Here is your step-by-step guide to fill in the 2023/2024 University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship Application Form.
In most years, MEXT releases the official application guidelines and application forms for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship after universities in Japan have already completed their screening. That means that universities have to rely on the previous year’s instructions and forms during their screening.
This article is meant for applicants applying in 2023 for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship beginning in 2024, but if you are applying in a later year, the form should be almost identical. Of course, please use the most up-to-date form that you receive from the university you are applying to, as there are minor changes, like the year references!
Where to get the form
If you’re signed up to my mailing list, I’ve already sent you a sample filled copy of the form that I use for the examples below. If you aren’t signed up yet, then you can get your sample by signing up here. I’ll also write you as soon as I have any new articles or resources about the MEXT scholarship available.
There are only two minor differences between the forms, which I will describe in the appropriate parts of the explanation section below.
Unless otherwise specified, all sections of the description apply to both versions of the form. The sample form and the images in the article are from the PGP version.
Note: Form is for graduate studies, only
This article is about the application form for the Graduate-Level Scholarship Application. There are also a very limited number of University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship places available at some Japanese universities under the PGP program. I have not reviewed the form for undergraduate PGP applicants, but you can download it here if you are looking for it.
Instructions: Key Points
- You should fill in the PDF forms electronically, if at all possible. MEXT has finally made the forms into fillable PDFs! Not only is an electronically-filled form easier for evaluators to read, it makes it easier for you to make corrections, if you have to. If you are going to write by hand, use black pen and write in all capital letters.
If typing, do not type in all capital letters.
- The instructions say to use Arabic numerals, which means “1, 2, 3” etc. Do not write out numbers (e.g. “one”) in the application form, even if it would be grammatically appropriate to do so. You should also use numbers, not words, when writing out months. (e.g. “05”, not “May”)
- Writing year numbers: Be sure to write all numbers in the CE or AD calendar used in most of the Western world. Do not use the Japanese, Buddhist, Islamic, or Coptic Christian system of counting years.
- You have to write out proper nouns, including cities, states, countries, etc. Do not abbreviate. (e.g. Write “United States of America”, not “USA”)
- This is not mentioned directly in the form, but even if you are filling out the form in Japanese, write all non-Japanese proper nouns (such as names, places, school names, etc.) in English letters. Do not try to write them in Katakana and do not translate terms into English. (For example, if your language uses words that mean “city” or “district” in addresses, write the original word in your language, in English letters, do not translate it to the English word).
Page 1: Basic Information
Click here to download a sample completed application form.
You can insert a digital image directly into the form before printing or attach a physical photo afterward. If you decide to attach a physical photo, then as I described in my article about How to Apply for the 2023/2024 University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship it must be printed on photo paper and you should attach it with paste or a glue stick. DO NOT use staples, as that will damage your photo and make it useless.
1. Name:
Your name (especially in the “alphabet” line) has to match your passport, exactly. You must fill in both lines, even it they are identical. In general, the “Native language” line should match what is written in the top half of your passport, near the photo. If your country uses a language other than English, or uses English with special characters, use the appropriate characters from your language in “native language” line.
The “Alphabet” line should match the computerized text at the bottom of your passport, as follows:
To find your “alphabet” name and the correct order for the form, refer to the bottom two lines of your passport. On the second-to-bottom line, you should see a three-digit country code along with your name. For example:
P<USATRANSENZ<<TARO<FITZGERALD<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Everything between the Country Code (USA in the example) and the first double “<<” is your surname. Everything after the “<<” is your given and middle name, in that order. It is your choice whether to list all of your given and middle names in the “given name” box or to split them between given and middle name, but you must include everything and cannot change the order, even if that’s not what you use in daily life.
If you do not have a “<<” because you do not have a legal surname or have only one legal name, then you should leave the surname block blank and fill in your name in the “Given name” (and “Middle name”, if appropriate) boxes.
You cannot enter any special characters, such as accented letters, in the “Alphabet” line. Those should go only in the “Native Language” line, only.
Yes, that’s a lot of instructions for a “name” line, but I’ve seen a lot of mistakes in the past.
2. Gender:
This refers to your biological gender as stated in your passport, not your gender identity. Do not expect special treatment or even official acknowledgement of alternate gender identities in Japan.
On an individual level, I have found that Japanese people are accepting of non-binary genders–or, perhaps it would be most appropriate to say that most people don’t care about personal details one way or another. However, the government is woefully behind most of the developed world in terms or recognition and treatment, and universities will have to follow government guidance, so do not expect special treatment or accommodation for non-binary gender identities.
3. Marital Status:
This one is pretty straightforward! You should fill in your current marital status. It is not a problem if your status changes later before you travel to Japan.
4. Nationality:
Write the name of the country that issued your passport. (In Japan, your “nationality” is a noun, not an adjective. For example, you would write “Japan” not “Japanese.”) If you have multiple nationalities, choose your “primary” nationality, which should be the country where you currently reside or, if you do not currently reside in a country where you have nationality, than the country in which you have primarily resided during your life so far.
