Has anyone attended EF Tokyo >6 months? Question about visas

If anyone’s attended the Education First language school in Shibuya for six months or longer, what was your visa situation like? Were you able to apply for a student visa because your program was longer, or did you have to leave Japan and re-enter every 90 days for the duration of your course?

I’m American and wanting to do the Academic Year Abroad (~8 months), but if they don’t sponsor student visas in this scenario, I know there’s a possibility I could be denied re-entry or have the duration of my stay reduced—especially the third time around.

by LLoveLucy