Japanese Government Scholarship for Japanese Language and Studies Majors

2025/12/23

One-Year Scholarship For Japanese Studies

The Japanese Government’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) offers one-year scholarships to study in Japan for currently enrolled undergraduate students majoring in Japanese language, Japanese affairs, or Japanese culture. This is a fully funded scholarship which covers academic fees, a monthly living stipend and a round trip ticket.

Only U.S. citizens who live in the Consulate's jurisdiction of Central and Northern California and the entire state of Nevada are eligible to apply through this consulate. U.S. citizens residing in other vicinities should apply to the Japanese embassy or consulate responsible for their region. Please click here for a list of Japanese consulates in the United States.

A. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

  1. Applicants must hold U.S. citizenship. (Successful applicants who hold Japanese nationality at the time of departure are not eligible.)
  2. Applicants must have been born between April 2, 1996 and April 1, 2008.
  3. Applicants must be a current undergraduate student majoring in fields related to Japanese language or Japanese culture at a non-Japanese university.
  4. Applicants must have studied Japanese studies at a university for a total period of one year or more as of Sept. 1, 2026.
  5. Applicants must have Japanese language ability sufficient for receiving education at a Japanese university in Japan.
  6. Applicants must arrive in Japan within two weeks before the first day of the study course set by the university (usually September or October).

B. APPLICATION GUIDELINES, FORMS, INSTRUCTIONS:

Application guidelines, forms, and instructions, are available from the MEXT website, “Study in Japan.”

Please select your preferred universities from the list provided in the following “Course Guide of Japanese Studies Program 2026” (5 volumes/written in Japanese).
No.1, No.2, No.3, No.4, No.5

C. APPLICATION DOCUMENT SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:

  1. APPLICATION DEADLINE: All applications must be received by 5:00 PM, Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
  2. HOW TO SUBMIT: Please upload your completed application forms and scanned required documents to a folder on a file uploader site (Google Drive, Dropbox). Then, please share the access link to the folder with your application documents with education@sr.mofa.go.jp by the submission deadline.
Please contact our Education Coordinator at education@sr.mofa.go.jp with any questions or concerns.

Note1: Please send one set of required digital documents (you don't have to duplicate files).

Note2: Other file sharing sites may be accepted, please contact education@sr.mofa.go.jp before sharing.

Note3: Once we have received your application documents, we will reply to your e-mail.
If you do not receive an acknowledgement of receipt within three (3) business days, please call 1-415-780-6085 or send a separate e-mail.

D. FIRST SCREENING PROCEDURE

Applicants who pass the initial application document screening will move on to the First Screening process which includes:
  1. TEST: A written Japanese test will be conducted in-person at the Consulate General of Japan on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.
  2. INTERVIEW: An interview will be scheduled at a mutually agreed date and time between the applicant and the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco's MEXT Scholarship Selection Committee.
For more information regarding this scholarship, please contact the Education Coordinator at education@sr.mofa.go.jp

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