Your MEXT scholarship interview panel might not be this large – or this close – but for most applicants, it will be your first time facing a panel interview. It’s hard to prepare for that experience, so prepare what you can: Know the questions and answers in advance to maximize your chances.
If you’re applying for the Embassy-recommended MEXT scholarship, have passed the document screening and (maybe) the tests, your next step will be passing the embassy MEXT scholarship interview.
In this guide, I will cover the kinds of questions you should expect, what the interviewers are looking for, and other preparation recommendations.
MEXT Interview Process
Depending on how your country does it, you may have the written exams and the interview on separate days, or they may be different events altogether. Check with the embassy where you are applying for details.
MEXT Scholarship Tests
If you are applying for the MEXT scholarship for research students (i.e. as a graduate student), you will take up to two tests:
- Japanese language proficiency
- English language proficiency
Taking the Japanese language proficiency test is mandatory, even if you have no Japanese language ability. As long as you’re applying for a program taught in English, it won’t hurt your application chances if you get a zero on it.
If you do have Japanese language proficiency, then this test could help you get out of the six-month Japanese language program that most Embassy-recommended MEXT scholars have to go through before they start their degrees.
Note for Undergraduate MEXT Scholarship Applicants
In addition to the Japanese and English tests, you will have to take several subject area tests, depending on the major you selected in your application. You can find a specific list in the official application guidelines on MEXT’s website.
Sample Tests
You can find past tests for language proficiency and undergraduate subject tests on JASSO’s website.
Preparing for the MEXT Scholarship Interview
First (because it’s simpler), you should understand the structure and conduct of the interview. Next, and most importantly, you need to know how you will approach it to maximize your chances.
Interview Set-Up
I have never participated in one of these interviews directly, and there could be some variety in how the interview is set up, but if you were to face a typical, Japanese-style interview, it would be something like this:
Typically, there will be a panel of three interviewers seated behind desks facing you as you enter the room. There will also be a chair (but usually no desk) for you in the center of the room, around 2-3 m (6-10 feet) away from the interviewers.
The set-up and distance can be rather intimidating, but don’t let it get to you.
Stay confident and focused on your goals (more on that below). If you approach the interview with the confidence (but not cockiness) that you are the best candidate for the scholarship and answer the questions clearly and confidently, there is a very good chance that you will perform better.
Interview Panel Members
Based on comments from past applicants, both on this blog and on other sites, embassy MEXT scholarship interview panels typically seem to consist of three interviewers. Two are embassy officials and one is often a professor from an area university. According to past reports, the professor is typically someone from your general field of research (e.g. social science, engineering, etc.) but may not be well-versed in your particular area.
In past examples, I have heard of a Buddhist studies professor being on a panel for an applicant in policy studies and a mechanical engineering professor being on the panel for a software engineering applicant.
This means that you should plan to avoid deep, technical discussions of your research. Instead, you want to be able to communicate the purpose, desired outcomes, and importance of your research to someone outside of your field. Keep that in mind as you practice your interview questions.
Practical Considerations
Wear a simple, professional suit to the interview, or the equivalent of a suit in your national dress.
Since your interview will be at the embassy or consulate, you’ll have to leave all of your electronics behind at the entrance, but if you do have anything, including a digital watch, make sure that it is on silent mode or off.
Expect about a 20-minute interview.
Conduct in the Interview Room
When you first enter the room, you should bow to the interview panel. If you are confident in your Japanese, you can also say よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu). They will direct you to sit.
Address your answers to the panel member who asked the question, but make eye contact with the others, as well, while you speak. If you get a multi-part question and forget the second part halfway through your answer, go ahead and ask the questioner to repeat the second half.
Answer in the language the question is asked in. If you have indicated some Japanese ability, or taken the Japanese language proficiency test, then you may get some questions in Japanese. These are more designed to evaluate your ability than for the quality of the answer, so don’t worry too much about them.
Once the interview is over, you also want to stop at the door, bow again and thank them for the interview. (ありがとうございます arigato gozaimasu).
If you cannot give the greetings in Japanese, then it is fine to thank them for their time in English (both on entry and departure), instead.
MEXT Interview Strategy
The most important thing you can do to prepare is to have a clear focus on the academic and practical goals of your research.
I covered this in the article on writing your Field of Study and Research Program Plan, so check out that article if you haven’t already. One way to think of the MEXT embassy interview is as a chance to expand on that research plan, though there will be some other elements, as well.
When I have sat as a member of an entrance exam interview panel, we could immediately tell when an applicant was prepared, confident, and competent. The difference in impression that it makes is enormous!
Your Basic Selling Points
Come up with your three top selling points that you want to communicate during the interview. One approach would be to have one sales point for each of the following categories:
- Your academic/research goal (what you want to contribute to the field)
- The practical outcomes of your research (how it can be used, and/or your own post-scholarship career)
- Why you will make a good ambassador to Japan (your intercultural experience and adaptability
Interview Strategy
You want to use every question you receive strategically.
That means you want to answer each question to the interview panel’s satisfaction and tie it to one of your sales points.
MEXT Scholarship Interview Questions
Here are some questions past applicants have faced, along with my interpretation of what the interviewers are looking for. At the very least, you should practice and be prepared to address these!
- What do you want to study?
The purpose of this line of questioning is to make sure you have a clear research focus and know your field. The interview panel has read (or at least scanned) your Field of Study and Research Program Plan, so expand on the contents there and particularly on connecting your studies to your academic and practical outcomes.
- Why do you want to study that topic?
This line of questioning is also focused on your intended outcomes. It is OK to mention personal inspiration that started you on this path, but your focus should be on what you want to accomplish in the future.
Remember the panel is looking at you as an investment in positive relations between your country and Japan, so discussing outcomes that benefit both countries or bring them closer together is going to be helpful here. Also, remember here that your panel is not experts in your field, so you need to explain yourself clearly.