5. Japanese Nationality:
Japanese nationals are not eligible to apply for the scholarship, but if you have multiple nationalities, including Japan, reside primarily in your other country of nationality, and choose to give up your Japanese citizenship to apply, they you would be eligible.
Most applicants will check “No” and leave the rest of the line blank, but if you do have Japanese nationality, then you would have to check “yes” and complete the line.
6. Date of Birth:
The tricky part of this line is filling in your age. You need to enter how old you will be as of April 1, 2024. (Note: this changes every year, so if you are reading this article in a future year, you’ll have to calculate the difference.) In the downloadable example, you will see that the fake applicant has a birthday of Jan 1. That means that he is 21 when he’s filling in the form but will pass his birthday before April 2024, so he needs to enter “22.”
Note: In Japan, your age goes up on your birthday. It does not automatically go up on January 1 or on the lunar new year as it does in some other countries. Your age at birth in Japan is “0”. I am aware that in other countries, newborn babies are considered to be “1” at birth, but use the Japanese system for this form.
7.(1) Current Address:
Your address as of the day you submit the form. If you will move between when you submit the form and when you travel to Japan to start the scholarship (for example, if you will graduate from college and move home), you will fill in your address after the move in 7.(2).
If your current address in is Japan, you need to fill out your current visa status (residence status), too. This is important for confirming how you conform to the eligibility criteria. Remember you can only apply for the PGP Category University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship while living in Japan, not the General category.
Also, if you live in Japan at the time of application, you need to acknowledge that you are not eligible to receive MEXT-funded travel expenses from your home country to Japan at the start of your studies. This applies even if you plan to return to your home country after your application and before the scholarship starts!
7.(2) Your address before departure to Japan
In line (2), either check the box saying that your current address is your permanent address or fill your permanent address (e.g. your parents’ address, etc.), if you plan to move between when you submit the application and when you come to Japan. This is the address that MEXT will use to determine where you will apply for your visa and the flight route you will use.
You also need to acknowledge that you will not receive a plane ticket to Japan paid by MEXT if your permanent address (7.(2) or 7.(1) if you checked same as above) is not in your country of nationality.
7.(3) Phone number
For your phone number and email address, I recommend putting contact information that can be used to reach you at any time. If you’re living abroad, as in the example, and plan to return home before you start the scholarship, put a phone number in your home country.
Be sure to include the country code for your phone number!
7.(4) Email
For your email address, if you do not already have a professional-sounding email address, such as your first and last name, or a student email address from your current university, then I recommend creating one before you submit the application. This is particularly true if your current email address is something that could be seen as “silly”, like the name of your favorite anime character.
When I processed applications for my previous university, we saw some pretty outrageous email addresses, including rude references to anatomy, and those applicants became known around the office by their email, not the quality of their application. You do not want that happening to you.
Page 2: Scholarship Records
8.(1) Past awarded record:
Click here to download a sample completed application form.
The JASSO scholarship and MEXT Honors scholarship do not count for this question. If you are not sure about your past scholarship type, you can ask the embassy or consulate for more guidance. However, if you have never studied in Japan before, then this question does not apply to you and you can check “No”.
If you check “No”, you can skip to question 9. If you answered “Yes”, you have to fill out 8.(2) and 8.(3)
8. (2). Past MEXT Details
In 8.(2) fill in the start and end dates of your scholarship award and the name of the university in Japan. Then check the scholarship program in the section below.
If you checked scholarship types 1, 2*, 3, 4, 6, or 9 in 8.(2), then you need to complete 8.(3) as well. If you checked scholarship types 5, 7, or 8, then you can skip to question 9. Your past scholarship award is not in conflict with receiving another award.
*If you received an undergraduate MEXT scholarship (type 2) as a University-Recommended MEXT Scholar through a PGP program, then you can also skip 8.3. In that case, you are eligible to apply for a new MEXT scholarship immediately.
8. (3). Experience since last MEXT Scholarship
In 8.(3), if required, you would need to fill in your education and work experience since the end of your last MEXT scholarship award and up until the month before you start your scholarship in Japan. You should include any projected activities between the time that you fill out the form and the time you arrive in Japan, too. You have to show that you will have spent at least 36 total months either enrolled in degree programs or working as a full-time employee since your last scholarship award.
For the purpose of this table, count the actual years and months you spent in the program or employed, not the “standard years of study” as we will discuss for the Academic Record, below.
This question seems to conflict with itself in parts. The description in 8.(3) asks for “education or work experience” but the explanation under the table asks you to calculate the “total period of experience of education/research”. I think this is because the requirements were updated in 2019 to allow working experience, but the form was only partially corrected. The eligibility requirements clearly say that working experience counts, so you should include both education (full-time degree programs) and full-time employment in the table and in the calculation at the bottom.
