles as possible outside of your studies.
I have lived in Europe, but what I found when I came to Japan is that Japan is a very unique country. To understand the unique atmosphere and national character of Japan requires not only mastery of the Japanese language, but also the ability to infer the subtle moods and meanings of the speakers. This is something my teacher repeatedly emphasized in Japanese class.
