I too wish to go to Japan at some point in my life [whether it be for a visit or for a permanent residence is up to fate to decide], and I have some worries of my own [though they are mostly trivial, and I won't go over most of them here].

Accent. I am able to quite easily form sounds from other languages, but I'm still worried about my accent. Does an American accent make you sound... stupid? I suppose I can deal with that, but still..

Difficulty. How hard is it to get into a foreign exchange program? I have pretty good grades, but still....

Time. The sheer time it takes to become fluent is a bit unnerving. With nearly 2,000 characters in the Joyo Kanji alone, I'm left feeling a bit uneasy... Though if I can learn Kanji as fast as I'm learning the actual words [about 27 per day] it shouldn't be way too daunting...

If I wanted to live in Japan, I'd prepare for living there at least studying the language for 3 years and then make a try.......here in Brazil is common the Japanese government offers master degrees benefits for students who wanna take it......but it wouldn't be a bad deal if you flew there to spend some weeks learning about its culture and everyday life.....obviously being a tourist may be different from a resident.

Are you on crack?????

Well, if the declining birthrates are of any indication, then the whole sexism thing might not be as prevalent as it was, say, maybe even 10 years ago. More women are opting out of the traditional "mother" and "housewife" thing over there. The sexism can't be as bad as you're making it, if these things are obtainable.