how to get a 40+ when you aren’t native?

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I know there are pretty obvious answers, but there’s no denying people that speak Japanese at home/moved from Japan have an advantage over those who have never been before nor have a relation. So how do you show the examiners that you’re better? Because I know some prior students who put so much effort into the subject only to get like a 30-33 raw. All my essays still seem so basic compared to the high scoring samples and I’m not sure how to increase the quality. Also, my speaking skills are kind of not good at all.

I might have to solely rely on the listening and reading part of the exam (reading is probably my best)
Thoughts?

Also, anyone know what happened to MUEP Japanese?

[sarangiya]

Afaik MUEP Japanese doesn't exist anymore but Melbourne Uni does it.

One obvious answer is that if you are relying solely on listening and reading, you won't get 40+. Purely because those sections combine to only contribute 30% of your whole GA3.
I know it sucks and I know that it seems easy to just weasel out because there are people who, yes, are ridiculously advantaged in this subject. But a defeatist attitude will get you even farther away.

For speaking, I highly recommend you find a Japanese native speaker to practice speaking with. That could mean a tutor, but it could also mean an online pen-pal who might be willing to Skype you. It might mean finding a language swap in town, or hosting an exchange student. There are loads of ways to find people, and honestly that is almost the only way to up your speaking skill and confidence. You can try into improve it passively (eg by learning a whole GC script by rote) but in the end, you will get caught out if you don't actually know how to speak Japanese.

As for writing, a lot of responses are not sophisticated because people do not see writing in a foreign language the same as writing in English. Theoretically, the content of both writing should be the same - the sophistication should be the same because you're the one writing it. The only thing changed is the language in which those thoughts are conveyed. Sure, it can be hard with limited vocabulary or grammar, but if you can convey evaluative, thoughtful insights with basic-ish language, you'll find your responses are better in quality. So you have two problems: either your writing skill is lacking in general (not enough critical thinking, not interesting enough "plot", difficulty with logic and coherence etc) or you need to expand your vocabulary and grammar to better enable you to express your thoughts.
This might be done through translating texts you write in English first. As you progress, hopefully you have learnt tooic-specific vocabulary and grammar skills that you can apply without having to translate.

In the end, it comes down to hard work. Do not let the scores of some or the cultural background others get you down. Strive harder and higher for your own sake. You will be able to show the examiners you are better when you actually are better, and it's up to you to get there. It still early on in the year - have faith and 頑張れ!