- What university do you want to study at in Japan?
They may also ask about your contact status with the universities you selected.
The purpose of this question is to assess how prepared and proactive you are. If you have been in touch with any professors, and have their informal approval to supervise you, mention that. If you have tried to contact universities but received no response, explain that and tell them that you understand many universities do not write back until after applicants can prove that they’ve passed the Primary Screening, so you plan to follow up.
At the very least, you should be able to explain your reasoning for selecting the universities and professors on your list based on their relevance your research and practical goals. It’s a good idea to have one or two other universities that you have researched but rejected to mention in this conversation. (e.g. I examined the programs at University X and University Y, but the professor at University Y was more aligned with my research)
- Why do you want to study in Japan?
Note:As of the 2020 Application cycle, this question was added to the application form as an essay, so it is less likely to come up in the interview.
The purpose of this line of questioning is to determine how serious you are as a scholar and how prepared you are for your studies.
Maybe you have always been interested in Japan since you saw your first anime as a child. It’s OK to use that as a brief introduction, but hopefully that is just an introduction and Sailor Moon is not the only reason you want to study microbiology or economics in Japan.
If your first encounter with, or passion for Japanese culture got you to look at the country in more detail and that helped you find a field of study or field of work where you could contribute to relations between Japan and your home country, that is an excellent thing to bring up.
If Japanese research or technical expertise in your field is more advanced than in your country and you want to leverage Japanese experience to benefit your homeland, that’s a great thing to mention, too!
- How do you think you will be able to handle living in Japan?
This line of questioning is intended to determine if you’ll be able to settle into life in Japan without any disruption to your studies.
If you have experience living in Japan for any length of time, you can bring that up as part of your example of how you will succeed.
If you don’t have any experience living in Japan, then you should give examples of how you are adjustable to other cultures or uncomfortable situations, such as friendships with people from other cultures, experience living abroad in other countries, or any experience interacting with foreigners, especially Japanese.
On the other hand, if there are any obvious challenges to you living in Japan, you should mention those and how you will adapt. For example, if you have a spouse and/or children, talk about what they will do while you are in Japan (hint: If you’re bringing them to Japan, MEXT recommends that you come alone first then invite them to Japan on a Dependent Visa after you have settled in.) If you have religious or dietary needs (e.g. halal food), mention how you plan to take on those challenges in Japan. No matter what your needs, there should be groups of international students from the past who had the same needs. Find these groups online and see how they handled the challenges you will face!
- What do you know about Japan/the Japanese Language?
Similar to the previous question, this aims to see how prepared you are to adapt to life in Japan. Take this opportunity to show the panel that you have done some basic research on the status of your research field in Japan as well as what day-to-day life is like in Japan. If you have any Japanese language ability, even if it’s at the level of basic interaction skills, you can bring that up, as well.
- Tell us about your academic background.
Seemingly open-ended questions like this can be the most tricky. The key here is that you want to focus and use this to your advantage. If you tell any anecdotes about your past, make sure they relate to one of your sales points.
For example, if you moved around a lot as a child, you don’t need to talk about that, unless it specifically relates to your research topic. If you grew up in a single-parent household, that isn’t necessarily relevant. But, if growing up in a single-family household taught you independence and self determination, or inspired you to take action to help others in similar situations, then that is definitely something you want to mention.
If you get this kind of question before you have talked about your research interest or intended outcomes, then this is also a great opportunity to introduce those. What inspired you to this research topic? How did your background make you want to create a positive change in the world?
- What do you plan to do after your studies?
I have a lot of people ask me whether it’s “better” to say that you want to work in Japan or go back to your home country. But that’s the wrong question.
The best answer is to have a clear plan that involves contributing to relations between your country and Japan. Whether that involves working in Japan, or your home country is not so important. Having a realistic, well thought-out goal is.
- What is your plan if you do not get this scholarship?
Do not let this question discourage you. The interviewer is not foreshadowing failure. Instead, they want you to prove that you are dedicated to the goals you described and not just seeking a free degree. When you think about your goals before the interview, make sure that you have a Plan B – another way that you can make progress toward the same goals even if you do not receive the MEXT scholarship. (Ideally, that Plan B should not be more effective than your Plan A of winning the scholarship, of course.)
Other Questions?
I have put this list together based on feedback from readers like you and from other blogs and forums, but you could always come up against something I haven’t seen before.
If you get a type of question I didn’t include above, let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!
Good luck with your interviews!
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Hi Travis,
First, I want to say thank you for all you do! All of your guidance and advice has been really helpful to me and I truly appreciate it.
I am from the U.S. and will be graduating in May 2021 with a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering. I am currently applying for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship at Hokkaido University (specifically a PGP program slot where only applicants of the English Engineering Education program are eligible). There are two screenings. The first screening is a document screening and an interview with my prospective Research Supervisor. If I pass the first screening then I move onto the second screening where I have an interview with a nomination committee.
My question is regarding the interviews. I imagine the interview with my prospective Research Supervisor would be mostly about my research, but is there anything else they may ask me? And I imagine in the interview with the nomination committee I may be asked questions that would also be asked in the embassy interview. But I think I could also be asked more specific questions regarding the University, like why I chose Hokudai over other Universities. Also do you have any idea who might make up the panel for the nomination committee? Should I expect it to be made up of Professors, admin staff, or maybe even a Dean?
I read your article about the embassy recommended interview, but I wanted to know how much of that applies to a university recommended interview. Is there any information or advice you can give me regarding these interviews?
Also, since these interviews will be done online, how should I go about conducting myself? For example, I can’t really bow at the torso since I’ll be sitting down right from the beginning, but I should probably still bow my head? And should I conduct the interview in a room where there is just a blank wall behind me, to prevent distracting the interviewers and to look more professional?
