Hidetaka Ohara Meiji University

H Ohara's Labo's page. This page does not represent Institional policy.

Last Update 9 January, 2023.

Hidetaka OHARA
Professor, Department of Commerce, Meiji University.
(NOT a Business School, but an ordinary graduate school only for academic research.
You cannot get MBA degree here. See below NOTE 2, in detail.)
This laboratory is especially ONLY for ACADEMIC researchers, NOT for practitioners. If you want to get hired in Japanese firm or carrier up, you have to go to Business School to get MBA degree, not here (See below NOTE 2, in detail.)

NOT Finance laboratory, but Monetary section
I am now a sociologist (different from an economics), not an economist nor an economic scholar (KEIZAIGAKUSHA).
But based on what I have accumulated as a specialist, I will teach abstract mathematical modeling for monetary economy in this graduate school.
There is no foreign student in this laboratory in these years.

WARNING: I reject all prior interviews or correspondances before the entrance exam passing because the entrance exam must be fair. This criterion is the same as the Japanese undergraduate exam.
I never meet you, an applicant before the entrance exam.
If you e-mail me before you passed the entrance exam, you fails because of the unfair behaviour. If you do not know research topic matching, it means that you are unable to study in research Graduate School. You must study top level of undergraduate at that research topic in undergraduate days. If so, you should go to Business School anywhere.

Almost no study opportunity for Fin-Tech in this labo. see below in detail.
For venture finance, entrepreneurship, there is also almost no study opportunity here. see two blocks below in detail.

Very good news for US immigration: The new president says that foreign PhD graduates in US automatically receive a green card, Permanent Residency! US green card has the invaluable value.
US New immigration policy
Canadaian Graduate schools have resemble system. Go to North America.
In Japan, doctors have no relationship to Premanent Residensy.

Notes for Daigakuin Graduate Level このページは、大学院レベルの学習、明治大学大学院商学研究科マネタリーエコノミクス部門について、英語で書いてあります。私の場合、大学学部と大学院の教育内容が全く異なります。
ディベートや実務、就活行事は学部ゼミのみで、大学院のこの研究室では行いません！聴講も認めません！
大学院は純粋学問的貨幣哲学のみ。
大学院のみのシラバスなどをよく読んで、学部の教育内容と混同しないこと！
(For undergraduate education, please see undergraduate seminar web page
普通の大学・学部教育の情報は、全く異なるので、学部ゼミのページをご覧ください。)

Others: JT 2590, Honda moters 2000, Panasonic 1000, Kinki travel agents 1376, LIXIL home facities maker 1200.
1) Japanese financial industry suffers. Three big Mega banks in Japan cut over 31,000 jobs.
The top mage bank Mitsubishi UFJ bank will shutdown 40 per cent of all branches in Japan.
Once ever the world largest apparel comany RENOWN has bankruted. Thousoudns of people's jobs has been lost.
The top travel agents comany H.I.S. will shutdown 2/3 of all branches. Almost of Japanese company cuts wages and bonus because of Covid crisis.

ANA All Nippon Airways cut 3500 jobs. They stop recruitment of Cabin Crew. Fomer Crews are forced to work for Toyota or Service shops.
LCC Air Asia Japan has been bankrupt.
Big restaurant chain Skylark will shut down 200 shops.
Music lavel abex cuts one forth of regular workers.
The largest travel agent JTB will cut 6500jobs, close 115 shops 78 billion loss.
LIXIL will cut 1200 jobs. Hitachi Metals 3200; Leopalace21 1000; Coca Cola 900; Family mart 800; Citizens 750.

NOTICE: You CANNOT study Fin-Tech nor Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin nor Cashless in this graduate school labo. If you study Fin-Tech, you must go to other countries graduate schools (Stanford Univ and MIT have built Bitcoin special program including information science Block-chain techonology. Stanford starts program of Crypto Currencies: Bitcoin and Friends at Graduate Master Level. )
Japanese Cashless economy is far behind China and asian countries. No learning. In Japan, even credit card does not prvail. Some shops rejects Credit card, cash only.
You must study Information Science including bloch-chain programming for Fin-tech, not in this labo or Business program, so you must enter into dual degree program both economics and information science. US research universities have this condition, but Japanese University never has this condition.
And MIT builds Faculty of Artificial Intelligence by 1 billion dollars!

CONTENTS (working)
NOTE1:　Master thesis theme cannot be finance or securities analysis in this laboratory. If you want to learn finance in general, in vague, you have to go to Business school, other laboratory, other University, or other country.
pre-requisite: you must graduate undergraduate university in the economics or finance major at the highest S grade.
Canada is the best country for you to immigrate! as below

Business school is completely different from this academic graduate school.

If you want to learn finance IN GENERAL to get permanent job in finance industry, you may NOT go to an academic graduate school, BUT you must go to business school, or graduate school of management, Meiji University Business School , or in other University, or in other country (USA, Canada, UK are the best for the financial job, see below).
This class is belongs to Department of Commerce, Meiji University.
It is NOT a Business School, but an ordinary graduate school only for academic research.
You cannot get MBA degree here. See below NOTE 2, in detail.)
This laboratory is especially ONLY for ACADEMIC researchers, NOT for practitioners. If you want to get hired in Japanese big firm or carrier up, you have to go to Business School to get MBA degree, not here (See below NOTE 2, in detail.)

