Chuck Mangione

Claiming admits to UT Austin, UW Seattle, and UCSD. Presumed rejection from NYU.

Tfw you expect to get rejected everywhere so you're beginning to apply to Japanese PhD programs.

I wouldn't particularly say that because my area of focus was on Korea and Japan and the schools I have so far been rejected from did not have exact matches in the area or were top-tier competition (i.e. Cal and Northwestern). It's really what you make of your time at CIR. I went in not sure whether or not I wanted to do a Ph.D. or law school, so I hesitated on that. Many of my other friends have been able to get into stellar schools from CIR with full-funding such as OSU. It just so happens that a majority of the people who do apply to CIR in my year chose to pursue the professional field. I believe the year after me was actually a flip around where a majority were Ph.D. prospects. 
There are countless opportunities such as PIPS (I think that's how it was spelled) and critiques of your thesis to make sure your work gets properly written, and the network there is always strong. Albeit, some professors are quite busy especially the older or more notable ones (such as Professor Mearsheimer or Cumings), but they will make the time of the day for you.