Failing Medical School in Japan? What to Do After Repeating a Year (2026)
02.10.2026
Short answer
Failing medical school in Japan? Held back twice or near the enrolment limit: what happens now and how a transfer abroad leads back to the national examination.
Repeating a year
In short: Japanese medical schools promote by year. A student who misses the required credits repeats the whole year, including subjects already passed at many schools. The school rules limit the stay: commonly two years in the same grade and twelve years of enrolment in total. Beyond that the student is removed from the register.
The limits are written in the regulations of each school and differ between national, public and private universities. Read the article on removal from the register for your own school.
CBT and OSCE
In short: Before clinical clerkships every student passes the common achievement tests, a computer-based test and a clinical skills examination. Since 2023 passing them is a legal requirement, and since 2025 it is a condition for sitting the national examination.
At a private school a repeated year costs between about €20,000 and €45,000 in tuition. Two repeated years can cost more than a complete degree at a European university.
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Held back again? Continue abroad and come back as a doctor
We transfer you to English-taught medical schools abroad. In a free consultation we check which of them credit your passed years and plan your route back to Japan.
Book a free transfer consultationWhy students get stuck
In short: Medical students in Japan who struggle rarely lack ability. The usual reasons are exhaustion after years of entrance exam preparation, depression or anxiety, isolation after the first repeated year, family expectations and money.
None of this means you chose the wrong profession. I started dental medicine in Sofia in 2015, at 24, years after most of my classmates, and graduated in 2021. A slower start says nothing about the doctor you will become.
Transfer abroad
In short: A transfer from a Japanese medical school to an English-taught medical school abroad is possible, and Medschool Experts organises it. The receiving university assesses your transcript and syllabi in English translation. Which universities fit you, and which year you can enter, depends on your profile.
A study transfer is a complicated undertaking. Every university checks hours, content and syllabi in its own way, and the documents have to arrive in exactly the right form. Our experts have almost ten years of experience with study transfers, and we regularly achieve placements into higher years, at times Year 4 or Year 5.
Free transfer consultation
Transfer abroad, return to Japan: check your options
Send us your transcript. We tell you which universities accept your years, where you can enter and how your route back to Japan looks. Free and without obligation.
Check my transfer optionsReturning to Japan
In short: Yes, you can come back. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare screens every graduate of a foreign medical school individually. Depending on your school and curriculum it admits you directly to the national examination for medical practitioners, or first to the preliminary examination, followed by at least one year of practical training and then the national examination.
- Curriculum: for direct admission the Ministry requires six years or more of medical education with at least 4,500 hours. Five years are enough with 5,500 hours. Counted from primary school, you need 18 years of schooling by graduation.
- Licence abroad: for direct admission you should hold the licence to practise of the country where you graduated.
- Japanese: graduates must prove Japanese at the highest level of the language proficiency test and pass an assessment of clinical Japanese. Native speakers schooled in Japan meet this without difficulty.
- No approval in advance: the Ministry does not recognise foreign medical schools as such. It examines each graduate after the application, and it states plainly that a graduate of a foreign school can be refused. Applications are accepted once a year, in 2026 until 27 February.
- After the examination: two years of initial clinical training, as for every graduate in Japan.
We choose your university against these criteria, with programme length and hours on paper, and tell you before you enrol which of the two routes you should expect.
Free transfer consultation
Plan your way back to Japan from day one
Programme length, hours and the licence abroad decide whether you sit the national examination directly. We choose your university with exactly that in mind.
Book a free transfer consultationCosts
In short: Tuition at European medical schools starts at about €3,500 a year, and living costs in many Central and Eastern European cities are €5,000 to €8,000 a year. That is far below a private medical school in Japan.
How we help
Medschool Experts reviews your transcript in a free transfer consultation, finds medical schools among our more than 25 partner universities that fit your profile, prepares the application and the visa file, and plans your route back to Japan. More than 500 students have been placed so far. The first step is always a free transfer consultation.
The author's view
When I began dental medicine in Sofia in 2015, I was 24, years older than most of my classmates. I graduated in 2021. In Japan a repeated year is visible to everyone in a class that moves on together, and that weighs more than the exam itself. At a university abroad nobody knows which year you repeated. You are simply a student in the year you entered.
Summary
In Japan a year is repeated as a whole, the number of repeats and the years of enrolment are limited, and at a private school each extra year is paid in full.
A transfer abroad is possible, and the return runs through the Ministry's screening and the national examination. We plan that route home with you from the first day.
Conclusion
Get your transcript and syllabi while you are enrolled, and book your free transfer consultation before the next promotion decision.
Failing medical school in Japan: 5 questions and answers
How often may I repeat a year?
That is set by your school. Many allow each year to be repeated once and cap total enrolment at twelve years.
What happens if I fail the CBT or OSCE?
You cannot begin clinical clerkships. Schools offer a retake, and a second failure usually means repeating the year.
Can I transfer to a medical school abroad?
Yes. Medschool Experts organises transfers to English-taught medical schools abroad. The year of entry depends on your profile.
Can I become a doctor in Japan with a degree from abroad?
Yes, after the Ministry's screening and the national examination. Depending on the result you first sit the preliminary examination and complete one year of practical training.
Does the consultation cost anything?
No. It is free and without obligation.
What students say about Medschool Experts
Over 500 placements at 25+ partner universities across 10+ countries. See how our students experienced their path into medical school abroad in our student stories.
About the author
Marcel Kloos
Founder and owner of Medschool Experts, federally recognised dentist
Marcel Kloos is the founder and owner of Medschool Experts, a placement agency for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy degrees abroad. Since 2021 the team has secured more than 500 study places at 25+ partner universities in Europe and worldwide.
Study medicine abroad: Marcel's own path
Born in Stuttgart, Marcel started his degree late: at 24 he enrolled at the Medical University of Sofia, Faculty of Dental Medicine, and graduated in 2021 from the English-language programme. He went through the same steps his clients face today — nostrification of school certificates, entrance interviews, finding a flat in Sofia and later the recognition of a foreign degree. He is a federally recognised dentist.
What Marcel does at Medschool Experts
Today Marcel lives in Bern and runs Medschool Experts full-time. He visits every partner university in person, negotiates placement agreements directly with faculties and deans, and leads the free consultations in which applicants learn at which university they can start next semester. His YouTube channel on studying medicine abroad has helped thousands of applicants compare universities, costs and recognition.
Topics Marcel writes about
- Study medicine abroad independent of your high school diploma grades: universities, costs and admission
- Study dentistry, veterinary medicine or pharmacy in Europe in English
- Tuition fees and living costs at medical schools in Europe and worldwide
- Recognition of foreign medical degrees in the EU, Switzerland, the UK and the US
- Transferring between medical schools and returning home into a higher semester
All articles by Marcel Kloos are based on first-hand visits to the universities and conversations with current students. Book a free consultation to discuss your own path.
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