I looked to see if anyone else has asked these questions before, but I did not see it anywhere. If it has been asked and I missed it please feel free to direct me to it!
Thank you in advance!
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa,
I would expect your interview panel to consist of professors for the university interview and a it seems likely that the Dean or at least the Program Head would be present. As you said, you can anticipate questions about your research (at both interviews, since the professors will still be from the same graduate school!), as well as why you chose Hokudai (or why you want to study in Japan, in the first place, but in that case your answer should still be about Hokudai). You may also get some questions about how you think you will do living in Japan and particularly in Hokkaido, but I would assume the main focus will be on the research an the benefits it offers to the field.
As for the Zoom format meeting, everything you said sounds like what I would suggest. You can bow from the waist while sitting and definitely keep your interview environment clean and professional behind you – that includes visuals and sounds! Also, dress for the interview like you would if you were attending in person, of course.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Travis,
Thank you so much for your advice!
Vanessa
Hi
I just wanted to thank you for the information and tips about interview cause this part was my nightmare before reading your website. I graduated as an electrical engineer in my home country but I applied for MEXT undergraduate program and I passed the interview! if I want to share my experience it goes like this: there were 4 judges 2 of them from my home country and the other 2 were Japanese but they were really fluent speaking my native language which is Persian. there was a desk and a chair for in front of judges’ panel. and most of the questions were exactly the same as you’ve mentioned in your website but one of the judges form my country asked me why I’m not applying for research program and why undergraduate again and I answered because I want to learn Japanese(I already have N4 level certificate and I think it really helped me in interview cause they seemed to like it that I learned Japanese by myself) cause undergraduate courses are in Japanese and also because educational system here is too old I kinda need to update my current knowledge before applying for research program . and they also asked about my dream job and I answered joining a robotic laboratory and working on robots with artificial intelligence.
the best part was the question from the last judge who were Japanese and I was shocked! he asked “what is your favorite anime?” I couldn’t stop smiling when he asked me and I told him with a smile that I was advised not to mention watching anime 🙂 and he told me(with a smile)that’s okay and I wanna know so I answered his question and told him my favorite anime is Naruto!
Hi Maral,
Congratulations on passing the interview!
Thank you very much for sharing your experience, as well. I think you are the first person I’ve heard from who successfully applied for a second undergraduate degree, so that was very interesting to hear. (I have heard that applicants for a second masters get the same question about why they are not applying for a PhD). It was great that you had an answer ready!
Thank you for the question about anime, too! If they ask you about anime, it’s fine to say you like it and name your favorite, like you did. I just advise against bringing it up on your own because you want to make sure that the reviewers know that you have a serious interest in Japan related to your research.
It sounds like your preparation worked out very well for you!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi again
I think I should add that the major I want to study there is information engineering and is totally related to my current field which is telecommunication and I also mentioned that I have some work experience as a robotics laboratory member in my university so I kinda was telling them not only I don’t wanna change my major but also I wanna be better at it at the same time I’m learning Japanese. Cause I really think that they’re not interested in people who wants to change their fields of study completely!
Hope that was useful 🙂
Hi Maral,
Thank you for the additional information!
I agree that a complete change of field likely would not be viewed very positively. Obviously, the approach that you took worked very well!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
How exactly these interview should go, I mean when I went to the interview it was obvious that the interviewer who should ask me about my research, field of study and so on, was know nothing about my field more over he didn’t even read my research plan, he was telling me that I didn’t write certain things, while I did write them specifically and included a paper as a reference for my specifics topic and other paper and books for the field in general, it was so weird to be honest, and it is not fair at all to be interviewed by some one who didn’t even know any thing about your field.
Hi Might,
It really depends on the interviewers themselves. The interview should be consistent between you and other applicants in your country, but it might not be the same for people in other countries.
It is not uncommon to be interviewed by someone who is not directly familiar with your field – they have to keep the panel consistent in order to have a fair review of all applicants, but your experience sounds particularly frustrating. Sometimes it happens that an interviewer tries to antagonize you to see how you react to stress, but I’m not sure if it was deliberate or just ignorant in the situation you faced.
In either case, thank you for sharing your experience! I’m sure it will be useful to others facing their interviews, as well.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis
I have a question if i apply for master study is there an exam or a test i have to pass first and if there is how do i know the question form like what should i read ?
Thanks alot for your effort
Hi Jane Ali,
Aside from the MEXT Scholarship application, you are going to have to gain admission to the Master’s Program at the university in Japan. At some universities, that will include passing an entrance exam, but the exam is set by the specific graduate school, not general to MEXT, so I can’t really give any general answers. You would have to find the information for the specific university that you will apply to.
For the MEXT Scholarship (Embassy Recommendation), the only exams you have to take are language proficiency exams in English and Japanese.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi travis
Thank you for giving such a wonderful information on this site I’m from iraq and i’m a dentist i graduated last month and i want to apply for mext for master degree and i have a few questions is experience required to study master in japan ? And if i did study master there will i be able to work there after i finish my study?
Thanks alot
Hi Zainab al-iqaby,
You do not need professional working experience to apply for the MEXT scholarship. Many if not most applicants come to Japan directly after their previous degree.
To find a job working in Japan as a Dentist (after your DDS), you would almost certainly have to be fluent in Japanese. In fact, you would probably have to be fluent before applying for the scholarship, unless you can find a dental program taught in English.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Sir Travis, good day.
Your post is very informative and it has helped me with all my preparation. And I will have my interview tomorrow! Very nervous, yet very excited! I will update my reply if I have passed the primary screening, and the overall experience.
But, I would like to ask for one thing. Do you have a proper email example to communicate with the professors? I have read your other post regarding how to communicate with the professors, but despite my best effort to create a custom email to each professors, it will always sound very generic and seem to not have much praise for their research. But this might partially contributed to the topic that I’m actually interested in is something that the professors have never experimented on, but the field is related to theirs. Your feedback will be appreciated very much !
