As soon as he is accepted as a candidate he joins his regiment _as a private_, spending one year in the ranks as an “officer candidate,” thus gaining a practical acquaintance with all the duties of a common soldier, and then he is sent for one year more of study to the Military College in Tokio. Next he returns to his regiment as an aspirant, to learn the duties of a subaltern, and at last, when about two years and a half have elapsed from the time when he first entered as a candidate, he is, if approved of at a meeting of the officers of the regiment, accepted and commissioned as a sub-lieutenant. He can choose whichever arm he prefers, when he goes to the Military College, as there are departments for infantry, cavalry, field artillery, fortress artillery, Engineers, and military train. He may select his own regiment, subject to the consent of the commanding officer of that regiment, and should the number of candidates exceed the number of vacancies the choice falls on those who have won most marks, in rotation. Every year on the 1st of December the batches of candidate officers are distributed to the regiments, as privates. They receive their uniforms, food, arms, etc., from the State but no money allowance. They must drill and go through their exercises just like other men in their company, but they enjoy certain privileges, for example, they have special rooms in barracks, and mess with the officers, this association with their superiors in rank being regarded as part of their education. During the year they may be promoted to lance-corporal or non-commissioned officer grade, and they receive lessons in military science from the regimental instructors.