9. Applying for Other MEXT Scholarship for 2024:
If you have already applied for the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship for 2024 and you have passed the Primary Screening, then you would have to tick “Yes” and you would not be eligible to apply for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship this year. However, if you applied for the Embassy MEXT and did not pass the Primary Screening, then that application would be considered to be over, so it would not count.
10.(1) Overlapping receipt of other scholarships:
MEXT does not allow concurrent receipt of other scholarships, so you must verify that you are not receiving or already approved to receive other scholarships that will cover the same period as the MEXT scholarship or that you will withdraw from any others upon receipt of MEXT.
If you are receiving a scholarship for your current degree, etc., that will end before your MEXT scholarship begins, you do not need to fill in that information here.
While receiving the MEXT scholarship, you are eligible to apply for and receive one-time research grants, etc., that do not duplicate MEXT coverage. For example, you could apply for a grant to pay the cost of travel to a conference, or for a specific research activity. But you cannot receive any other scholarships that cover travel expenses to Japan, tuition, or living expenses, including scholarships meant to cover the expenses of dependent family members traveling with you.
You are allowed to apply to other scholarships at the same time as a back-up plan. If you are applying for another scholarship, but the results are not yet released, then you would check “No” in the first line of 10.(1). If you have already applied for and been awarded a scholarship for 2024, but you plan to give up that scholarship if you are also selected for MEXT, then you should select “Yes” in line 1 and “Yes” in line 2, to indicate that you will cancel the other scholarship if you are selected for MEXT.
10.(2) Other Scholarship
If you checked “Yes” in 10.(1), fill in the name of the scholarship here. If you checked “No” in the first line of 10.(1), you can leave this blank or write “none.”
Page 3: Academic Background
Click here to download a sample completed application form.
Academic Record:
Most of the instructions are straightforward, but there are a few items that can cause confusion, explained below.
- 3. If the applicant has passed the university entrance exam qualification, indicate this in the Remarks column: This refers to an exam taken instead of graduating high school. Usually, it is for home-schooled students, students who dropped out, etc. It will not apply to most MEXT applicants.
- 5. Attended Multiple Schools: As you can see in the “Primary Education” line of the example, I have included multiple schools for the sample applicant. You can fill it out the same way for your situation. If there is not enough space, you would write “See attached” in the Name line and explain the details in an attached sheet.
If you are attaching an extra sheet, you should still write the overall start and end dates and the “Period required for graduation” in the application form!
- 6. Total number of years studied: When you fill in the number of years for each level of schooling, it asks for the standard period of enrollment, NOT the amount of time that you spent to complete your schooling. So, if you skipped a grade and graduated early, etc., you would fill in the number of years that it was expected for you to take to finish according to the system at the school. The same also applied if you took longer than expected to graduate.
When calculating total number of school years, you should include extended vacations as part of the year! The simplest way to think about it is that you are counting “school years” not “calendar years.” If your school year goes from September to June, that is 1 full year (even though it is only 10 calendar months).
- 7. Attaching an Additional Sheet: If you attach an additional sheet because you attended multiple schools and cannot fit them in in the same column, then the additional sheet should include a full duplicate of the column you are replacing, with all fields. In that case, still include the overall start date, overall end date, and total years of study in the form, itself.
Schooling Levels
Primary Education:
Typically, this would be your first 5-6 years of education. Do not include Kindergarten. If you attended a single school that covered elementary and middle school or elementary through high school, but these are considered separate levels of education in your country, then you should separate it into the appropriate lines. To find out what the “official” levels of education are in your country, Google “Education system in [COUNTRY NAME]”. One of the top results will usually be a Wikipedia article that describes the system, and this is usually good enough to figure out how to separate your schooling for this chart.
Lower Secondary Education:
Typically 2 or 3 years. As with elementary school, above, if you attended the same school from middle school/junior high school through high school/senior high school, separate it into the two lines, if appropriate for your country. This is the most common level of schooling to be absent in some countries’ education systems. For example, Bangladesh has no “Lower Secondary” school and goes straight from Primary to [Upper] Secondary. If your country (not just your town) does not have Lower Secondary Schooling, then fill in “n/a” for the name and explain in the Remarks line that your country does not have Lower Secondary School. Do not expect the university to know this without your explanation.
Upper Secondary Education:
This includes high school and any college prep school you might have attended, if that took place between high school and college. Do not count community college or polytech experience here, as those would be considered Tertiary Education and should be in the next column.
Tertiary Education:
Enter college or university undergraduate education in the first line and subsequent bachelor’s degrees (if multiple) or graduate degrees in the second and third (if applicable). If you studied abroad, transferred universities, took longer or shorter than the standard years to complete your program, etc., provide details in the Remarks.
