I am doing a PhD in engineering in one of top Japanese universities. The research environment at the laboratory was socially toxic full of trivial way of thinking, gossip, jealousy, snooping on personal life, belittling, and where non-performance is rewarded. Many times personal information I shared with the Professor to ask for a leave, ended up getting shared with the whole laboratory. The Japanese students gossip about you while you are sitting there, calling your name and insulting you in Japanese. They do this to almost every international students. I have seen students who did not complete the minimum requirements graduate, even Assistant Professors writing their papers. I have been given warnings to under perform by students and some academic staff. I was so confused. I am currently in the first semester of my second year. Even though, I have completed my research; I have totally lost interest in receiving the degree certificate that they reward even incompetent students. I was not able to see any value in it. I just wonder how degrees from Japanese universities are viewed in Europe, United States, and Australia?
by StudentA–1993