MBA(Master of business administration) from business school is the strongest wild card to get jobs in large company, in Japan, academic (except science or engineering) master degree has almost no impact on getting job in Japan. Rather, graduate school has disadvantage for job getting in Japanese big companies !
1) In Japan, except science and engineering(Master degree effective), Japanese big company has the custom to employ new undergraduates all at once in the spring of the 4th year of the undergraduate in very peculiar way. So you severly take disadvantage, that is to say, almost no job if you go to graduate school in the humanities major; bad news, in Japan, business and economics belong to humanities major. So if you want to get jobs in Japanese big company by any means, you had better go to UNDERGRADUATE economics or business department.
A part of list of Universities that accept a college transfer regardless of your major is below.
Not all inclusive list. You must check them by your self university by university, year by year.
And more, if you go to graduate school in Japan, you have to do recruiting activity in the first year. You have not changed in such a short period. Japanese graduate school class ordinary reads an English academic book by one year.
Or you had better change to Information Technology area. IT is the best method to immigrate because it is clear that you prove your ability and it is common in the world. Nowadays only firm's demand for IT engineer continues to increase. You can learn Information Technology course of world top Stanford University via MOOCs, online university course system.
MOOCS
A) National university
Kyoto University, Osaka Univ, Nagoya Univ, Kyushu Univ, Tohoku Univ, Kobe Univ, Hiroshima Univ, Okayama Univ, Ochanomizu Women Univ, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tsukuba Univ
B) Private University
Waseda University, Sophia Univ, ICU, Rikkyo Univ, Hosei Univ, Oubirin Univ, Doshisha Univ, Kansai Univ, Ryukoku Univ, Nanzan Univ, Seinan-Gakuin Univ and so on ...

Rather, like Sharp electric company, we only hear job cutting news as below. Japan is the desperate country. Law-suite TAKATA air bag comapny went bankrupt. Many permanent over 10,000 jobs were lost. If illegal Toshiba electric comapny go bankrupt, 100,000 jobs will be lost. Kobe steel, Nissan automobile, Subaru automobile and so on. Even Japanese manufactualing become inferior. Japanese economy is in the terminal disease, its desperate.

Mitubishi UFJ financial Group cuts about 10,000 jobs. Mizuho Finacial group cuts about 19,000 jobs. The big three banks cuts 32,000 jobs in a year or two.
MacDonald Japan 200 shops closed. KAPPA Sushi 50 shops closed. KOZO Sushi chain 100 shops closed. KOBE RANPU TEI restourat all shops closed. Lawson convenience Store chain 260 shops closed. WORLD apparel stores 500 shops closed. Yamada Electoric Stores 60 shops closed. Kojima Electoric Stores 50 shops closed. ITOH-YOHKADO general merchandise store 40 shops closed. AEON general merchandise store 100 shops closed. UNI general merchandise store 100 shops closed. SEIBU-SOGO Department store 40 shops closed. WATAMI BAR 85 shops closed. TOKYO CHIKARA MESHI restrant chain closed all 100 shops in JAPAN. Even the convenience stores Circle-K thanks closed 1000 stores! Karaoke bar Shidax　115 shops closed. The top delux department store MITSUKOSHI suddenly closed Chiba branch and TAMA center branch.
TOSHIBA cuts 10000 employees. SONY cuts 2100 employees in mobile section. Sharp Electric has been bought by Taiwan Company. SANYO ELCTRIC disappear. Yokokawa Electric cuts 1105. TANABE PHARMA cuts 2550. HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINARY cuts over age 35 JT cuts 1754 employees. Assics shoes cuts 350.

In academic graduate school, you have to write long, long, Master Thesis, but for business school, you have not to write a Master Thesis. In academic graduate school, the maximum object is to write an academic high level paper, so usually, you read the academic book and report the progress of your Master Thesis to the professor. To write an academic high level paper, you have to read one hundred of academic papers by yourself. In Japanese academic graduate school, one class has only one student, you have to make a presentation every week. It's so hard. It is very, very time consuming, so you cannot take classes in other field such as international trade for basic knowledge.
Business school is good for you, really for carrier up, you learn mainly in the form of lectures basics of business management in general, including finance, marketing, management strategy, accounting, human management. In business school, you have no pre-requisite of undergraduate economics or finance major. You can learn from the zero. In business school, curriculum is very practical, not abstract. Lectures are "case" of real firm's management strategy of TOYOTA motors or 7-11 stores. You surely are interested in them.

NOTE1 : In this laboratory, Master thesis theme is limited to the philosophy of Money including criticism to the Quantity Theory of Money,
NEVER on Finance. This class treats only an economic mathematical modeling in abstract form, not treating real Japanese firm’s data nor management.
This laboratory’s theme is absolutely different from finance area or securities analysis area.
Therefore, you cannot get job at Japanese Securities Company after you graduated from this laboratory.