Details for Each School
Dates:
For the dates, enter your actual start and end dates for your enrollment (year and month, only). If you attended multiple schools and are attaching a separate sheet to explain that, then you should enter the date you started your first school at that level and the date you completed your last school at that level, even if there were gaps in between.
If you are still enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at the time of application, fill in the expected date of graduation.
Period required for graduation:
For the “Period required for graduation”, you should enter the number of school years that it is expected to take you to complete that level of schooling, even if you took longer or shorter to do so. For example, if you skipped a grade, or repeated a year, etc., you would still enter the number of years that it is expected to take to graduate, not the time it actually took you.
If you are still enrolled in your undergraduate degree when you apply, you should still fill in the standard number of years for the degree.
If there is a difference, you should be sure to explain that in the “Remarks”.
Status (*As of enrolment in the university in Japan):
This entry appears for the tertiary education only. Check the appropriate box. Note that you should fill in the status as of when you start your enrolment in Japan, so if you are still enrolled in your current degree as of the application but will graduate before arriving in Japan, then you should fill in “Completed”.
Degree:
Check the name of the degree you have earned.
Total Years of Education:
This should be the total years as of the time you enroll in the university in Japan, so it should be the total time of all the programs that you will have completed as of that time. If you marked “Withdrawal” from any of your Tertiary programs, indicating that you will withdraw from that program to study in Japan again, then you would not count any years in that program toward your total. Only count programs that you will have completed as of your enrolment in Japan.
Page 4: Academic Background (Continued)
Click here to download a sample completed application form.
12. Field of specialization studied in the past:
List your focus (subject of your thesis/capstone if you have one, or the area you chose to focus your studies), major(s) and minor, plus the department, faculty, college, etc., that you belonged to during all previous degrees.
For example, if you got a BA in History you wouldn’t write simply “History.” You would write something like:
Majored in Japanese history, with a focus on Bakumatsu-era industrial reform. (Department of Asian History, Faculty of History, College of Arts and Sciences)
13. Have you ever written a thesis?
This question refers to either a graduation thesis at the bachelor’s or master’s level or to published works, not to term papers written for a single class (unless they were later published).
14. Publications:
If you have any publications, including articles or conference proceedings, or any works that have been accepted for publication but not yet published, write them here. You should also list your graduation thesis, even if it has not been published. In that case, you can format it as below:
Transenz, T.F. (2024). Post-Cold War Shifts in Japanese Foreign Policy: An Analysis of Official Development Aid Investment Changes in Africa (unpublished bachelor’s thesis). University of
Chicago, Chicago, United States of America.
Author Name (Year of presentation). Title (“unpublished [degree level] thesis). University name, city, country.
Don’t worry if you don’t have anything to list or if you have no graduation thesis. Many applicants, particularly those applying for Master’s degrees, do not at this point.
You must attach abstracts of all papers you list here in the “Abstracts of theses” section of the application documents.
Page 4: Your MEXT Scholarship Plans
15. The first course you plan to take in Japan:
*This question is different in the PGP and General Category application forms. PGP applicants do not have the option to select “Non-regular (Non-degree) course”.
In what status do you want to start your studies? (Note: you might not always get what you want. It depends on the university that accepts you).
- “Non-regular (Non-degree) course” (sometimes called “Research student” by universities): General Category applicants: This is only an option if you are applying to a degree program in Japan that only admits new students to start in the spring semester. Since all University-Recommended MEXT Scholars arrive in the fall, if your degree does not accept students until the spring, you would spend your first semester as a “Non-regular” student then start the degree program in the following April.
PGP Applicants: “Non-regular course” is not an option in the PGP application form, since there are no non-regular programs approved for the PGP!
- Master’s Degree Course: This would include MA, MS, MSc, etc. You might also see a reference to “Doctoral degree, first half”, which is another way of saying Master’s Degree in Japan. A Master’s Degree is a two-year course and, as a MEXT scholar, you would need to finish in two years or you would lose the scholarship.
- Doctoral Course: PhD program. In Japan, this is a 3-year program. The same time condition as Master’s Degree applies.
You might see some programs in Japan listed as “Integrated Doctoral Degrees” or 5-year doctoral degrees. These programs are essentially Master’s Degrees plus doctoral degrees rolled into one program, but with no Master’s degree awarded in the middle. If you are applying for one of these degrees and you want to start in year one, that would count as applying for a Master’s degree. (You would need to apply for an extension later to continue into year 3/the first year of the PhD level.) However, if you already have a relevant Master’s degree, it is possible to apply to start in year three of the program. In that case, you would select Doctoral course.
- Professional Graduate Course: This covers all non-academic graduate degrees, such as MBA, MFA, JD, MD, and programs such as Teacher Training programs. These programs can be at the Master’s or Doctoral level. Some doctoral-level medical degrees are 4 years instead of the standard 3 for a PhD. For those programs, all 4 years would be covered.