Sincerely yours,
Tengsejing.
Hi Tengsejing,
Thank you for your kind comments. Good luck with your interview!
Unfortunately, I do not have a sample email for how to reach out to professors, yet. It was something that I had planned to create for the next book in my Mastering the MEXT Scholarship series, but that has been delayed.
In any case, contacting professors before and after passing the Primary Screening are two very different things. The approach I recommend about appealing to the professors is primarily for contacting them before passing the Primary Screening when you are trying to network and build a relationship. After you have the Passing Certificate of the Primary Screening, it should be more of a business-like approach.
First, you’ll want to check to be sure whether or not you should even be contacting professors in the first place. Make sure that you know exactly how your target universities expect you to apply for a Letter of Provisional Acceptance and make sure you contact the right person or office. You can usually find that information on their website. If they do want you to contact professors directly, then it is fine to be up front about applying for a Letter of Acceptance for the MEXT Scholarship at this point, since you are in the official application process. You can be rather more straightforward.
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Update, I passed the interview ! Although there are some questions that were not mentioned by you, such as:
1.) Do you really have to receive scholarship for your goal? (I was asked beforehand; what would you like to do after you finish your Master? I answered that I want to experience work in Japan, and that triggered this question)
2.) There are no Japanese researcher that has the same interest as you, then why still want to go to Japan? (I made a presentation and apparently, I made a stupid mistake where I forgot to refer any Japanese researcher that has the same interest as mine)
3.) Where did you get the idea for your research?
4.) What will you do with the end result of your research?
I think those are the ones that I was not prepared for beforehand, but it seems I managed somehow. Thanks again Travis, you clearly had helped me to pass the primary screening. Have a great day !
Hi Tengsejing,
Congratulations on passing the interview!
Thank you very much, as well, for your comments on the interview. Those are some really good points to cover and I’m sure that it will help future applicants.
Ideally, at least 3 & 4 (and probably 1) should have been covered in your Field of Study and Research Program Plan, at least in brief, so you could build on those answers, but it sounds like you successfully got through the questions, anyway.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis,
Hope you are well. I want to know I have waited so long but not received anything after the interview. It means I was rejected right? I am an Ontario resident. I was wondering why don’t they send me the rejection letter? It’s been many days and many people have already gotten their acceptance letter.
Hi Cici,
No word does not necessarily mean rejection. They should contact applicants who did not pass, as well, to give them their results.
It may sound pretty basic, but I would recommend that you check your spam mail box to see if there is anything there. If not, then I would recommend contacting the embassy/consulate directly to ask.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your reply but it’s been 2 weeks after the interview since September 29, it’s already passed the early October. I am sure I got rejected I think.
Hi Cici,
Even if you’re sure you weren’t selected, I do not think there would be any harm in checking directly. What do you have to lose?
Of course, it is ultimately your decision.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thanks a lot for your advices and guidance it really is helping me a lot, I’m also grateful to everyone who has shared his experience in the comment section! So I wanted to ask, as I’m an aspirant comic artist and chose to study comic art in Japan, is it okay for me to bring my personal works ( 3 comic books ) for the interview even though I already submitted them within my application folder ?
Hi Hazem,
If you already submitted your work in the application, then your interviewers should have access to it. They should have reviewed your application package in completeness before the interview.
I do not know if you will be allowed to bring your works into the interview – I have never heard of anybody doing that before but maybe someone else can comment here – but you can always try. Even if you do try to bring them, though, I would recommend that you be prepared to complete the interview without them, just in case you are denied.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
Thanks to your efforts and instructions, I’ve succssefuly passed the interview. the embassy says that I have to wait for another email to guide me what to do next.
Meanwhile, I’ve contacted some professors and told them that I’ve passed the primary screening and attached my proposal to the emails. Some have replied, but it’s always the same reason; that their labs capacity is already over. while others didnt reply me yet, I’m starting to feel a bit nervous.
My question is, should I wait for the embassy to send me the passing certificate of the first screening and attach it (as a proof) to the emails I send to professors ? (especially the ones who haven’t replied yet), even though I’m not sure if it’s the reason why they’re not replying.
I’m confused, could you please suggest me what to do.
Hi Imen,
Congratulations on passing the interview and Primary Screening!
Once you have passed the Primary Screening, your next step should be to apply for Letters of Provisional Acceptance from universities. (That article is from last year, so the dates will be difference, but the process should be the same.)
You will need the Passing Certificate of the Primary Screening before you can start the official application process, so I recommend waiting to send your emails until you have it, but you can prepare now so that all you have to do is attach the document and press send.. Once you have it, make sure that you are contacting the university according to their instructions. Some universities will want you to contact professors directly, but others will direct you to contact a specific administrative office. If you do not follow their instructions, they won’t treat you as officially applying for a Letter of Provisional Acceptance.
I would also recommend that you take a look at the email you are sending. Make sure that you are tailoring your message to each individual professor or university and that the email is one that they would be happy to receive and reply to (e.g. not all about you and what you want from them).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Again, thanks so much for your content and hard work. You’re the reason I got shortlisted for the interview. Fingers crossed!
Just a question: you know how at the end of the interview, the interviewee sometimes asks questions and this segment of the interview can be what makes one stand out especially if the questions are good (usually in job interviews one can ask abt the company, culture, etc). What do you suggest here during the MEXT interview? Do japanese interviewers also appreciate that or is it against the culuture? Do they invite questions at the end of the interview in the first place? (Also, it’s an online interview only.)
Thanks again for all your help! 🙂
Hi Kelly,
Thank you very much for your kind words!
