Application for the 2024-2026 Japanese Government MEXT Scholarships for Master’s and PhD students are currently being received. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan offers scholarships to international students who wish to study graduate courses at Japanese universities as Research Students under the Japanese Government MEXT (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships.

The program is open for candidates enrolled in a master’s course, a doctoral course, or a professional graduate course at a graduate school, or who are conducting research in a specialized field at an undergraduate department, graduate school, institute attached to a university, etc. without the aim of completing the course. This scholarship program to study in Japan is also open for candidates who are receiving preparatory education in the Japanese language and other subjects prior to placement at the university, etc. (Excluding Young Leaders’ Program Students or Teacher Training Students).

Applicants must choose and fill in the Application Form for either April or October term. April term applicants must be able to arrive in Japan between April 1, 2024, and April 7, 2024, while October term applicants must be able to arrive in Japan during the period specified by the accepting university within two weeks before and after the starting date of the university’s relevant academic term (September or October) for that year. Applicants should note that it is not permitted to change the arrival period after the submission of the Application.

Applicants wishing to apply for an Undergraduate or a Bachelor’s degree program should click on the following link: MEXT scholarship program for undergraduates studies. For those who wish to apply for other government scholarships should click here.

Program Details

• Host institutions: Higher Educational Institutions in Japan.
• Fields of study: Applicants should apply for the field of study they majored in at university or its related field. Moreover, the fields of study must be subjects that applicants will be able to study and research in graduate courses at Japanese universities. The fields of study may be restricted to particular fields by the Japanese Embassy or Consulate in the applicant’s country.
• Number of awards: Many.
• Duration: The Scholarship period will last from April 2024 until the end of March 2026 for April term grantees and September or October 2024 until the end of March 2026 for October term grantees.
• Eligible countries: Open to nationals of countries that have diplomatic relations with Japan.

Japanese Government MEXT Scholarships Benefits

Winners of the Japanese MONBUKAGAKUSHO scholarship will receive the following benefits:

1. Allowance: The amounts listed below shall be paid depending on the course enrolled in. A supplemental regional allowance of 2,000 yen or 3,000 yen per month will be added to the monthly scholarship amount for the grantees studying or conducting research in specially designated regions.
   • Students receiving the preparatory education and non-regular students: 143,000 yen per month
   • Regular students enrolled in Master’s or professional degree courses: 144,000 yen per month
   • Regular students enrolled in doctoral courses: 145,000 yen per month.
2. Education fees: Fees for the entrance examination, matriculation, and tuition at universities will be paid by MEXT.
3. Transportation: MEXT will provide round-trip economy-class flight tickets to and from Japan.

Japanese Government MEXT Scholarships Eligibility

To apply for the Japanese MONBUKAGAKUSHO scholarship to study in Asia, applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Nationality: Applicants must have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. 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 other country and renounce their Japanese nationality by the date of their arrival in Japan.
2. Age: Applicants, in principle, must have been born on or after April 2, 1989. Exceptions are limited to cases in which MEXT deems that the applicant could not apply within the eligible age limit due to the situation or circumstances of the applicant’s country (military service obligation, loss of educational opportunities due to disturbances of war, etc.)
3. Academic Background: Applicants must satisfy any one of the following conditions for admission to either a Master’s or doctoral course

• Master’s course / Doctoral course (first phase)
  1. Applicants who have completed 16 years of school education in countries other than Japan.
  2. Applicants who have completed a program with the standard study period of three years or more at universities or equivalent educational institutions in countries other than Japan and received a degree equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.
  3. Other than the above ① and ② conditions, applicants who are eligible for enrollment in a master’s course /doctoral course (first phase) at a Japanese graduate school.
• Doctoral course (second phase)
  1. Applicants who have been awarded an overseas degree equivalent to a master’s degree or professional degree.
  2. Applicants who have graduated from universities and have been involved in research study at universities or research centers (including overseas universities and research centers) for two years or more, and recognized as having academic competency equivalent to persons with a master’s degree by the graduate school.
  3. Other than the above ① and ② conditions, applicants who are eligible for enrollment in a doctoral course (second phase) at a Japanese graduate school.
• Doctoral course (faculties of medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences, and certain parts in pharmaceutical fields)
  1. Applicants who have completed 18 years of school education in countries other than Japan.
  2. Applicants who have completed a program with the standard study period of five years or more at universities or equivalent educational institutions in countries other than Japan and received a degree equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.
  3. Applicants who have completed 16 years of school education in countries other than Japan and have been involved in a research study at universities or research centers (including overseas universities and research centers) for two years or more, and recognized as having academic competency equivalent to university graduates in medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences or certain parts in pharmaceutical fields by the graduate school.
  4. Other than the above ①, ②, and ③ conditions, applicants who are eligible for enrollment in a doctoral course (faculties of medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences, and certain parts in pharmaceutical fields) at a Japanese graduate school.

Similar opportunities

1. MEXT Scholarship College of Technology Students Program;
2. Canadian Government Banting Fellowships.
3. Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University.

How to Apply for the Japanese Government Scholarship

Eligible applicants who would like to apply for this government scholarship program must submit the required documents to the Japanese diplomatic mission in their country by the designated deadline. Please get in touch with the diplomatic mission in your country to get more details on application requirements and the submission period.

Required Documents

1. Application Form
2. Placement Preference Application
3. Field of Study and Research Plan
4. Academic transcript for all academic years of university attended
5. Certification of graduation or degree certificate of the university attended (If the applicant has not yet graduated, submit a certificate of prospective graduation from the university)
6. Recommendation letter from the president/dean or the academic advisor at the current or last university attended. This is just a sample and any form/style of the letter is accepted
7. Medical certificate
8. Abstracts of theses (Submit if the applicant has written theses).
9. Certificate of language proficiency (Only in case the applicant has documents attesting to competency in Japanese or English; submit 3 copies)
10. Recommendation letter from the present employer (Submit if the applicant is currently employed.)
11. Photograph(s) showing applicant’s own works of art or a digitally recorded media of musical performance (Submit if the applicant is to major in fine arts or music.)

The deadline to submit applications for the Japanese Government MEXT Scholarships varies according to each Japanese diplomatic mission. For example, the deadline is May 21, 2023 at the Embassy of Japan in France and June 2, 2023 at the Embassy of Japan in South Africa.

Make sure to confirm the deadline at the website of the Japanese diplomatic mission in your country of nationality or in some other ways. Please find here Past Examination Questions. For more details, please visit the official page. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.