16. Term you wish to study in Japan:
This is only for reference, but you should be honest in your goals. Regardless of your entry here, you would only be accepted for the “first course” listed above and you would need to apply for an extension of your MEXT Scholarship later when you want to move on to a subsequent program (such as “Non-Regular” student to degree student, or from Master’s degree to Doctoral Degree.)
Page 4: Employment Records:
Fill in this information accurate as to the date that you submit your application. Will in full-time, paid employment throughout this section, not part time jobs, including teaching assistantships at your university, etc., or unpaid internships.
If you have are still a student and have no employment history, that will not be counted against you, so don’t worry about it. But if you graduated several years earlier and have no employment in the meantime, that might raise some eyebrows.
17. Do you currently have a job?
You should only fill in yes if you are working full-time. A part-time student job is not relevant.
Part of the intent behind this question is for the University to determine if you will be able to leave your current job to go to Japan if you are accepted. (If you’re working part-time, it’s assumed you can quit whenever you want).
If you check “Yes”, be sure to fill in the employer’s name. That is the company name, not your supervisor’s name.
18. Employment Record:
List your most recent two full-time positions here. The most recent position should be in the top line.
For the “location” of your organization, the city and country are sufficient.
The period of employment should include the year and month in YYYY/MM format. You do not need to include the day. For example, for November 2023, you would fill in 2023/11.
When you describe your “Type of work” you should use a general description, such as “clerical work”, “customer service”, “programmer”, etc. This is not a CV where you would be trying to impress the readers with statements like “Delivered high-quality responses to over 200 customer inquiries per week.” Instead of that mouthful, “customer service” would be better.
Page 5: Language Ability
19. Language Ability:
Click here to download a sample completed application form.
For the “Others” line, if there is another language that is relevant to your research, fill in that one. For example, if you plan to reference Spanish-language sources, enter your Spanish ability. If you are doing a comparative study with your home country, then the language of your home country would be best to fill in here. You only need to fill in one language in this block, even if you are a polyglot!
20. Japanese language qualifications:
The question in Japanese specifically asks for your certifications. If you have passed the JLPT, fill in the level in the first block (N1-N5). If you have another official Japanese language proficiency test score, such as one conducted by your country’s foreign service office, you can list that in “other.” If you completed your qualifying degree in Japanese, that also counts as sufficient proof of Japanese language ability.
If you’ve taken Japanese classes in undergrad, etc., but had no official test score, that would not count as a certification, but you can list it anyway (e.g. “8 semesters of Japanese language education”).
Include a copy of your test results (“Proof of Linguistic Ability” in the required application documents) to the application, if available.
21. English language qualifications:
Similar to the question above, fill in your test scores for any official TOEFL (be sure to note the type) or IELTS test. You will probably be asked to produce the certificates from these tests when you apply to university. “Name of other qualification” can include CEFR ratings, O levels, TOEIC, and country-specific tests like GEPT, but understand that those may not be accepted by all universities, so the universities may ask you to submit formal test results when you apply for a Letter of Acceptance. Refer to the requirements for the university you are applying to. This is also where you would fill in “Native speaker”, if appropriate, or indicate “completed qualifying degree in English”, if that is how you plan to meet the eligibility criteria.
Include a copy of your test results (“Proof of Linguistic Ability” in the required application documents) to the application.
Page 5: Family
22. Accompanying Dependents (PGP Application Form, only):
For some reason, MEXT only asks PGP scholars about whether or not they plan to bring dependents, though in the past they asked all scholarship applicants.
MEXT (and universities) discourages you from bringing your dependents with you when you first come to Japan. (In fact, in terms of visa requirements, you may find it impossible to do so.) Neither MEXT nor the universities will take any responsibility for your dependents or provide any support for them.
If you do plan to bring dependents with you, list their names and relationship to you in this table. (Relationship should be from your perspective, so a son would be “son”, not “father-son relationship”).
If you plan to invite your family members to come to Japan, you will have to come to Japan first then apply for a Dependent Certificate of Eligibility for each family member you want to invite.
Anyone that you fill in in this section cannot be your emergency contact in the next question.
If you are filling out the PGP form, note that because of this additional question, all question numbers below will be off by one.
22. Emergency Contact in home country:
To put it bluntly, if you were to die in Japan, who should the university call to pick up your body and bring it home to your country?
I know that sounds morbid, but MEXT wants a point of contact that is that close to you.
The person should also meet the following criteria:
- Must have an email address and access to a phone
- Should, if at all possible, have English or Japanese language ability
- Be an immediate family member if possible
When I was reviewing these applications, any time an applicant wrote “friend,” “boyfriend/girlfriend,” “supervisor,” or anything other than a close family member, we would encourage applicants to choose someone closer.
You must complete every item in this section (although you can leave out the fax number).
Remember to include the country in the address, the country code in the phone number, and use no abbreviations in the address.
