GRAD Schools
 

looking for a school that has a reputation for a good master of Japanese programme.
neither the internet nor my advisers are being very helpful otherwise on the subject

You have advisors? :O

What country, specifically?

If you're in the United States, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a very strong Japanese program (Graduate, as well as Doctoral). I've also heard that San Francisco State University and the University of Colorado-Boulder have good graduate programs in Japanese, as well. I'm not a graduate student, but I've worked with several of the Japanese program faculty from UW-Madison, and they have been great to work with.

USA is fine, so is England and Australia. Japan is of course fine...but, i don't really trust Japanese higher education.

what program are you in currently?

A large portion of schools go up to a BA in a language. At that time you have learned 4 years and usually the last year is quite advanced and you are usually able to read at highschool-college level. I am not sure why you would want a masters or a PhD in a language because you do not gain much, you can get a job at the UN with just a BA in a language (masters in a main degree).

you're going to have to explain that one please

I think Lothia is trying to say that if you major in something other than the language for your BA, you need a Masters degree in that language to get a job like working at the UN.

I took 4 years of undergrad Japanese though and I'm definitely not up to the level Lothia says one should be. We focused more on speaking than writing though, which I think is more practical anyway... My point is that even if you take 4 years of college level Japanese, you aren't necessarily at the level you might want to achieve. That being the case, it is reasonable to pursue a grad school with a good language program.