[anrakushi]

ignoring all the financial difficulties etc that you mentioned, because you are going to need some decent financial backing for visa sponsorship, language fluency in 4 years is not a problem if you are dedicated.. but getting into osaka university will not be an easy task. even my friends from malaysia who were fluent in japanese (and 5 other languages mind you) had trouble getting into Ryukoku University which is not a top level university. you are really setting your sights pretty damn high and i commend you for your drive and ambition but remember not to put all your eggs into one basket, look at other education options in Japan and in your own country.

as for the worth of a Japanese university degree.. that is debatable. however being at a top ranking university will certainly put you in a good position for employment in Japan. as for university life, this is an interesting thing and it changes from one program and university to the next. for my friends i made while in university at japan on exchange, they had a pretty easy schooling life, not a lot of work. a lot of emphasis was put on their graduation thesis. many of my friends had the last 6 months of their degree completely empty, they had already completed all required classes for their degree. infact i knew a couple that had finished after 3 years. but a japanese degree must be 4 years so they had to continue paying for that year. >< waste of time if you ask me. but oh well.