This laboratory’s theme is absolutely different from Fin-techs, Cryptocurrency, bit coin, cashless, electoronic money and so on.
This laboratory requires you as a pre-requisite that you must graduate undergraduate university in the economics or finance major and you must be an honors student. Other majors such as Department of Japanese Language, Japanese cultural study are not permitted. Those whose majors are NOT economics or finance should go to Graduate School of Arts and Letters in Japanese Universities. It is consistent.
In graduate school level, continuation and consistency of your study area is severely needed. If so and you want to change to economics major, you had better get GAKUSHI NYUGAKU , you can get 3rd, 4th year undergraduate economics education without repeating Language or Liberal Arts subjects classes. Unfortunately, this university has no GAKUSHI NYUGAKU system now. Please go to other Universities. For you to work for Japanese large companies absolutely, KEIO Uni is the best The almni Mita-kai dominates in Japanese economy, Weekly Diamond May 28, 2016

In addition, This laboratory requires you the recommendation letter in the global standard, that is Hayashi criterion, the most prominent macroeconomist, that shows your ability in economics major strictly objectively. only in Japanese. If your professor tells a lie, you will fail in exam. your professor fully takes resposibility for your recommendation letter. The writer of your recommendation letter must be an economics professor and who teaches economics or finance in few members seminar and knows you well in education. Professor who only teachs you in massive class will not do! and Japanese Language teacher will not do.
In addition, This laboratory requires you the undergraduate graduation thesis. You must bring the thesis in original and Japanese abstract at the oral examination. Thesis is limited to economics or finance. Other area such as pychology or architecture will not do ! Here is the top level research graduate school, If your major is other than economics or finance, You must first get the economics undergraduate prosses in your conuntry or in Japan.
Severe News! 1) From 2015, you must submit master thesis progress report by March in the first year in this graduate school, this is because under the pressure of JIKOTENKEN mutual evaluation of universities, there is bad situation that many foreign students cannot write master thesis on the second year. The progress report, in case, has the form of half of master thesis that is over 40,000 Japanese characters. So, more and more, you have to study advanced level of economics and finance before you take the entrance exam.
It is too late if you think you manage to study after you enter the graduate school.

In the entrance exam documents, the recommendation letter must be written in English by international level economists or finance scholars who guarantee your ability in economics and finance at their own responsibility.
It's not just an introductory letter of you. Your Japanese Language teacher's recommendation is NOT permitted because the recommendation is needed for the certificate of your ability in economics and finance major whether you can catch up graduate level study. For example, the statements by Japanese language teacher's saying that you are eager to live in Japan or you are earnest to learn Japanese language have NO MEANING for graduate school level entrance exam. And Meiji University's professor CANNOT be your family's VISA supporter in rule because only you are permitted to purely study in Japan after the entrance exam. Meiji University formally forbid the professors to be your family's VISA supporter. You should know it.
Seminar talked language is Japanese only, but in Japan, text books are in English. Your ability to translate English text into Japanese is absolutely needed. Always translation into Japanese makes graduate level study in Japan for coming from abroad students very, very inefficient. You had better study finance directly in English elsewhere. See Note 5 below in detail.
This laboratory is NOT on Finance nor Asset Pricing of stock prices nor foreign exchange rates, nor Securities Analysis, nor Corporate Finance, nor Financial Institutions, nor Banking Sector nor Venture company finance, nor Financial Regulation, nor Contract Theory nor any Monetary Policy Matters nor recent inflations in emerging countries.

My class does NOT treat your country monetary system, nor monetary policy, nor inflation, nor their comparison study with Japan and so on. For these matters, you must study in the education of your own countriy's economic professor, who are familiar with them. Now you can easily get the statements and research papers of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy via the Internet. You have no reason to come to Japan to study for them. In contrast, I do NOT know your own country's real system. So, you cannot make the Master thesis for it. You must love your own country. You should contribute to your own country as soon as possible in your country.

There is almost no study opportunity for Fin-Tech in Japan. Japan is far behind in Fin-Tech's innovation and practice. Japan is still a cash economy, even credit cards cannot be used in the town. In this point, Japan is far behind China, where electoric payment prevail. You CANNOT study Fin-Tech in this graduate school, too. There is no class and teaching staff that teaches Fin-Tech in this graduate school. If you study Fin-Tech in Japan, you must go to other countries graduate schools such as US and Europe. If I am forced to mention study opportunities for Fin-Tech in Japan, you must go to Hitotsubashi ICS business school or Keio University in Japan, that have formal Fin-Tech lectures in Japan, for the fomer the associate professor, Noma, Mikiharu Laboratory and the latter Nakatsuma, Teruo Labolatory, please contact:
Keio Univ Nakatsuma Labo web page in English
Histotsubashi MBA program has some FIN-TECH lectures in it.
Hitotsubashi MBA Univ Fin-tech web page sorry only in Japanese
For Hitotsubashi ICS business school, see below.

Therefore, I will NOT accept students pursuing these topics, please find other professors somewhere. There are many, many hidden good professors in Japan, and even more in the world. See below.
The following is very, very important for all applicants for graduate school. You had better select graduate school by whether there is professor that is fit for your specified research theme in the pin point, NEVER select graduate school by rating of University's name. Applicants from abroad MUST thoroughly search for and select the appropriate thesis supervisor professor SHIDO KYOJU 指導教授
that is the best fit for your research topic in the pinpoint. Or you will fail in MENSETSU SHIKEN, an oral examination after you passed the paper test in Japanese graduate entrance exam system. The oral examination is NOT an interview, that is, you will be also questioned the advanced undergraduate level of monetary economics and macroeconomics in Japanese. And you CANNOT change thesis supervisor professor SHIDO KYOJU 指導教授
after you enter the graduate school in Japanese system.

