Grants and scholarshipsFunding a degree in Japan What you can really get
Which programmes actually exist, who can apply and where people most often go wrong.
- Main programme
- MEXT (Monbukagakusho)
Send your transcript or degree, your average grade and your language level. We'll tell you which programmes suit you and which don't.
Photo: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The MEXT scholarship, visa and costs
The MEXT (Monbukagakusho) government scholarship comes in two routes: embassy recommendation and university recommendation. It provides tuition exemption, a monthly stipend and round-trip airfare. We do not publish the payment amounts — check them in the annual application guidelines on your embassy's site.
The visa runs through the "Student" (留学) status of residence: your institution applies for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) at a regional immigration bureau, after which the visa is issued at the embassy. The maximum period of status is 4 years and 3 months.
Study is not free. Per official Study in Japan data, standard tuition at national universities is ¥535,800 per year plus a ¥282,000 admission fee. Since 2024, however, national universities may set fees for international students around 20% above the standard rate — the University of Tokyo, for instance, raised undergraduate tuition from AY2025. Verify figures with the specific university.
University-run tuition waivers — separate from MEXT
Beyond the MEXT scholarship, most national universities run their own tuition exemption system, independent of MEXT and structured differently at each institution — typically based on academic merit and/or financial need. At Yokohama National University, for instance, graduate exemptions follow entrance exam results: the top 10% get a full waiver, the next 20% get 50%, another 20% get 30%. Tsukuba and Niigata apply similar logic, combining academic standing with demonstrated financial hardship.
Separately, JASSO's scholarship for self-financed students (学習奨励費, the Foreign Student Learning Incentive Fee) is not a tuition waiver but a monthly stipend of roughly ¥48,000. Each university receives its own quota and selects recipients by academic performance and financial need, so access depends directly on which university you are admitted to.
Criteria and budgets for these programmes are revised annually and vary widely by university — confirm directly with the international office of the specific institution before applying, rather than planning around the general picture.
How we help you win a scholarship
- 01
Your profile
We look at your grades, languages and goals, and tell you plainly which scholarships you qualify for.
- 02
Universities and scholarships
We pick up to five scholarships and universities with the best odds and put the deadlines in a calendar.
- 03
Documents and letters
Study plan, statement, recommendations, translations. We check every field of the form.
- 04
Applying and moving
We file the applications, follow the universities' replies and help with the visa and the move.
Applying to a university
We prepare and file the application for a place and a scholarship. The university's own fee is paid separately, on its invoice.
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