That’s always a part of interviews that I have struggled with on the applicant side. I’m terrible at figuring out what to ask, but I’m generally bad at asking questions, anyway. I don’t know that I could offer any useful questions here or do anything other than quote conventional wisdom, like don’t make the question about you or make it sound selfish (e.g. what are my chances). If there was something that the interviewers seemed particularly interested in during your conversation, you could ask a follow-up question about that.
Perhaps a question that could be used in any MEXT interview would be about how scholars work with the embassy after completing their scholarship. MEXT wants you to stay involved, participate in embassy events and follow-up surveys, etc., so asking about what kind of events and programs the embassy has and how you can get involved with those could give you a slight boost from being interested in giving back. If you have nothing else that comes up, that could be a fallback option.
I have been asked if I had any questions at the end of Japanese interviews before, so it is not against the culture. In my experience on interview panels, we have often asked or at least given the applicant the chance to make a sort of a closing statement, but sometimes don’t get the chance if the previous answers are long and we run out of time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thanks a lot for this post, I had my interview a few days ago and this side helped a lot in preparing, and I think it went quite well.
One important thing that I did not expect, was the language. I’m from a European country and they actually held the interview in our local language rather than English. Maybe this should have been expected, but it surprised me a bit.
In my case it was only four embassy employees, Japanese and local seeming, but no external professor, so we did not speak much about my specific research plan but more about relations between Japan and my country. How would I contribute to them, cultural differences/cultural similarities, why I want to go to Japan, language abilities (self-introduction in Japanese), how I will continue studying Japanese, plans for after my studies.
So pretty much what you described.
What I did not expect is that they also asked some questions that tested my knowledge about Japan, like:
* what happened recently in Japanese politics? (prime minister changed)
* names of prime ministers and emperor
* name of current era, current year in Japanese (reiwa-2)
* population of Japan compared to my country
* basic structure of Japan (regions, provinces)
* how many prefectures are there
I have been to Japan before for an exchange, so they also asked about that experience, what cultural things I took part in while I was there, if I went on visits to other parts of the country.
The English language exam is doable, the Japanese one is split into three sections – beginner, intermediate and advanced – which I think approximately correspond to N5-N4, N3 and N1. I haven’t taken N1 so I can’t really say, but it seemed like it from comparing to the practice JLPT’s at least.
I think having lived in Japan before is definitely a big plus as well, as it solves questions about language and culture, cultural differences etc.
Overall the interviewers were really friendly, so I think if prepared for these questions, nobody really has to be afraid of the interview.
Anyways just wanted to share my experience, maybe it’ll help somebody.
Best wishes and again, thanks a lot.
Hi No Name Specified,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience! I think this will be very helpful for other applicants.
You are the first person who has told me that your interview was in your local language. That was a surprise, so thank you for making that possibility clear. They also asked you some pretty detailed factual questions that sound more like an oral test than an interview.
Thank you again and good luck in the final results!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
I had my interview 2 days ago and I would like to share my experience below:
The panel consisted of 5 people (3 Japanase + 2 from my home-country) and the overall interview lasted about 20 minutes. All panelists were very ffriendly and asked general questions like: 1) What do you want to do after you finish your studies in Japan?, 2) What do you like to do in your spare time?, 3) How do you think you can apply your research back in your home-country and 4) What was the greatest challenge that you faced in your academic career and how did you tackle it?
All other questions were specific for my research plan so they might be irrelevant for other candiates.
Best,
Georgios
Hi Georgios Boumis,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience! I’m sure this will be helpful to other applicants.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis! I have passed the written exams and will be sitting for the interview very soon. I would like to share a worry of mine about the interview. I’m generally a socially anxious or at the very least shy person. So if the interviewers ask me a question like “Why would you make a good ambassador?” Or “How would you improve the relations between our countries?” I worry that I don’t really ahev an answer for those kinds of questions. Any tips or examples of how I should be answering these questions? I would like to thank you for this article as it has helped me prepare myself for the interview and had alleviated some of my anxiety for this interview.
Hi Syauqi,
I understand where you are coming from. I’m quite shy and nervous in person, too! I particularly hate being in groups.
For interviews in the past, I’ve simply had to practice potential questions with a partner until I felt like I could give confident answers.
About your particular questions, even if you are shy, you can still be an ambassador if you leverage your other strengths. What else are you good at that doesn’t require being in front of people? For example, I would not be comfortable going out and giving speeches to try to connect people, but I do enjoy blogging about my experiences and writing articles that help people understand living in Japan. Could you do something that helps educate people about other cultures without having to be social and gregarious? Writing, planning an event (where other people do the speaking), or putting together videos, etc., are all valid ways to connect people and cultures, too,
I hope that helps!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello, Travis,
My name is Alina. I was wondering how many people do they usually select for the interview and how many people actually get the scholarship after the interview? If you receive an email notification for the interview date after other people, does it mean that you are not as adequate as the others? No document has returned to me, is it weird? I am just so scared. Thank you
In addition, do I have to bring and submit a complete research proposal to the embassy? Is it necessary to do it. In addition, do I need to bring 3 copies of those finished application and research proposal again? Thank you
Hi Alina,
No, unless the embassy specifically tells you to bring those things, you do not need to. They should still have everything that you submitted originally.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Alina,
The number of scholarships available varies form country to country and each embassy or consulate decides on its own how many applicants to invite to the interview, so there are no “usual” numbers that I can offer, unfortunately.
However, the interview is the last part of the Primary Screening, so having made it this far is great progress. In most cases, the number of applicants would have been pared down significantly by this stage.
By the way, I would not read too much into receiving your interview notification later than other applicants. There’s no way to tell what the reason might be.
Your interviewers should have your application documents in hand when you arrive for the interview, or at least they will have reviewed them in advance, so you do not need to bring additional copies. You will only get your application documents back after the Primary Screening is complete and it is time to apply to universities.