Here Meiji Commerce, there are several professors whose specialties are NOT finance BUT monetary economics and so on in Monetary and Finance division in Meiji Commerce.
Again, at graduate school level, finance and monetary economy are completely different. And if you learn the basic knowledge on KINYU or finance broadly in general from the begining, you must go to Business school or undergradute. The role is completely different.
Meiji University has Business School as an independent professional school.
See and check carefully again for pin-point speciality, Graduate School of Commerce Money and Securities section Faculty list (sorry, Japanese web page).

There is no professor who was former investment banker, nor, fund manager, stock analyst, nor, foreign exchange dealer in Monetary and Finance division in Meiji Commerce. There is no connection to the finance industry in Japan. Here, again, this graduate school is NOT a business school. You should not expect any practical training on finance.
And about among all Japanese universities how to find the appropriate thesis supervisor professor, for example finance, see the web link list below.
Anywhere, you should thoroughly read all Universities' Faculty web pages in the destination country. And you must read each hypothetical supervisor professor's graduate level syllabus (lecture plan and information).
(As for Meiji's syllabus, Oh! Meiji System. click the bottom second ``Class Web'', click Guest name: guest, pass: guest sorry, almost in Japanese only)
Never be confused with the undergraduate classes. For example, we NEVER do debate education in the graduate classes.
Be cautious that in the graduate level other than undergraduate level, specialty is very, very narrow and strict; pinpoint fitting is the most important.
NOTE2: This laboratory is especially ONLY for ACADEMIC researchers, NOT for practitioners. If you want the latter, you should go to Business School to get MBA degree! This is an ACADEMIC Graduate School, where you cannot get MBA degree nor you cannot be taught how to do business, that is, NEVER a Professional School or Business School.

If your object is career up in financial practice or you want to get practical financial knowledge broadly and efficiently, you must go to Business School even if they are with high tuition.
You must not think of this academic graduate school as a substitute for business school with low tuition. You cannot get practical knowledge in this division in this graduate school. You will lose two years time and two years tuition.
Because this graduate school is for an academic research, you cannot graduate if you cannot write and submit long, long, Master thesis with over 40,000! Japanese characters academic professional level. In business school, you need not to write such a master thesis.
This thing is completely different from business school and writing a formal academic paper is surprisingly very time consuming. You must read very many, many academic papers for it. You consume every time for master thesis on the second year. There is no Master thesis obligation in business school. It's completely different.
So, you should save money and go to practical "real" business school.
In Japan, Waseda Finance school(see below) is said to be the best business school for financial practice. See below, in detail.
In Japan, evening school is NEVER a sign of low education level for a working class, rather, e.g. Waseda Finance school has very high education level in Japan, because quality of students is high, the first class financial company's employee such as Merrill Lynch and Nomura securities come to Waseda finance school because the recommendation entrance exam system from famous company is effective. This thing in Japan is very different from Evening school business school in your countries.
Meiji also has the Meiji Business School in the form of the other institution, an independent graduate school. This graduate school has no relation to Meiji business school; there is no credit transfer system between here to Meiji business school; you CANNOT attend business school classes from this labo.
And you can also get Master of Business Administration at
graduate school of Business Administration in Meiji University.
The Graduate School of Business Administration Meiji is a good choice for those who study finance. Especially, for corporate finance, it’s applied themes, M&A and "structured finance" and factoring, there is a good professor, Prof. Sakamoto, TsuneoSorry in Japanese.
Prof. Nakanishi, Mitsugu teaches derivatives such as futures and options, and trust and ABS in "Risk Management" A Class. see Graduate School Syllabus at Oh! Meiji System Id: guest, Pass: guestSorry for that the final contents are in Japanese only.

profile of Prof. NAKANISHI, Mitsugu

Prof. NAKANISHI, MitsuguSorry in Japanese.
In addition, there are many good financial accounting professors
Faculty list of Graduate school of Business Administration in Meiji University in English.
For you to make a venture company, that is, if you want to be an entrepreneur, There is almost no study opportunity for entrepreneurship in Japan. In this graduate school, there is no class nor no teaching staff for it.
In general, almost all Japanese students want NOT to be an an entrepreneur because they hate to take risks ever. Environment and support for the entrepreneurship in Japan is the worst in the OECD world. Number of entrepreneurship is also the worst in the OECD countries. In contrast, NZ is good for entrepreneurship. From the start, there is almost no teaching staff who has experience of being an entrepreneur in Japanese Universities.
You had better go to U.S.A for entrepreneurship. Why do not you go to Babson College that is the top specialized business school for entrepreneurship. See below about this business school in detail.

If I am forced to mention, in Japan, top laboratory for both academics and practice is Kobe University, Kutsuna, Kenji Laboratory, Kutsuna, Kenji Laboratory in Kobe University top page.
Kutsuna, Kenji Laboratory in Kobe University English cv.
and among Business Schools in Japan, relatively thinking, WASEDA Business School (both full time program and evening program), and RIKKYO University Business School are said to have a good environment for entrepreneurship (possibility of human connections).
For more better, in the midst of Silicon Valley, Stanford Business School and University of Berkeley Haas School of Business, the latter undergraduate level statistics, Asian students are the highest share. (To digress, most of finance professors in University of San Francisco seem to have Chinese related names).

NOTE3: And only limited to this laboratory restriction, you can get only master degree at most and you CANNOT get doctor degree in this laboratory because of my qualification.
It is of course very, very difficult for you to get Master degree in this laboratory.
There is ever no one who has got master degree or doctor degree in this laboratory.
Again, you CANNOT change thesis supervisor professor SHIDO KYOJU 指導教授
after you enter the graduate school in Japanese system.

