Could you please check my scholarship motivation letter?

Hi,
I am new here. However, I already love this site. It really helped me to get back into the formal english (well, at least as far as it goes). I haven't used it for a very long time - since grammar school, to be precise.
I have to write a motivation letter for a scholarship on a japanese university. I wrote the first version today, but I'm not sure. It's too long. I desperately need someone to look for the mistakes I made and to delete the unnecessary garbage.
Would you like me to send you the original .doc file? No problem. Post your email address or send it to me on filip . hracek NOSPAMPLEASE @ gmail . com.
Thanks in advance!

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Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a twenty-two year old student of media studies, journalism and international relations at the *** University, , . I recently noticed your offer for a one-year scholarship program on our Office for International Studies web bulletin and instantly became very interested. Therefore, I apply for this scholarship and to support my application, I will provide my academic background as well as my personal strengths and interests.

I have been studying japanese language and culture for as long as 5 years now, starting as a seventeen year old student of a grammar school. At that time, it was just my enthusiasm for such an exotic world and culture that motivated me to attend the private lessons of Mr. Hirayama, but very soon I realized that my interest in Japan can easily become much more than just a hobby. Such language and culture specialization is quite rare in the , and japanese highly advanced technological, cultural and social level makes it even more useful. Moreover, after I have enrolled on my present school, my knowledge of japanese language grows ever more important to me. That’s why I enrolled for – and passed – the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (attached).

First of all, I would like to express my motivation and enthusiasm for the scholarship from the media studies and journalism side. Soon after entering , I started to specialize in digital media studies (including media art, interactive media or cyberspace). In respect of gaining experience with the newest technology and its influence on modern society, I really cannot make out any better country to spend a year in than Japan.
But it certainly isn’t only technology that keeps me interested. I have read your brochure for 2004-2005 and – honestly – loved about all the courses you offer. Concerning media studies, the ones that I find most inspirational and attractive include: New Japanese Cinema 1995-2002, Issues in Contemporary Japanese Culture and Making the News in Japan, among many others. In other words, your addresses exactly the same questions and fields of study I am interested in.

From the international relations study point of view, my motivation is equally strong. Japan is one of the most important nation-states in the world, and it’s importance is ever increasing. Moreover, the whole Far East region rapidly gains significance. Sadly enough, this fact is largely overlooked – along with the cultural differences between Asian and Euro-American society. Again, the courses you offer nicely fit my interests in this field. To name just a few: Pacific Rivalry, Problems in Modern Japanese History and Politics and Japan and Globalization.

Along with my academic and career interest, I naturally have comparably strong personal motivation. I always wanted to visit Japan. Your scholarship offers more than that – I could live in Japan, get to know its culture and see the very heart of the ancient Nippon. I am very keen on meeting the other internationals, the japanese students and the college society as a whole. This could bring me an invaluable experience.

Thank you for reviewing my application, and I look forward to your acceptance.

Yours faithfully,
Filip Hracek