Japanese Government Scholarship Programs

1. Applicants must hold U.S. citizenship. (Applicants who hold Japanese nationality at the time of application are not eligible.)
2. Applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 2001.
3. Applicants must be a high school graduate (at the time of participation on the program) or have the certified equivalent (i.e. GED).
4. In principle, applicants must be able to arrive in Japan between April 1, 2026 and April 7, 2026. Departure from the home residence should be on or after April 1.
5. Applicants must be willing to learn the Japanese language and to receive a professional training college education in Japanese.

(1) Application Deadline

Application deadline: 5:00 PM, Friday, May 23, 2025.
Please e-mail your completed applications and scanned required documents to:

Coordinator for Educational Affairs
Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
E-mail: education@sr.mofa.go.jp

Note: Please send one set of required digital documents (you don’t have to duplicate files). Please keep total file size per e-mail less than 10MB. If your files are larger than this, please send in sequential e-mails.

(Note: 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 business days, please follow with a phone call or separate e-mail.)

(2) Written Examination and Interview (First Screening)

Those candidates who pass the initial application screening will be invited to take a series of written examinations in Japanese, English, Mathematics, and additionally for STEM majors, Chemistry, and either Biology or Physics, in person at the Consulate General of Japan on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

(Note1: Calculators and other devices may NOT be used during the written examinations.)
(Note 2: You can find the past examination questions in the MEXT website.)

In addition, those candidates will be invited to participate in a short interview held in late June.
Details will be provided through email.

(3) Notification of acceptance

Candidates will receive final notification of acceptance after January 2026.

Q1 Letter of Recommendation:

Please ask your recommender to e-mail the PDF to us directly.

Q2 Transcript:

If you have digital transcripts, please e-mail them to us. If you only have paper transcripts, you can e-mail a scanned copy, but you will be asked to send the original one after you pass the first screening.

Q3 Diploma:

Please DO NOT send the original diploma. Please e-mail a scanned copy to us.

Q4 Medical certificate:

If it is difficult for you to submit your medical certificate by the deadline, please let us know. We can extend the due date of the medical certificate until the announcement of the results of first screening (mid-August).

Q5 Direct Placement:

If you desire direct placement and would like to check the list of universities that accept direct placement, please contact us. For more information about direct placement, please refer to the application guidelines.

Q6 Useful Links:

Planning studies in Japan provided by the Japan Student Services Organization