You cannot get MBA (Master of Business Administration) or DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) in this graduate school, Meiji Commerce.
This is an academic school and its only objective is to seek the truth, neither for career up nor for making money. You can get at most Master of Commerce, or Doctor of Commerce as a Japanese academic certificate, not an international certificate.
It takes time at least Five years to get Doctor degree in Japanese system, its sequential, after Master, next doctorial program (in U.S.. It starts the doctor program, its standard years are Four and it is flexible up to your ability.) : at least two years for Master Degree (recently many students takes more years) and there is the entrance exam for Doctor Program (academic English paper exam and very strict oral examination on your Master thesis), Most of students take Six years or more to get Doctor degree recently, counting from master years, it takes eight years.

About half of applicants fail this strict exam, and at least three years for Doctor Degree (recently most students takes more and more years).
In this graduate school, you can got only "Doctor of Commerce", not PhD, nor Doctor of Business Administration, those have global standard value.
From 2014, you can get DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) at Meiji Business School. You need not submit Master thesis to go to doctor program there. That is a business school for your career up.

NOTE4: In this class, you absolutely need ability of mathematics for economic modelling, that is fairly different from mathematics for finance.

NOTE 5: Japanese language inefficiency and peculiar Japan: Because finance study and finance in Japan are still limited to "imported study" from US and Europe. in Japan, graduate school level study usually uses English textbooks or English academic journal papers or Japanese translated text from English. However, class room language is Japanese including presentation handout that students must make. That is because Japanese students are very poor at English, especially English conversation. So, Japanese translation must be intervened in all times in your study. this is called "imported study" from US and Europe. That makes your finance study in Japan very inefficient.
Fortunately, Japanese science education is very good.

And tokyo's summer is too severe to live. High temperature 35 degree and in additon!, Japanese summer is unconfortable because humidity level is also very, very high. What is even worse, many people die from heat stroke every year. Tokyo's people sweat a lot only for a walk between buildings. Tokyo's summer is more unconfortable than Singapore, right on the equator, but less humidity. That is because heat island phenomenon, Tokyo is surrounded by concrete buildgings. There are less parks, river and canal left in Tokyo. Recently, in the evening, there are many concentrated heavy rains. Trains stop.
In the fall, typhoons attack Japan with heavy rains. Air planes stop and many inconvenience. And tokyo's winter is too dry to live. It is drier than Cairo, the desert African Egiptian capital city. It makes Women's skin get old severely.

In addition, even temporary sightseeing people should not come to Japan in summer and September. It will be held in Japanese most hottest period. There are hundreds of death people because of heat shock every year. Japanese mid summer is more hot and incomfortable than in Singapore. See below in detail. There are Typhoon atacks in Japanese summer and autumn. There are many floods in Tokyo. In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis (19 go) attacked TOKYO, TAMA river was broken down. Sumida river was about to broken down. It was crasy plan for sports festibal. The first TOKYO olympic was held in October in 1964.

Japan is in a crisis in every mean in the long-run, though it is hidden. You cannot find it only via news or travel. There are frequent earthquakes in Japan. Typhoon attacks Japan with huge damages. June 2018, the center of western Japan, OSAKA city was hit by heavy earthquake. City functions were collapsed.
KYUSHU district attacked by big rain with many victims.

In school system, you HAD BETTER study finance directly in U.S. as an undergraduate. Finance research level at Japanese Univerity is far behind the global level. Even if nominally in system, it is said that you can get the degree by only taking Enlgish spoken couses, really, Japanese professor's English is very poor and noisy. You cannot get real contents of finance. It will be lost of your time and money.
Japanese are very poor at finance. Japanese banks only do very local business, though Japanese are only good at Manufacuring. If you feel deverve studying in Japan only in the area of Manufacturing, Production Management, such as Toyota and Honda. High qualtiy goods.
If you go to U.S. graduate school as a bachelor, you need only one academic recommendation letter (in case, one company boss's recommendation letter in addition). But if you once go to master program in Japan, in case from graduate school to graduate school, you need THREE academic recommendation letters, it is very hard because in graduate level, it is very difficult to get high grade recommendation from professors. The professors who write recommendations must be internationally well-known in academic research. Quality of recommendation is very important for U.S. top school. Not only that you get high evaluation, but also the writer's academic position in international academics must be high, that is, the professors must be continue to be active in International finance academy.
And even worse, most of Japanese graduate schools have not got the international accreditation, so you cannot count the credits transfer got in the Japanese master program to the U.S. graduate school. You must start as a first year in US.
And to enter the US top graduate school, it would be short cut if you enter in undergraduate level in the continuation. US university has very flexible, for example, even if you enter the agricultural university in US, if you get the excellent grade, you can enter into Stanford University at third year,
And you may go to Canadian undergraduate business school because no SAT exam is needed, national university with low tuition, the best for immigration, the universities have many internship programs with real companies, so employment rate is very high. Canada is a country of immigration and English language spoken. See below, York University, in detail. You can get two years priority work permit VISA after you have graduated from Canadian University.

To go to English educated graduate schools, you have to get high score in TOEFL test, Harvard Business school alumni recommend the follwoing TOEFL books with CD audio.
1) Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test Preparation Course: iBT (2E) by Phillips
2) Official Guide to the TOEFL Test With CD-ROM, 4th Edition (Official Guide to the Toefl Ibt)2012/8/8 Educational Testing Service
3) for Japanese students for outbound study abroad.
TOEFL test EITANGO 3800, 4th edition, OUBUNSHA, 2014.

