[Nyororin]

As a foreign student, you would not be held to the same academic standards for entry as the normal Japanese students. Entrance exams become a moot point as unless you already have some sort of valid visa, you`re only going to be able to attend as a foreign exchange student. This means that the concerns of the other posters in regard to the entrance exams aren`t really valid.

However, there are a few points that you don`t seem to have hit upon.

No matter what your level of fluency, as a foreign student with a student visa - you`ll be held to the same financial requirements as an exchange student. This means having the money in advance, etc etc. That would not necessarily be cheaper than a formal exchange program. In the end, you pretty much need to have ALL the money in advance, with piles left over for show.

They may not give you permission to work. This is really up to the school and the sponsor of your visa. If they think that work is likely to interfere with your studies, they don`t have to give you permission. You could end up in a position where you cannot legally earn any money while in Japan. Even if you were able to get permission, the government doesn`t like the idea of students possibly running out of money while attending school and being unable to pay their fees, so you will still need all of that in advance.

Working to earn extra money is one thing, but working to simply be able to afford the schooling in the first place is *not* an acceptable plan.

I do believe that the fluency in one year is quite possible - but not under normal circumstances. And it would be pretty hard to pull off outside of Japan. Maybe an intensive immersion course? Either way, the clock is ticking, and when it comes to language acquisition time is not on your side. If you haven`t hit some level of fluency at 16 or 17, it gets increasingly more difficult to do so at a very high speed. The younger you are, the better, which is why small children can learn to speak a different language in no time.