The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology （MEXT） offers scholarships to foreign students to study in Japanese universities in order to deepen their understanding of the Japanese language, Japanese affairs and Japanese culture.
Regulations for the 2014 MEXT Scholarship Program are as follows:
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. Applicant screening will be conducted at the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of Applicant’s nationality .
Applicants must be born between April 2, 1984 and April 1, 1996.
Applicants must be undergraduates at foreign （non-Japanese） universities majoring in fields related to the Japanese language or Japanese culture at the time of arriving in and leaving Japan.
Applicants must have Japanese language ability sufficient for receiving education at a Japanese university in Japan.
Applicants must be free from any mental or physical disabilities that would be an impediment to the pursuit of study in Japanese universities.
Applicants must definitely be able to arrive in Japan within two weeks counted from the starting day of the study course set by the university in Japan （usually October） and the period set by the accepting university . （If the applicant arrives in Japan before the period for personal reasons, travel expenses to Japan will not be paid. And, if the applicant cannot arrive in Japan during the designated period, the applicant must resign.）
Applicants must acquire “College Student” （ryugaku） visas before entering Japan. They then enter Japan with the “College Student” （ryugaku） residence status. Moreover, in exceptional cases when successful applicants have been residing in Japan before their acceptance under a status other than “College Student” and are to change their visa status within Japan, they must acquire a “College Student” visa by the end of the month prior to the month in which they are scheduled to start receiving the scholarship. （Furthermore, please note that those who change their visa status to gone other than “College Student” after arriving in Japan will also lose their qualifications to be Japanese Government Scholarship recipients from the date when they change their visa status.）
［1］Those who qualify as military personnel or military civilian employees.
［2］Those who can not arrive in Japan during the period designated by the accepting university.
［3］As of October 1, 2014, applicants who have been awarded a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past will not be selected as a recipient until at least three years have passed since the first of the month following the month of their final receipt of the previous scholarship.
［4］Those who are already enrolled at Japanese universities with “College Student” visa status, or those already enrolled or are scheduled to be enrolled in universities in Japan as non-scholarship students, from the date of application in their home countries to before the first receipt of the scholarship .
［5］Recipients of scholarships from other institutions than MEXT including government institutions in their home countries.
The study/training is implemented only in the university/study courses listed in a booklet “Course Guide for Japanese Studies Students.”
（Note 1） Applicants must not simultaneously apply to be a Japanese studies student through a university recommendation for which recruiting is carried out during the same period of time. A university recommendation is a method whereby universities recommend students residing overseas in cooperation with universities in other countries with which they have concluded exchange agreements.
（Note 2） Applicants must not simultaneously apply under a system that supports short-term study by exchange students like that implemented by the Japan Student Services Organization （JASSO） Student Exchange Support Program （Scholarship for Short-term Study in Japan）.
Those majoring in fields of study other than Japanese language and Japanese culture （such as Engineering, Economics, Agricultural Science, Architecture, Art, etc.） and who wish to pursue complementary studies in Japanese language and culture should apply for another scholarship, such as the Japan Student Services Organization （JASSO） Student Exchange Support Program （Scholarship for Short-term Study in Japan）.
（Note 3） Those who have not studied at a university for more than one year, as of April 2014, will not be eligible in principle.
The term is the period necessary to complete the accepting university’s study course, which should be within approximately one year from October 2014 （the starting month of the study course）. （Extension of the term is not allowed.）
The amount of the scholarship disbursement per month for the 2014 academic year has yet to be determined. However, the actual amount for the 2013 academic year for reference is 117,000 yen per month. （The monetary amount each year may be subject to change because of budgetary reasons.）
In case that the recipient research in a designated region, 2,000 or 3,000 yen per month will be added.
The scholarship is cancelled in principle if the recipient is absent from the university for an extended period.
The scholarship will be also cancelled in principle in the following situations. And, 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.
［1］ The recipient is judged to have made a false statement on his/her application;
［2］ The recipient violates any article of his/her pledge to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;
［3］ The recipient has been subjected to disciplinary action by the university or expelled from the university;
［4］ It has been determined that it will be impossible for the recipient to complete the training course within the standard time period because of poor academic grades or suspension from the university;
［5］ The recipient’s status has been changed into one other than “College Student as defined in the Appended Table I-4 of the Immigration Act;”
［6］ The recipient has received a scholarship from another institution （excluding those specified as being for research expenditures）.
The recipient will be supplied, according to his/her itinerary and route as designated by MEXT, with an economy-class airplane ticket from the international airport nearest to his/her home address* to the New Tokyo International Airport or any other international airport that the appointed university usually uses. Expenses such as inland transportation from his/her home address to the international airport, airport tax, airport usage fees, special taxes on travel, or inland transportation within Japan will NOT be supplied. （*The address in the country of the recipient’s nationality stated in the application form is in principle regarded as the recipient’s “home address.”）
The recipient who returns to his/her home country within the fixed period after the expiration of his/her scholarship will be supplied, upon application, with an economy-class airplane ticket for travel from the New Tokyo International Airport or any other international airport that the appointed university usually uses to the international airport nearest to his/her home address*.