Page 5: Past Visits to Japan
23. Past visits or stays in Japan:
List your two most recent trips to Japan, if any. In the “purpose” section, the purpose of your visa is sufficient (e.g. “Student”). You do not need to go into detail. But if you were a MEXT scholar during that visit, you should indicate that.
If you have never visited Japan, then fill in “None” in the “Purpose” column of the first line.
Page 5: Certification
It is no longer required to sign by hand as in the past!
Fill in the check mark to indicate your consent to the application guidelines, then type the date in the bottom line.
Note: MEXT only provides the application guidelines in English for the PGP scholarship, but the important conditions are similar between the two. My article linked above has my detailed explanation of the guidelines, but that is not official.
Hooray! You’re finished!
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the TranSenz supporters on Patreon, who help keep this site running through their generous contributions. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your continued support! If this site has helped you in your application process and you want to “pay it forward” to keep the site running to help future applicants, every contribution helps!
Questions?
Let me know in the comments below!
Interested in Learning How to Maximize Your MEXT Scholarship Chances?
My ebook, How to Apply for the MEXT Scholarship, is designed to help you understand the scholarship and its purpose from the reviewers’ perspective, master the successful applicant mindset, and develop an application strategy that will give your application focus and give you the highest chances of success. For more details and a list of ebok retailers that carry the book, click the image to the right!
👋 Travis
I’m Roz from Algeria 🇩🇿, I have a quick question, maybe is obvious but I want to double check, which IETLS I chose for MEXT, academic or general training?
Thank you very much for your patience and assistance 👏👏
Hi Roz,
Since this is an academic application, you want the academic IELTS.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thank you very much for your updated guide! I am currently applying to a university via this route and had my interview with the professors and admissions team. Since MEXT just updated their form for this year, the admissions emailed the students (I assumed, since they hide the recipients) to update the form. However, they haven’t said anything about the acceptance, so this got me quite worried. Does the university usually apply for the MEXT after they accept students, or do they do that before? Also, when I applied for the program, I was just graduated so I didn’t have a job, but currently I work freelance. Should I input my current job for the MEXT form, or just make it similar with the CV I submitted (only internships)?
Thank you very much for your continuous help!
Hi Andrea,
For the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, each university selects their nominees then sends the nominations to MEXT. MEXT makes the final decision, so the university cannot say anything about acceptance until they hear back from MEXT over the summer.
However, there are a specific number of slots available to each university each year, based on the number of international students enrolled and whether or not the university has a PGP program. The university knows the number and should only nominate that number of students. So there is basically no reason why you would be rejected for the scholarship if the university has nominated you. . . it’s just that you have to wait several months for the official result.
In my experience, universities generally don’t ask students to update their application to the new versions of the form unless they are planning to nominate that student for the scholarship. So the fact that they told you to update your form is a positive sign! They should announce the results of their selection process soon.
For your employment, MEXT is only really interested in full-time employment by a company (Japan has an old-fashioned perspective on employment), not freelance work. So, unless you have established and registered a company for your freelancing, I don’t think it is worth mentioning.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for the reply! Does that mean internships also doesn’t count? Last time I wrote internships under employment and the admissions team asked me whether those are part-time work. I guess the thought they are like ‘baito’ part-time work, even though I interned at a company. Also, seems like the picture frame doesn’t fit the 4.5×3.5cm, should I shrink the pic or just let it bleed? Thanks again, sorry for such simple questions.
Hi Andrea,
Internships are not what they are looking for, but it will not hurt you to write them in the form.
For the photo, you should let it bleed. The dimensions are more important than fitting the frame on the form.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, I just wanted to tell you that the results are out and I’m nominated for the MEXT scholarship by the graduate school! I just want to sincerely thank you for all of your articles, seriously, they have been a huge help. I used them since the very start of researching universities and without them I wouldn’t even be able to apply. Thank you very much again!!
Hi Andrea,
Congratulations! That is great to hear. Thank you very much for sharing your results 🙂
I sincerely appreciate the feedback, as well!
Good luck in your studies in Japan!
– Travis from TranSenz
HI Travis,
Thank you for your wonderful blog. You helped me so much. Currently I am a Research student funded by MEXT by University recommendation. I was a research student for 1.5 years due to language problems. Then this year I applied for an extension to the master’s program. I was surprised that I was ranked last in the recommendations given by the university to MEXT due to the long research student period (I was ranked 5th out of 5 recommendations). The university also said that it is possible that not everyone the university recommends will be accepted. I was really shocked and confused about what I should do. Please give me suggestions. Thank You
Hi Rafa,
As you mentioned in another comment, this question seems to be more appropriate on the article about How to Extend your MEXT Scholarship, so I have answered it there.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Happy new year Mr. Senzaki!
