A degree is a degree, regardless of how long it takes you to complete it. And on top of that, you mentioned your master degree, which also jumps out to employers

I applied for this year, but, unfortunately, didn't receive an interview. I'll just have to try again next year, or go with an Eikaiwa...if I'm desperate enough, but with the way jobs are going, and the fact that I'll have to, eventually, start paying back my student loans, I just might.

I’m sorry to hear that. It is quite disheartening as it speaks volumes about the amount of candidates they receive. I remember reading somewhere in this site that JET only recruits 25% of its applicants. It is quite unfortunate because I’m sure that probably half the people, judging from some of the posts made around here about “teachers” in Japan, go there for all the wrong reasons. I wish you the best of luck with the private companies if you end up opting for that particular route. Let us know how it goes.

How exactly do you pay for you student loans once you are in Japan...do you get mail from the US where you have to pay by check...or do they think you got out of the country to avoid paying...:bigears:

You wire the money home and pay by check card? That's what I did.

Once upon a time, I was an art student for a year but I've since decided to put down my Wacom tablet and go home to major in Japanese at an affordable college that won't break my mom's pockets.

It wasn't a quick decision, though. I don't have these wild fantasies of Japan being the greatest thing since bottled water. I've been thinking about it for over a year now and I've always loved languages. I really do want to give living in Japan a try, but I'm not trying to rush into it. I have 4 years of college to finish before I start planning anything concrete. I don't hate America or anything, I'm just really restless and bored. Every day I think, what am I doing with my life right now? Is art what I really want to get into? I'm planning to visit Japan every year for a month or so in the summer and see if it's where I really want to be.

I don't think I'd have any problems with being an English teacher for a while, as long as I'm someplace I'm content. I just want to be able to fluently speak the language and enjoy life. I do hope to find some translation or interpretation jobs if I find that teaching English isn't my cuppa tea. :)

Well Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are certainly not Christians, and I don't believe Methodists are either.

Getting back to the subject at hand, does anyone know more about this "religious visa", or at least have any ideas as to where I could start looking? Right now one of my only ideas is to search Google, and you'd be amazed at how hard is usually is for me to find something searching there.

I believe the "religious visa" is just a subset of a work visa :
MOFA: A Guide to Japanese Visas - Types and Categories of Visa

In other words, the same rules apply. ie. University degree or equivalent experience.

When I'm fully grown up, I will move to Japan. Because, there's such a cold climate here in Norway, and it's not good for my asthma. Moving to Japan will make my life better. Plus, I'm amazed by the language and culture, I'm not an anime guy, I just want to live life somewhere I want to, and even though Norway is a good country to live in, life is quite boring here.

I think thats pretty fair since like the Japanese are very strict with their education and stuff, and they are really smart