Can an American girl go to Japan without a foreign exchange student program?

If you are over 18 you can go by yourself as a tourist. As for working, you need qualifications and experience in a field that has a skills shortage in Japan to even be considered for a job and visa.

Are you under 16 yrs old? if not, AND you have a passport AND assuming you have about $5000, you could always book a flight, get on a plane and spend a couple of weeks in Japan to see whether it is the place you think it is or not (my guess is that you will be stunned at how "normal" the country is and how different it is from perceived misconceptions, etc.). Sure, your dad will still DIE but you can legally enter Japan without a visa (since you state you are American - something I read as being a US citizen) if you are under 16, you are out of luck. The airline will not let you board the plane without a release AND it is likely (although not certain) that the immigration officer may not let you in the country as the first question will be: "why are you here?" followed very closely by "do you know anyone in Japan or is someone expecting you?"... Honestly, although one's fantasy about Japan runs rampant, Japan in many things is no different than New York, London, New Delhi, etc. (other than the overwhelming number of Japanese people and Japanese signs and Japanese foods). The buildings, traffic, work, daily grind is the same.., As far as moving as a judge, well that is a whole different animal: 1) you cannot study to be judge. You can study law AND then, you could be nominated or elected to become a judge but there are no guarantees this will happen 2) you could transfer to Japan as an attorney and practice law there but there is no need for an "american judge" in Japan as their laws are different. Of course, you could join the military, rise through the ranks, become a judge AND then transfer to one of the US bases but this is quite far fetched