I’ve been following your advice on the embassy route of the MEXT scholarship since 2022 when I first applied but failed. Despite being an undergraduate category applicant, your posts were extremely helpful as well as information I got from other current MEXT scholars. I applied again last year and passed the primary screening in Nigeria. I was one of the 2 undergrads selected in the Nigeria along with only one college of tech candidate. Despite how confident our embassy was in our performance we all received emails last week saying that we didn’t make it. On enquiring from our japanese embassy they said no one was even selected from Nigeria at all and even they were shocked. Considering our perfomance in the written and oral exam we believe the result is abnormal. I understand that MEXT is responsible for the final selection but it hardly seems fair for them to select up to 30 candidates from other countries but to reject all 3 candidates from Nigeria who went through everything required (MEXT even had some of us resend some notarised documents after we’d been recommended). We are trying to contest the result, even if it may be a waste of time. It’s the most we can do because after applying for this scholarship more than once (each of us) this is our last chance. There was no email address on MEXT’s official website and my embassy only linked us with MEXT representatives in Nigeria. I would like to ask if you know any other way to contact MEXT directly. Any infomation at all would help greatly. We’ve already seen instances of MEXT correcting final screening results for candidates in other counties (one occurred because of a mix up with the applicants; names) so we have faith that there’s still hope. There is supposed to be a number of slots for each country and we were selected based on that quota.
Please
Hi Janet,
I am sorry to hear about your results.
As far as I know, for the undergraduate scholarship (as well as CoT and STC), there are not specific quotas allotted to each country, as there are for the graduate scholarship, since there are so few total slots available in the first place. Some countries might receive a specific allocation, but others will be in one pool competing for all of the remaining places.
Unfortunately, MEXT does not have a contact email address. The only contact information I am aware of is the phone number on their official website, but I would not expect anyone there to be able to answer your question in English, so you would have to be prepared to talk to them in Japanese. And honestly, unless there is a case like you mentioned where there was an administrative processing error, then I don’t think that they would be able to change the results or give you any explanation as to why your applications were unsuccessful. In general, MEXT and Japanese universities always refuse to explain selection results, since they would have to violate the other applicants’ personal information rights in order to answer any questions.
Again, I am very sorry to hear your results. You mentioned that this is your last chance to apply for the undergraduate scholarship, but overall, I think it is much more valuable to study a graduate degree in Japan instead of undergraduate, so if you end up proceeding to your undergraduate degree in Nigeria, I hope you can consider applying for a graduate scholarship to MEXT in the future!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello How Do i Know which university are open for university recommendations now or did i miss them out since embassy recommendations is not an option for Palestinian Refugees Since Country is Occupied and i Sent many emails to the embassy of Japan in Palestine back then and explained that I couldn’t enter my country because i was born in a third country and i have Refugee travel document that doesn’t allow me to enter my country because of the occupation and the Palestinian authorities have no power they take permission from Israel the situation but they refuse to let me in or my parents so i was not allowed to submit my application Also is there a way I could find the currently open universities for mext university recommendations in January and February
Hi O,
Unfortunately, the only way to find out which universities are accepting applications for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship program at any given time is to check their websites directly and look for the application instructions. However, not all universities issue an open call, so the application guidelines may not be available at all.
In general, the application process occurs in the fall, so I would be surprised if any universities were still accepting applications in Japan. If there’s a chance at all, it would most likely be with universities that were selected for the PGP program in 2023, since the selection process ended in December and universities might still be recruiting for those programs. I have a link to the PGP programs in my article about How to Apply for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship, so you can check there to see if there are any programs that might work for you.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you, this article has been very helpful.
I want to apply for the MEXT scholarship for graduate studies through the university recommendation track, but I am not sure about the deadlines. If I reach out to professors these days can I still be considered for admission in the university for the year 2024?
Hi MH,
Each university sets their own deadlines and a lot of them will have passed already for this year. You would need to check the website of the university that you want to apply to for their specific information.
Your best bet might be universities that were selected for new PGP programs this year. Since the PGP selection just came out earlier this month, those universities may still be recruiting for the PGP programs!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis.
Thank you. Your articles were instrumental to my MEXT application (embassy recommended).
I have a question on the dependent visa (I wanted to ask on the dependent visa article you mentioned in this article but seeing it was written back in 2016, I was worried you may not check it often that you won’t see my question. I do apoligize for writing it here).
I am an embassy recommended candidate (departing april 2024, hopefully), and planning to get married before that. My fiance is currently studying in Turkey and due to graduate few months after my arrival to Japan. (We have a way of getting married in absenita 🙂
I want to bring her to Japan during the summer for our honeymoon and I was wondering whether it would be easier to use the dependent visa or a normal tourist visa.
Do you have any advice for me?
Thanks again.
Hi Abdi,
From the management side of the website, I see all comments in one location, regardless of which article they’re on. I still regularly get and reply to comments on the Dependent Visa article!