As for what to bring to the interview, make sure you follow the instructions from the embassy. If they do not tell you to bring anything specific, then you should not need to bring anything.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much, Travis. I really appreciate it. I will try. Have a great day.
Thank you,
Alina
Hello Travis, hope you are doing fine at this moment. As always, thanks for all your help. I just had my interview today, I don’t think I could have made it this far without all the useful info you share with us.
Also wanted to take the moment to share about the questions I was asked, maybe it could be useful for your blog or other people. I do think however that my interview might have been a bit different than the usual ones. I’m saying this because I would say about 70% of my interview was questions about my specific research rather than the usual “generic” questions they might ask like the examples you give in this blog post.
The embassy official started right away by asking “What do you want to study and why in Japan”, kinda similar to the essay-like questions from the application form. The second question was regarding the cultural aspect of the scholarship, “What sort of cultural activities would I do once in Japan”. After that, they asked about my exposure to Japanese culture, if I had traveled to Japan before, or how have I interacted with their culture throughout my life (just like you suggested I didn’t talk about anime or manga! Lol).
After those 3 “generic” questions, the rest of the interview was oriented towards my research proposal. Maybe about 5 questions related to it. I know you recommended us not to get too much into details or to talk about technical terms and so on, but I ended up mentioning technical stuff anyway because they kept asking about it. I did make sure to always show a clear benefit to both countries and to talk about the benefits my research could give to others rather than myself. I won’t get into details about the actual questions since they are very specific to my research topic and area, but I found it interesting that the interview would go into that direction considering what you shared with us. A friend of mine who participated in the scholarship before was also surprised.
But well that was my experience. I don’t know if I should take it as a good sign that they liked my research idea so much they wanted to know more about it, or as a bad sign that they hated it so much they had to ask me more to understand, lol. They did seem pleased with my answers and several times throughout the interview, it became more like a conversation between all of us rather than an extremely formal and tense environment, but who knows.
Fun fact: when they asked me about my exposure to Japanese culture, I mentioned my love for Japanese literature, so for a moment we were just discussing Japanese authors and books we all liked, that was interesting. I guess it could be a good thing.
Another thing perhaps worth mentioning is that the Japanese exam was slightly different from the sample ones in the Study in Japan website. I suppose it’s to be expected considering that the latest sample is from 2016. Anyway, the entire Kanji section of the test was completely different. In previous years you were asked to “translate” between Kanji and Hiragana, and vice versa. This time, however, each question had about 5 sentences and you had to find those where the same kanji would be used (answers were written in hiragana, of course), so it was more about knowing the multiple readings of each kanji to be able to identify them in multiple scenarios.
I think that pretty much sums my experience. Once more thank you very much for all your help. Let’s hope I can get a good result. Take care.
Hi Johnny Navarro,
It’s good to hear from you again. Thank you very much for sharing your interview experience!
That is quite a bit different from what I have heard from applicants in the past, but it sounds like you handled it well. If the interviewers were asking about the technical aspects of your research, then of course it’s fine to get into those – you never want to not answer their questions. Sorry if I made it sound otherwise. My comment was more about applicants who weren’t specifically asked about the technical details, but got bogged down in those and lost focus on the overall purpose and outcomes of their research. Since you tied everything back to the goals, it sounds like you did an admirable job of both.
I’m curious, if you don’t mind sharing, what was your interview committee like (all Japanese embassy officials? Local officials? Local or Japanese professors?) and was it virtual or in person. I’m wondering if some countries have been shifting to virtual interviews and if that format lets them bring in more academic experts in applicants’ specific fields to the interview team.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis, thanks for your kind words!
Well, in my case the interview was in person. Everyone had to wear masks and they took our temperature before going in. Once inside the embassy, all the applicants had to sit far from each other and we were forbidden to talk unnecessarily. They did have me sit quite far away from the committee which was kinda weird but it was to be expected.
The committee was formed by three people, one Japanese embassy official, and two former MEXT scholars. None of the MEXT scholars seemed to be from my particular field but they still asked a lot of technical questions regarding my research. Even the Japanese embassy official asked questions about the research itself. Based on body language all three committee members seemed satisfied with my answers regarding the research and one of them even said it was something interesting that we should do in my home country too. So I guess perhaps my answers were good. I tried to apply all your suggestions, always trying to speak in a professional way. I think I did “sell” my idea pretty well, but who knows what might happen.
If there’s anything else you would want me to share about my experience feel free to ask! Thanks.
Hi Johnny Navarro,
Thank you very much for continuing to share your experience in detail! That is very helpful for me when I go back to update this article and also for other applicants now!
It’s interesting that they brought in ex-MEXT scholars. I think you are the first person that’s told me about have former scholars in the interview.
It sounds like you did well in it, so I’ll be hoping to hear positive results soon.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis!
I wanted to give you the good news that I’ve been selected for the MEXT 2021 scholarship! Well, at least in my embassy, I know I could still be rejected at the second screening, haha. You did mention is highly unlikely for people to fail at this point, but I guess I should still brace myself for whatever could happen. For now, I have successfully passed all the procedures in my home country.
I want to sincerely give you my thanks, is not an exaggeration to say that without your help I wouldn’t have made it this far. I started reading both your books and blog back in January of this year, and despite wanting this scholarship throughout pretty much my entire undergraduate career, I honestly didn’t know anything about how it all worked before stumbling upon your material. So you could say I started preparing quite late, but in a couple of months, your books help me recover all that “lost” time.
If I can ever help you in any way possible just tell me and I’ll gladly do so. Like for example sharing my Research Plan as complementary material. Although I suppose I cannot share that publicly just yet, not sure how the whole procedure works since as you said I’ll most likely end up doing completely different research altogether depending on my professor. Anyway, I’ll always be open to help in any way possible.