List of finance specialized graduate school
1) Wealth Management Institute in Singapore. (WMI)
Very unique business school that is specialized in practical finance and Wealth Management. It seems to be the optimal school for those who would become fund manager, financial analyst, trader, dealer, and private banker because its education is very, very practical.

2) Another private banker education program is Swiss Finance Institute. Swiss is the top country of private bank. There is also PhD program.
Swiss Finance Institute

3) Golden Gate University, in San Francisco in US
very practical, Master of Finance, Financial analyst, fund manager program. There is also online distant learning program.

4) Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia.
Business School specialized in finance area. There are strong hungry spirits, study even in holidays to beat Harvard!

5) Stern School of Business, New York University. It is located in the center of New York, that has Wall Street, the world financial center. It is called Business School of Wall Street. Many Wall Street practitioners come to teach here. It teaches the latest and practical matter in finance.

Two business school famous for their unique finance practical programs, in which students can make your portfolio in REAL BIG MONEY (that comes from donation and sponsoring) as fund managers!!
6) MBA in Applied Security Analysis Program (ASAP), Wisconsin School of Business

7) The Carlson Funds Enterprise, The Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota
8) Roger Williams University (north-east of NY city) has also has real big money portfolio management practice course.
Center for Advanced Financial Education (CAFE) Portfolio Management, Roger Williams University
In the US, other business school have real money investment program with rich money without mentioned. For example, https://www.brandeis.edu/global/"> Brandeis University International Business School in Boston.
In contrast, I never heard of Japanese university program with real big money management and such a practical investment management project with tutorial by fund professional because Japanese universities have poor money, less donation, either national or private. Jananese Universities become poor and poor because of financial difficulity and heavy cut by government.

Therefore, you HAD BETTER study finance directly in English even in Asian campus of U.S. and U.K. and European Universities.

one of the top U.S. Business school Chicago Business School Singapore Campus. Chicago Business School is famous for its competency in finance area.

one of the top International Business school INSEAD (French, but all classes are talked in English.) Singapore Campus.

U.S. one of the top school Yale University Singapore Campus.

U.S. one of the top school Duke University Singapore Campus. New link to new site.

one of the top schools U.K. Nottingham University Malaysia Campus.

Monash University Malaysia, superb of the Capital city Kuala Lumpur, All classes in English
Australian Melbourne based excellent university Monash University has also campus in Asia.

Singapore, the financial center city, originally has founded very competitive business schools.
NUS Business School MBA course.
Singapore National University's Business School has overwhelming facilities for study, compared to Japanese Universities that are very poor. Singapore National University has full of money and scholar ship without refund type, from all Asian capitalists funding among Taiwan. You can go to India as a business internship with business class air ticket and four star hotel accommodations!
Singapore National University is higher than Tokyo University in ranking. NUS has alliance with Harvard University.

There are many good business schools in Hong Kong. HKUST Business School and CEIBS become more and more popular. Their world ranking become up and up. They have close connection with UBS bank and Morgan Staley and Microsoft

And now many, many Asian elites are gathering to Australian Universities, because of its close geography, and its English high quality education and low tuition to U.S. University.
Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM, Univ of New South Wales)
It is the first rank business school in Asia-Pacific region (included Japan). There are many Asian elite students. Other Australian and New Zealand Business School have high rank and good education training.
Univ of New South Wales Master of Finance Program There is neither nuclear power plant nor possibility of big earthquake in Australia.

Now, there are world top rank English based Business Schools in China Mainland.
In addition, you have a chance to learn live Chinese language. Chinese Language is very difficult to learn because of pronunciation, that is, Chinese language has four or five sound tones, and sound tone is different from intonation of European Languages. You must learn over five thousands characters. The author of "Investment Biker", Jim Rogers had moved to Singapore from NY for his daughter to learn Chinese, 21st century's main language.
1) Pecking University HSBC Business School (Beijing University)
[HSBC is the top banking corporation in the world, based in U.K. London.] All classes are taught in English. Almost all teaching staffs have PhD in U.S. and European Universities. This fact is superior to any Japanese University.

2) Tsinghua University Business School
Tsinghua University is called the top graduate school in various research areas in China. Many courses are talked in English.
There is Master of Finance Program.
Tsinghua University Economics and Management School has relation with U.S. MIT Sloan Business School.
Tsinghua University has alliance with U.S. Harvard Kennedy School.
Tsinghua University English web page

3) Fudan University Finance Department in Shanghai
In china, they say South China's Shanghai Fudan University ranks with North china's Pecking (Beijing) University.
Fudan University's Finance Department is the one of Nation's Strategic Field.

Fudan University English web page

New York University, Shanghai Campus

By contrast, there is no formal business school campus of US top schools in TOKYO because of excessive regulation for foreign university and too high operation cost in Tokyo. Japan is much closed society.

Links for DAIGAKUIN Graduate Finance Programs

Of course, you should study business management in general at U.S. U.K. top business school. U.S. top level business schools are very high in education level and practical training, in which you can get not only MBA (Master of Business Administration) but also DBA (Doctor of Business Administration).

Harvard Business School in Boston.
All mighty no. 1 business school famous for its case method.