（Note） Any aviation and accident insurance to and from Japan shall be borne by the recipient. In addition, the airport must be one in the country of the student’s nationality.
Fees for the entrance examination, matriculation, and tuition at universities will be borne by the Japanese Government.
Applicants must submit the following documents to the Japanese diplomatic missions by the required date. The submitted documents will not be returned.
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（1）［1］Application Form （prescribed forms） ［2］Placement Preference Application Form （prescribed form） |
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（2）Photographs or digital image （size 4.5×3.5 cm, upper half of body, full-faced, hatless） taken within the past 6 months （should be pasted on each Application Form and Placement Preference Application Form） |
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（3）［3］Certified academic transcript from the university the applicant is currently attending(please mark subjects related to Japanese language and Japanese culture）. |
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（4）［4］Certificate of university enrollment |
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（5）［5］Recommendation from the head of or academic advisor at the university currently attending |
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（6）［6］Medical certificate （prescribed form） |
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（7）［7］If the applicant has qualifications concerning Japanese-language ability, documented proof of such qualifications |
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（Note 1） Applicants must choose universities in which you wish to be enrolled from among those listed in the booklet, “Course Guide for Japanese Studies Students,” and write them down on the Placement Preference Application Form.
（Note 2） These documents must be written in Japanese or English, or translations in either of these languages should be attached.
（Note 3） No application will be considered unless the aforementioned application documents and all other necessary attachments are fully and correctly completed.
（Note 4）Number the documents（［1］ through ［7］） in the right upper corner.
（1）The Japanese diplomatic missions will carry out the primary selection of applicants by means of an interview, a written examination （in Japanese）, and a review of the submitted documents.
（2）Results of the primary selection will be notified on a date separately designated by each Japanese diplomatic missions.
（3）Applicants who pass the primary selection will be recommended by the Japanese diplomatic missions to MEXT.
（4）MEXT will conduct the secondary （final） selection of the applicants recommended by the Japanese diplomatic missions and decide the scholarship recipients.
（5）Results of the secondary selection will be notified on a date separately designated by each Japanese diplomatic missions.
（1）MEXT, in consultation with the universities concerned, will decide on the university where each recipient shall be enrolled in by taking into consideration his/her Japanese language ability and specialized courses he/she wishes to take. Objections regarding university placement will not be accepted.
（2）The study at universities will be conducted in Japanese.
（3）University placement and specialized study of Japanese language and Japanese culture will be conducted as follows.
Specialized Japanese language and Japanese culture study will be divided into the following two courses, depending on the objective of the study: （a） A course conducted mainly to improve students’ Japanese language proficiency with supplementary study about Japan and Japanese culture, and （b） A course conducted mainly about Japan and Japanese culture with supplementary study to improve Japanese language proficiency.
The specific course contents vary with each university, but every student will take special lectures on Japan, Japanese culture, and Japanese language and specialized practical study, as well as classes in the departments related to his/her individual major.
（4）A recipient who has completed a specified course at the university concerned will be given a certificate. However, the purpose of this scholarship program is not to obtain a diploma. Therefore, a recipient cannot be enrolled in an undergraduate course at a university or a master’s or a doctorate course at a graduate school as a Japanese-government-sponsored international student during this program or right after its completion.
（1）The recipient is advised to learn, before departing for Japan, the Japanese language and to acquire some information about Japanese weather, climate, customs, university education, and conditions in Japan, as well as about the difference between the Japanese legal system and that of his/her home country .
（2）The recipient should bring approximately US $2,000 or the equivalent thereof to cover immediate needs after arrival in Japan.
（3）Accommodations:
Some universities have residence halls for international students. The recipients enrolled at such universities may reside, at these residence halls under certain conditions. However, because of the limited number of rooms, some of these facilities may not be avalable.
Those who are not able to find accommodation in the aforementioned facilities may live in regular dormitories of the university or in private boarding houses/apartments.
It is very difficult for recipients with dependents to find appropriate housing in Japan. The recipient is requested to arrive in Japan alone first to secure housing before having his/her spouse and/or family come over to Japan.
（4）It is the recipients' responsibility to verify whether or not the completion of the courses in Japan will be recognized as credits back home. If they need further information regarding the contents of the course, please contact the university that offers the course directly.
（5）In addition to the regulations stipulated in this guideline, those which are necessary to implement the Japanese Government Scholarship are determined by the Japanese Government.
（6）More detailed information on this scholarship program is available at the Japanese diplomatic missions.
木谷、鈴木（※応募については各国の日本国大使館等に御連絡ください。）
電話番号：03-5253-4111（内線3027）
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