First of all, I myself used to be a foreign student - I did my Ph.D. degree at Harvard University, U.S.A., - and I strongly believe in the value of studying abroad. So I would like to support foreign students as much as I can.
I receive emails from various people which indicate that they want to study in Japan (and at Kyoto U.) under my supervision (as a Kenkyu sei, or something alike). I do receive a large number of such requests. (I mean it, there are a lot.) Typically these emails ask me to be a sponser for the Monbusho scholarship, or some similar fellowship, or a reseach fellow (Kenkyusei), or ask in general if I can be of some help to study in Japan.
As I wrote above, I want to help this type of requests as much as I can. However, the resourse available to me is very limited, and I cannot spare enough time for this. Many massages say that their interest is close to my fields of specialization, and some even quote the titles of my papers to comment that they are working on something similar and they want me to help out. Of course I would be interested in doing that if this is true but I know that these cannot be the case since my works are rather technical and they can be appreciated only after serious training. Also, I should point out that there have been some suspicious messages which I suspect are from some possibly illegal company which sells entry visa to Japan.
So at some point I decided that I do not satisfy these requests. That is, I will NOT be a sponser/adviser of somebody, unless the person has already been admitted to the graduate school of economics at Kyoto University, and/or the person is referenced by somebody I know well. I am afraid that there will be ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTION. In fact, it does not matter if the person in question is from a foregin country or a Japanese, or whoever. In most cases I do not reply to this type of messages at all.
It is painful for me to do so, but my time is really limited. Of course I could handle a small number of cases, but then I have to be selective, and it is very difficult to do so.
I know that some scholarship (and even admissions) requires that a prospective host professor's approval, but I think this is a very strange rule and I am opposing to this rule. It puts too much responsibility to the hands of the professor. But such a responsibility as well as associated risks should be taken by whoever offers the scholarship (or, by the school).
The bottom line is, if you are thinking of and hoping to studying in Japan, please go for it. But I am not the channel which will help your dream come true. I am not the person you should ask how to apply for the university or the Monbusyo scholarship. Of course, if you pass the entrance examination of Kyoto University and enrolled in the graduate school of economics, I will be more than happy to help your study toward the degree.