In Japan, there are fewer entrepreneurs in young generation and very fewer mentors. Japanese younger generations take no risk to be a big comany's employee. Becaue of choronic depression, very few can success in money making, with probability about 1/1500. There is less venture capital and angels in Japan.
If you want to be an entrepreneur (if you want to found a venture company), you had better go to USA. One of the best business schools is Babson College.
This small school is specialized in entrepreneurship and business training.
Rather than one-way lectures, but training instructed by actively working real succeeded CEOs. Human connection for venture companies is wonderful. This business school is not mass production. Large campus in the superb of Boston. Rich and rich.
There is also undergraduate program.
link to an unofficial information about Babson College in Japanese language. Information for life in Boston.

There are other competitive Business Schools for entrepreneurship.
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. Top rank in US in entrepreneurship area.
There is Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for studying entrepreneurship.
Univerisity of Colgate University is Liberal-arts College with small-group instruction.
It has link to Thought Into Action: the Incubation institution and fund for entrepreneurship.

I recommend you Canadian Universities because almost all universities are national-owned, so tuitions are pretty low, but education level is very high quality. Canada is the beautiful English native country, applicable to the world.
And Canada, that is a country of immigrants from the start, is the best target country of migration for Asian people.
Now the liberal party administration begins to enlargement migration. Canada PM Trudeau increased the budget of childcare. Canada has the second largest land in the world, but the population is only 30,000,000. This administration hired the Indian rooted person for IT minister. The number of ministers is the same between male and female.

The above mentioned Undergraduate Business School without SAT exam, low tuition, with many case method educations. They are the best for foreign students who wish immigration, because they have many, many good internship programs with companies, so employment rate is said to be nearly 100 Per Cent!
1) York University, Schulich School of Business
York University is the middle size excellent school in Canada. Student ratio is very good. It means you must study hard.
York University Undergraduate Business Program. Three years Program.
York University Internship Program, above mentioned
2) Undergraduate Business Program University of Western Ontario (UOWO)
University of Western Ontario, Ivey School of Business, Undergraduate Program

Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto
Toronto is said to be a New York in Canada. The max city in Canada, financial and entertainment business. Toronto is the third largest financial city in North America, after NY, Chicago in US.

McGill University is one of the top three famous in Canada.
Sauder School of Business | University of British Columbia, Vancouver
University of British Columbia is the best school in Vancouver, West coast Canada. It is very near from city centre, but the campus is huge with golf course. Vancouver city is full of Chinese people in the midst of West Coast Canada. There are two China towns, one is downtown, the other is in Richmond.
Simon Fraser University is the high quality university in Vancouver.

In UK, Mater Degree can be got in one year. There are also one year Master of Finance programs. And British Pound exchange rate was down to the historica level, this is the chance to study in U.K.
London Business School, LBS. Too famous!

Cass School of Business, London City University's Business School. It is located in the center of City of London, the world financial center. It teaches practical matter in finance.

Master of Finance, Reading University.
It is located in the west of London. It has very deluxe cyber trading room.

Other General Top level Business Schools

Stanford Business School
It is the PART of Silicon Valley, the world's high-tech area.

Hass School of Business, University of U.C. Berkeley.
It is close to Silicon Valley. It is the top star of state universities in U.S. The tuition is a little cheaper in the US. Harvard and Stanford are the private universities.

Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University.
Kellogg School is famous for its competence of marketing area. It is located in Evanston city, north of Chicago, deluxe residential area.

Chicago Business School, Chicago University.
It also has an Asian Campus in Singapore. See above.

Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College.
Columbia University Business School.
New York.
MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston. Very, very excellent MIT's business school.

Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
Like Harvard, this business school is famous for its case method.
Fuqua School, Duke University
It is academically famous for its high-frequency data financial econometrics.

Yale University, Business School.

Johnson School of Business, Cornell University

UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Los Angels.

Marshall School of Business, USC (University of Southern California) Los Angels.
Foster School of Business, University of Washington.
Seattle, West Coast of US. Seattle is the city of entrepreneurship in which Microsoft and Starbucks Coffee were founded. There is also Undergraduate Program.

Princeton University and Brown University are persistent in academics, so there is no business school there.

Baruch College of The City University of New York
Public University in the New York City
The State University of New York at Stony Brook
Public University in the New York State.

France. ISEAD, the top International Business school in European Continent.
It locates in Paris superb, in the excellent environment among forest. but all classes are taught in English.
HEC business school in Paris.
IESE in Barcelona, Spain. The first MBA program in Europe.
http://www.iese.edu/en/index-default.html

Stockholm School of Economics

OSLO Business school

Copenhagen Business School

Japanese business schools.
Hitotsubashi Univ. Center for Financial Engineering Education 2008 new program. ( Hitotsubashi is a national university, so tuition is very cheep. ) This program is initiated by Graduate School of Economics Hitotsubashi Univ.
Contrary to U.S.A, national universities such as Hitotsubashi, Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, Titech, are superior to private universities in Japan with cheap tuitions.