Congratulation on your upcoming wedding! If your spouse-to-be is only coming to Japan for the honeymoon and does not intend to live here with you, I think the tourist visa would be easier. (Depending on her nationality, she may not even need to apply in advance, if her country is eligible for a visa-free stay.) For the tourist visa, she should be able to complete the whole thing in her home country/country of residence without you needing to do paperwork in Japan.
Of course, if she wants to live here with you or stay longer than a tourist visa allows, those would be reasons to go for the Dependent!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you, Travis.
Just for clarification, we are both from East Africa and we don’t have visa-free access to Japan. She is studying in Turkey and I hope she can stay around 2 to 3 months.
From what I could find online, the tourist visa is typically 3 months long and is sufficient for our purposes. We could also extend it further in Japan if we decide.
What I would like to know is how difficult it would be to acquire her visa from the Japanese embassy in Turkey, considering an African passport, how I could facilitate it from my end, and what I could do to achieve that.
Please accept my appreciation for your kind assistance.
Hi Abdi,
I don’t have any experience with tourist visas, so I’m not the best person to ask. But as far as I know, it is generally not possible to extend them in Japan.
If your fiance is residing in Turkiye for her studies, she should be eligible to apply for her tourist visa there, but she should call the embassy in advance to make sure. For a tourist visa, there is nothing I know of that you would be able to do from Japan to assist.
But again, tourist visas are not my area of specialty, so if you can find someone else with more experience in that area, I recommend you to ask them.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks for always helping. I applied for last year’s embassy scholarship, but I could not pass. I want to try applying to university, but is there a list of universities where this scholarship is accepted? It is very difficult to find a teacher suitable for my research and I am looking for a university that offers Japanese education, not English education.I wrote down 3 people when applying for the Mext Embassy Scholarship. I looked at the websites of those universities, but there was nothing written for the university recommendation. What would you recommend me to do?
Hi Heatc,
Every university is eligible to nominate candidates for the MEXT Scholarship, but not all of them will be willing to do so (it’s quite a lot of work for universities) or have a specific, open application process for MEXT Scholars. For example, some may simply choose to nominate the top candidates out of their fee-paying applicants or may only make the application available to partner universities. Unfortunately, I don’t know any way to search other than checking the universities’ websites one-by-one.
I have an article about how to search for universities that offer programs in English – they are more likely to accept MEXT application, even if you’re applying in Japanese, since they are actively seeking international students. You can also check the list of PGP programs in my article about how to apply for the university-recommended scholarship to see if there is one in your field. (Even if not, you’ll know that any university on that list is willing to accept MEXT applicants!)
One final note: It may already be too late this year at some universities. Even though the guidelines have just come out, some universities conduct their applications based on the previous year’s guidelines and finish the application period before the new guidelines/form come out.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
HI Travis,
As always, thank you for your wonderful blog. You are the only one who discuss into the rabbit hole of the MEXT scholarship procedure.
I was applying for the G to G MEXT, but failed. Right now I am applying for U to U. Thankfully, I already have a prospective sensei. We met at certain event months ago and we talk a lot about my intention to apply for scholarship. He accepted my application in his lab, and instructed me to fill the application form and research plan weeks ago.
The thing is, as far as I know, there is no quota for U to U this year in my prospective department. So my prospective sensei will (maybe) negotiate in the faculty. He is a senior after all. So what’s your opinion on this?
Also, I want to know the time frame for U to U. Is it okay to ask about the outcome in March (for the internal selection in the faculty)?
Thank you
Hi Ariij,
Thank you for your kind comments!
Could you explain what you mean by “U to U” and “G to G”? Neither of those are types of MEXT Scholarship, so I’m not sure what you are referring to.
For the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, the only time that there are quotas for a specific faculty is in the case of PGP programs. So, if you do not find the program that you want to apply to in the PGP lists above (Note: As of today, the list of PGP program selection for 2023 is not yet available, even though it was due out in November, so more could be added soon).
Outside of PGP programs, there is only a quote for the university as a whole. As explained in my article about how to apply for the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, that would be up to a maximum of three students. So, in any case, your prospective professor would have to make your case at the department, faculty, and eventually university-wide level. That means that you need to have an excellent application, particularly in terms of your grades and research proposal, in order to be competitive. No matter how senior your prospective advisor is, if there are other candidates with objectively better results and research plans, they are going to have priority.
For the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, universities must submit their final nominations to MEXT no later than March 4, so they should finish their internal selection and contact candidates to confirm their continued interest/ask them to submit any additional required documents before that time.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you for your insight.
U to U is university recommendation, while G to G is government / embassy recommendation. It’s what we called in Indonesia.
About the competitive nature of the selection, it make sense. My prospective professor had me revised the research proposal many times before submission.
Hi Ariij,
Thank you for the explanation and follow-up. I hadn’t heard those terms used elsewhere.
If the professor has taken the time to revise your research proposal several times already, then it seems like there is a good chance that they would strongly support your application during the internal deliberations. But a lot depends on the quality of other students’ applications and how strongly they are supported, as well.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz