Sara Meshino goes to Temple University Japan Campus in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and takes classes in English, paying 472,500 yen for nine credits this semester from September to December.

The 22-year-old wants to acquire English skills and attend the school's main campus in Philadelphia, and thinks the expensive tuition is worth it.

But then she learned the fee included 22,500 yen in consumption tax, which students at Japanese universities are not obliged to pay, and that stuck in her craw.