For now, I think the next step would be to look for the letters from the universities, but the embassy officials told me I have to wait a little bit for further instructions.
Once again, thanks for everything and I hope to continue hearing from you.
Best regards,
Johnny
Hi Johnny Navarro,
Congratulations! That’s an incredible achievement.
I’m glad I was able to be of some help in the application process. I’ve noticed that you have been a regular poster and contributor here, and I thank you for that.
If you would be willing to share your Field of Study and Research Program Plan later – after you start your degree, or whenever you are comfortable with it – I would appreciate that very much and I think other readers here would get a lot out of it! If you had any unique experiences during your application or advice that I haven’t covered well enough here and would like to write a guest post, that would also be most welcome. I would love to have more input here from successful applicants.
Like you said, your next step is getting letters of acceptance and the secondary screening. I have to look into what might have changed this year with the Letters of Acceptance process, but it should be relatively similar, just with different deadlines.
Congratulations again, and good luck with the rest of the application!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis!
For some reason I cannot answer directly to the last reply you left me so instead I’m replying to one of the previous ones, hopefully you can see this haha.
About my Field of Study and Research Program Plan, I’d be more than willing to share it if it can be used as reference material for future applicants! I suppose I cannot share it just yet, but when I’m able to I would be happy to do so.
Regarding the guest post you mention, if that’s something you would be interested in doing then I would like to participate! I sent you an email in case you want to discuss it in a more direct way, otherwise, I still plan to continue visiting your blog and perhaps help in any way I can.
Once again, thank you for everything.
Best regards,
Johnny Navarro
Hi Johnny Navarro,
Thank you very much! I will follow up with you separately by email.
In the meantime, I do appreciate you continuing to read and post in the comments here, it’s very helpful and you have some insight that I do not from being on the applicant side at the moment.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Congratulations Johnny! I have been reading your comments throughout the blog posts and they’ve always been insightful! I’m so happy for you!
Thank you so much, Lan! I appreciate your kind words. I’m glad my comments have been useful! I hope that by sharing my experience I can help other applicants prepare for this scholarship. Along with Travis’s amazing blog posts of course!
Hello, I firstly would like to thank you for good job that your doing to help who are in need.
I real tried to pass into different sites including yours,trying to check for the past papers for english test, some sites dont exist at all and some have papers written research but down shows its for undergradutes.
Kindly requesting you to help me with past paper for english test, since am going for test soon.
Thanks.
Hi Baraka,
Thank you for your kind words.
Previous tests are available so you can review them on the official Study in Japan website. The link below will redirect to that site:
http://www.transenzjapan.com/tests/
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis!!
should I prepare a little bit of my introduction in Japanese for my interview?
Hi Shradha,
Have you stated in your application form that you have any Japanese language ability? If you have, they might ask you a question or two to demonstrate it, so it would be a good idea to prepare to be able to introduce yourself or answer some of your simpler questions in Japanese as well as English.
Assume that the level of difficulty of the questions that they will ask in Japanese will correspond to your self-evaluation of your Japanese ability level in the application form and prepare accordingly.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
I firstly want to express my gratitude for all the information and advice you’ve given regarding the MEXT Scholarship! It has helped me so much with understanding the application process and I’m forever thankful that you started this page.
I am applying for the Research student scholarship and have a question regarding the Japanese language examination since the examinations are later this week. Normally, I would try to answer every single question on a test to scrape every possible mark, but would it be ill-advised to guess the answers for the Japanese examination? My Japanese is quite poor at this point, so I completely understand that I’d have to attend the language course later on if I am awarded with the scholarship.
Sorry for asking this question if the answer is rather blatant. I feel like I know what the answer is, but I thought confirmation from someone knowledgeable in the MEXT process would be best!
Thanks in advance!
Clarissa
Hi Clarissa,
You are very welcome. Thank you for your kind comments.
I recommend that you try to answer every question in the Japanese language exam. Your performance, in terms of points, is not really that relevant if your Japanese is poor and you are applying for a degree taught in English. The point is that you’re showing the effort.
Last year, I’m aware that in some countries applicants were rejected during the secondary screening because they had left the Japanese language test blank, so you certainly do not want to do that.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
I would like to thank you first for all the work you have done on this site. It is truly the best site for anything related to the MEXT Scholarship.
I did my interview this past Thursday ( Research student) and I thought I would share my experience with you here.
I was interviewed by 5 people 3 of them were Japanese the others were from my country. Anyway, they asked me the following questions
1- Why did you apply for Mext?
2- my research plan was about locating the best suitable sites for wind energy in Japan and they asked me if I were to do it in my home country, what area would be best to investigate?
3- if you have the chance to work internationally would you do it? ( this question really throw me off guard)
4- what do I know about the Japanese language?
5- did the universities that I have chosen have English taught programs?
6-Before I left one of them asked me a question that was completely outside my area of expertise and it was about solar panels and how it might be more useful as a research topic for japan than doing research in wind energy (my topic).
I really did not have an answer for that last question, all I said was that its not something I have studied before and that solar energy and wind energy are both valuable sources under the umbrella of renewable sources of energy and since the Japanese government is looking for ways to diversify its sources of energy, focusing on one source like solar energy wouldn’t achieve the goal that the governmnet is trying to accomplish.
and that’s about it. They didn’t ask me a lot of questions because every answer I gave was long and we ended up talking for 30 minutes instead of 20 which is the length that was set for the interview ( not sure if that’s a good sign or not)
Anyways that was my 2021 Mext experience, I wanted to share it and wish good luck for my fellow applicants. As for me, I’ll just have to wait for the results
Thanks again Travis and please keep up the good work!
Hi Khalid,
Wow! Thank you very much for sharing your detailed experience with the interview. It was particularly valuable to hear about the questions that threw you off guard.
