Application Deadline: Varying by Country
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) offers scholarships to international students who wish to study at Japanese universities as undergraduate students under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program for 2019 as follows.
Types of Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships
There are six types of Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships. Each type has its own eligibility requirements, so please apply for the type that best fits your personal criteria.
| Research students | You must be under 35 years of age and a college graduate (includes prospective graduates). Or you must have completed 16 years of schooling. |
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| Teacher training students | You must be under 35 years of age and a graduate of a college or teacher training college. You must have at least five years of active experience as a teacher in a primary, secondary or teacher training college in your country. (Please note that college and university teachers currently in active service are not considered for this scholarship). |
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| Undergraduate university students | You must be at least 17 and under 22 years of age and have completed 12 years of school education or have completed courses in a school comparable to a high school (includes prospective graduates). |
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| Japanese studies students | Applicants must be from 18 to 30 years old. Applicants must be enrolled as undergraduate students in faculties or schools which major in Japanese language or Japanese culture in a university outside Japan at the time when they come to Japan and must be enrolled in the home institution at the time when they return to their home countries. |
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| College of technology students | You must be at least 17 and under 22 years of age and have completed school education comparable to a high school (a minimum of 11 years beginning in primary school) education (includes prospective graduates). |
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| Special training college students | You must be at least 17 and under 22 years of age and have completed 12 years of schooling or have completed school education comparable to a Japanese high school (includes prospective graduates). |
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Eligibility Requirements:
| Research student | Teacher training student | Undergraduate student | Japanese studies student | College of technology student | Special training college student | |
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| Level of studies | Graduate school level | Undergraduate level | ||||
| Eligibility requirement | University or college graduate | University, college graduate or equivalent | Secondary school graduate or equivalent | University student (undergraduate level) | Graduates of secondary schools or equivalent | |
| Age limit (at time of granting) | Under 35 | At least 17 and under 22 | At least 18 and under 30 | At least 17 and under 22 | ||
| Duration | Maximum 2 years including Japanese-language training | Maximum 1 year 6 months including Japanese-language training | 5 years including Japanese-language training (7 years for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary science) | One academic year | 4 years including Japanese-language training(4 and a half years for merchant marines studies) | 3 years including Japanese-language training |
| Preliminary Japanese-language training | 6 months (54 universities such as Hokkaido University) Those with sufficient Japanese proficiency are not required to go through preliminary Japanese- language training. |
1 year (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and Osaka University) |
None | 1 year (Independent Administrative Institution: Japan Student Services Organization, Tokyo Japanese Lanugage Education Center) |
1 year (Bunka Institute of Language, Independent Administrative Institution: Japan Student Services Organization, Osaka Japanese Lanugage Education Center) |
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| Fields of study | Major in field of specialty at a graduate school | Special training at a teacher training department | Undergraduate education | Japanese language or special training related to Japan | Third year college of technology courses | Post secondary courses |
| Designated countries | Worldwide (168 countries and regions) | Developing countries, etc. (64 countries and regions) | Worldwide (100 countries and regions) | Worldwide (74 countries and regions) | Developing countries (40 countries and regions) | Developing countries, etc. (49 countries and regions) |
| Planned number of new scholarship recipients | 4,042 people | 89 people | 460 people | 190 people | 86 people | 90 people |
| Scholarship stipend | ¥143,000～148,000 per month | ¥117,000～120,000 per month | ||||
| Tuition | Tuition for national universities and Institute of National College of Technology waived; tuition for public and private universities paid for by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | |||||
| Travel allowance | Roundtrip fare (air ticket) provided | |||||
| Embassy recommendation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| University recommendation (overseas application) | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| University recommendation (local acceptance) | Yes | No | Yes (For the final only) | No | No | No |
i) Applicants must have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. An applicant who has Japanese nationality at the time of application is not eligible. However, persons with dual nationality who hold Japanese nationality and whose place of residence at the time of application is outside of Japan are eligible to apply as long as they choose the nationality of the foreign country and give up their Japanese nationality by the date of their arrival in Japan. Applicant screening will be conducted at the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of applicant’s nationality.
ii) Applicants must be willing to learn Japanese. Applicants must be interested in Japan and be willing to deepen their understanding of Japan after arriving in Japan. In addition, in principle, applicants must be willing to carry out their academic studies in Japan in Japanese.
iii) Applicants must be free from any mental or physical disabilities that would impede the pursuit of study at Japanese universities.
iv) Military personnel or military civilian employees at the time of arriving in Japan are not eligible.
v) Availability on arriving in Japan by April/ October 2019
vi) Applicants generally must have been born on or after April 2, 1984
vii) Undergraduate Degree holders from universities and/or colleges with a total mark of GPA3.2/ Second Class Upper Division or higher. Applicants for this program must submit a complete research proposal at the time of applying
- Allowance: 117,000 yen per month. The scholarship is cancelled in principle if the recipient is absent from the university or preparatory Japanese-teaching institution for an extended period. In case that the recipient research in a designated region, 2,000 or 3,000 yen per month will be added. The monetary amount each year may be subject to change due to budgetary reasons.
- The scholarship will be also cancelled in principle in the following situations. If the recipient has been receiving the scholarship despite his/her falling under any of the following situations, the recipient will be ordered to return the amount of scholarship that he/she received during the period wherein he/she was involved with any of the following situations
- The recipient is determined to have made a false statement on his/her application
- The recipient violates any article of his/her pledge to MEXT;
- The recipient violates any Japanese laws and is sentenced to imprisonment with or without work for life or for a period of exceeding 1 year;
- The recipient is subject to disciplinary action by the university, including expulsion (The scholarship payment may be stopped during the period up until punishment is decided by the university, etc.)
- It has been determined that it will be impossible for the recipient to complete the course within the standard course period because of poor academic grades or suspension or leave of absence;
- The recipient’s residence status has changed to one other than “College Student”;
- The recipient has received a scholarship from another institution (excluding those specified for research expenditures)
- The recipient has proceeded to a higher level of education without receiving approval for an extension of the period of the scholarship
Japanese Government Scholarship students are recruited and selected in three ways:
For those outside of Japan
Embassy Recommendation
University recommendation
For those already in Japan
Domestic Selection
Embassy recommendation
In this type of scholarship, scholarship recipients are recruited and initially screened by a Japanese embassy (or consulate general, depending on the country).
As the application process differs according to the country in which the Japanese embassy is located, please inquire at the Japanese embassy or consulate general in your country for details.
List of Websites of Japanese Embassies, Consulates and Permanent Missions
University recommendation
(1) Research students and Japanese studies students who will be studying in Japan as an exchange student based on inter-university student exchange agreements can be screened through the national, public or private Japanese university involved as a candidate for a Japanese Government Scholarship. The university directly recommends the selected candidates to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
(2) Research students recommended by a university for study in Japan as government-sponsored scholarship recipients basically arrive in Japan in October.
Japanese studies students basically arrive in Japan in October according to the university program. Universities recommend candidates to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) by mid-April.
３．Domestic Selection
(1) Privately financed, full-time postgraduate foreign students, prospective postgraduate students, and full-time, prospective fourth-year undergraduate university students (prospective sixth-year students in the case of medical schools, etc.) are granted domestic selection scholarships that begin in April. Recruitment is conducted through national, public and private universities with the exception of junior colleges.
(2) Universities carefully screen academically and individually excellent students and recommend them by mid-December as government-sponsored scholarship candidates to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) MEXT Scholarships 2019