Hitotsubashi Univ. 2007 new H-MBA Finance Program (in English)
(Hitotsubashi is a national university, so tuition is very cheep. ) This program is initiated by Graduate School of Commerce Hitotsubashi Univ.
Hitotsubashi Univ. 2007 new H-MBA Finance Program (in Japanese)
(Hitotsubashi is a National University, so tuition is very cheep. )

Prof. Misumi

Hitotsubashi Graduate School of Commerce and Management English page

Hitotsubashi Graduate School

Prof. Iwaisako (Harvard PhD)

Hitotsubashi ICS MBA Financial Strategy Program (in English)
(Hitotsubashi ICS MBA is famous for its high level education on Mathematical Finance, Financial Engineering and ``quants''. Hitotsubashi is a National University, so tuition is very, very cheep. Hitotsubashi ICS is specially located at KUDAN, very near to center of Tokyo city and Tokyo financial District. Its school building is very, very deluxe with relax facilities and sports jim for students. Above Hitotsubashi MBA graduate schools are located in KUNITACHI city, very sophisticated suburb of TOKYO. )
NUCA
NUCA MBA program, double accredited internationally. You can get MBA in TOKYO only in the weekend. Also in Nagoya city.

Kobe University MBA (in Japanese)
Kobe Univ. is also a National University, so tuition is very cheep. The first business school in the west district of Japan.
In western Area of Japan, there is less radioactive pollution than in Tokyo or Eastern Japan.
Waseda Business School, Graduate School of Business and Finance starts in 2016.
Waseda Univ. Graduate School of Finance and Waseda Business School(WBS) are unified as above. More comprehensive education is expected. Waseda finance school is famous for its practical finance education and excellent professors; e.g. IKEDA, OHMURA and so on).
Keio Business School (in English) The oldest and most famous business school in Japan. Harvard style ``case method''. Its education quality is guaranteed by its being accredited by US AACSB ( The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).
Finance Prof. Obata's web site

Yokohama National University Business School;in Japanese Yokohama is the 2nd largest city next to Tokyo; that is well known for fashionable port city.

APPENDIX: Record of my educations both Undergraduate and Graduate
Ohara's Class 2016:
Graduate Monetary Theory Monetary philosophy. (NOT finance); (zero student not open)
Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) 117 students
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) 97 students
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 25 students (no foreign student)

Ohara's Class 2015:
Graduate Monetary Theory Monetary philosophy. (NOT finance); (zero student not open)
Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) 164 students
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) 150 students
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 24 students (no foreign student)
Ohara's Class 2014:
Graduate Monetary Theory Monetary philosophy. (NOT finance); (zero student not open)
Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) 175 students
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) 150 students
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 25 students (no foreign student)

Ohara's Class 2013:
Graduate Monetary Theory Monetary philosophy. (NOT finance); (zero student not open)
Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) students
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) students
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 25 students (no foreign student)

Ohara's Class 2012:
Graduate Monetary Theory (NOT finance); (zero student not open)
Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) 185 students
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) 220 students
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 18 students (no foreign student)

Class 2011:
Graduate Monetary Theory (NOT finance); (zero student not open)

Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) 209 students
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) 175 students
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 18 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 25 students (no foreign student)

Class 2010:
Graduate Monetary Theory (NOT finance); (zero student not open)

Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students)(231 students)
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) (163 students)
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade (20 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade (25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade (22 students (no foreign student)

Class 2009:
Graduate Monetary Theory (NOT finance); (zero student not open)

Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students)(564 students)
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students) (184 students)
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 24 students (no foreign student);
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Class 2008:
Graduate Monetary Theory (NOT finance);(zero student not open)
Undergraduate Lecture Principles of Monetary Theory A, B (Introductory Lecture for 1st and 2nd year students) (new!)
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B (for 3rd and 4th year students)
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade (24 students)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 12 students (no foreign student)
Graduate Monetary Theory
Class 2007:
Graduate Monetary Theory seminar (zero student not open) (NOT finance);
Undergraduate Lecture Monetary Theory A, B
Undergraduate Seminar ``FP'' 2nd Grade 25 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 3rd Grade 15 students (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar 4th Grade 2 students (no foreign student)
Graduate Monetary Theory

Class 2006: Graduate Monetary Theory (NOT finance);(zero student not open)
Monetary Theory I, II
Undergraduate Seminar (no foreign student)
Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program) (no foreign student)
Undergraduate Seminar Section II (part time night program. Caution: now night part-time program was closed.

Class 2005: Monetary Theory I, II
Undergraduate Seminar 16 students (no foreign student)
Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program)
Undergraduate Seminar Section II part time night program 2 students (no foreign student)

Class 2004: Monetary Theory
Undergraduate Seminar I 15 students (no foreign student)
Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program)
Undergraduate Seminar II 6 students (no foreign student) (no foreign student)

Class 2003: Monetary Theory
Undergraduate Seminar I 12 students (no foreign student)
Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program)
Undergraduate Seminar II 10 students (no foreign student)

Class 2002: Monetary Theory.
Undergraduate Seminar I (15 students (no foreign student)
Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program)
Undergraduate Seminar II (4 students (no foreign student)
Class 2001: Monetary Theory.
Undergraduate Seminar (14 students (no foreign student) Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program)
Undergraduate Seminar II (3+1 students (no foreign student)
Class 2000: Monetary Theory Lecture
Monetary Theory Section II (part time night program)
Readings in Monetary Theory for Japanese students (no foreign student)
Class 1999: International Monetary Macro
English Readings in International Monetary Economics
Readings in Monetary Theory section 2;for Japanese students, for third year students. (no foreign student)
Readings in Monetary Theory section 2;for Japanese students, for fourth year students. (no foreign student)
Class 1998: International Monetary Macro Section 2
English Readings in International Monetary Economics
Readings in Monetary Theory section 2; for Japanese students, for third year students. (no foreign student)

c.v.