I think that last question – about solar – indicates the level to which your interviewers are not experts in your field. To a layperson, we might lump all renewable energy forms together, but from a researcher perspective, I think the scientific expertise makes wind and solar completely different fields. It’s very helpful for other applicants to know that they may face that kind of question from an uninformed interviewer.
Thank you again!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis, it’s me Khalid again
I received an email from my embassy today saying that I have passed the first screening! And again I would like to thank you because, without this site, I would’ve definitely struggled to get past it!
With that being said I would like you to clarify something for me, please.
If I manage to obtain an LOA, what are the chances of me passing the second screening because I heard some conflicting things about it, some say it’s very rare and some say that MEXT sometimes changes its mind and reduce the number of the assigned slots to a country in the last minute and thus ending up cutting out some of the people that passed the first screening any information on this topic would be highly appreciated. Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Khalid,
Congratulations! I am very happy to hear that you were successful in the primary screening.
At this point, obtaining a LOA should not be terribly difficult, as long as you have done your research on the programs and you are applying for a university/professor that matches your research interest and language ability. The LOA screening is not as intense as the Primary Screening.
About the Secondary Screening, last year it happened that several applicants did not pass the Secondary Screening, despite having passed the Primary Screening and receiving LOAs. That was the first and only time I had heard of that happening at least in the 9 years that I have been working with this scholarship. My understanding is that MEXT cut the number of funding/slots during the application process. In some countries, that information came before the Primary Screening, so applicants were reduced at the point, but others did not and had to reduce their nominees at the Secondary Screening. (This isn’t confirmed by MEXT, just what I observed).
I do not expect this to happen in consecutive years. Last year, there were major changes in Japanese education that affected MEXT’s budget. This year, even with COVID, there has not been a similar change. So, I still think you have a very good chance of passing the Secondary Screening!
By the way, everyone I heard of who did not pass the Secondary Screening last year left the Japanese language test blank.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for the clarification Travis ^^
the first screening results were delayed in my country for almost a month and the reason being, according to my embassy, is that they were waiting for an email from Tokyo to confirm the number of slots for this year, luckily I was one of two that passed the cut.
when it comes to contacting professors, do you think that it would be ok to send them my CV too? because there things in it, that I simply couldn’t fit into the MEXT application and I would like for my potential supervisor to know more about them
Hi Khalid,
Thank you very much for sharing this additional information! I hadn’t realized that there was a question about the number of slots again this year.
Congratulations again on passing the cut and the Primary Screening!
When contacting professors, I would recommend not overwhelming them with information. The chances that a professor would go through the trouble of looking through your CV after the first emails are very small. Instead, I would recommend a short email explaining why you are interested in studying under them, first (this email should focus on the professor and how your research is similar), and in that message offering to send them more information, including your CV, if they would like to see it.
My first recommendation would be to search the university’s website and make sure that you know how they want you to apply for an LoA. (Do they even want you to contact the professors directly? Not all universities do. Is contacting the professor enough, or do you need to contact an admin office to make your application official?)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey Travis
I’ve done my interview today and waiting for results. I have already contacted some professors last week to ask them for supervision , got rejected by some and others that are more aligned with my research (from Keio Univ and Tokyo Tech) still didnt answer me. My qst is : should I re-contact those profs again in case I passed the primary screening to ask them direclty for LAO’s, or is it better to contact other new Profs instead ?
another qst, how many days should I wait for a Prof’s feedback before sending another email to another Ptof ??
Thank you for your help.
aaand should I attach my research plan (that I’ve joined to my MEXT application) to the emails I send?
Hi Imen,
Once you have passed the Primary Screening, the university should have a list of the documents that they want you to submit and instructions for doing so. If you are contacting professors before that, I do not recommend attaching the FSRPP to the first message, as that can be pretty forward. I would start the conversation first and send it in the second message, instead.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Imen,
I know this is way too late to help you, and we’ve gone back and forth on a series of other questions in the meantime, but I am catching up on old questions and wanted to address it in case it could help future readers.
In general, I would not advise contacting professors after your interview but before getting the results of the Primary Screening. You can’t start officially applying for Letters of Acceptance until after you get the Passing Certificate of the Primary Screening, which shouldn’t be long. Once you have that, you are must more likely to get a response.
I would recommend recontacting the former professors once you have passed the Primary Screening, since that may be why they were not responding.
If professors still do not respond, I recommend sending a reminder after one week, and then trying to contact them through the administrative office of their graduate school a week after that. If even that does not work, then you may want to reconsider if this is a professor you really want to work with. If you decide to switch targets, I would recommend sending one final email to thank the professor for their time and explain that you will be contacting another potential advisor instead.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi,
I am Aayman from Bangladesh. I plan on applying for MEXT scholarship next year for an undergraduate degree. I read your article and I found it very helpful. Thank you.
But I had a few questions. For an undergraduate degree, will the questions change? for example, Will I still need to tell them about any universities or professors I have contacted?
Will I still need to tell them about my academic background?
And will it be rude or insensitive to tell them that I had been amazed and curious about Japan and have wanted to live there ever since I read about World war 2? Or the 2011 tsunami and how I have been amazed at how the Japanese people picked themselves up from these situations?
Sorry for asking so many questions. But would appreciate it if you replied back
Hi Aayman,
My area of expertise is the scholarship for graduate students, so I haven’t done any specific research into the interview for undergraduates, but I would assume that there will certainly be some differences.
For example, there is no Placement Preference From in the undergraduate scholarship application, so you would not be asked about universities or professors.
You may still be asked about your academic background, but there would be less to say.
If you describe any potentially controversial topics (like WWII), I would recommend focusing on the positives – like how you mentioned the resilience of the Japanese people and how they rebuilt. Also, try to keep your descriptions of your interest in Japan focused as closely as possible to your intended studies in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz