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
I have written a separate article about the language proficiency and subject area tests that you will have to take during the MEXT Scholarship Primary Screening. Please see that article for more advice and links to sample tests.
Preparing for the MEXT Scholarship Interview
First, 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.
Online Interviews
As recently as 2022, some countries were still holding interviews online, but most have gone back to face-to-face interviews. The format may vary from country to country so please be sure to check the details for your specific country.
Interview Panel Members
Based on feedback from past applicants, embassy MEXT scholarship interview panels typically seem to consist of three interviewers. Two are embassy officials and one is often a professor from a local 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. On the other hand, I have heard stories of applicants who found that their previous advisor was the expert professor on the panel!
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, although in some cases–when there were relatively few interviewees–I have heard of interview up to twice that length. If you look around at the other interviewees waiting on your day, you should be able to get an idea of how many interviews the panel needs to get through and how long or short they might be.
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 while you speak, too. If you get a multi-part question and forget the second part halfway through your answer, do not hesitate to 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. (Unless you are applying for a degree taught in Japanese!)
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.
Conduct in an Online Interview
If you are participating in an online interview, some of the above will still apply. You will already be sitting when you start the interview, of course, but you should still bow to the camera at the start.
Make sure, of course, that the background to your interview video is clean and free of distractions. A white wall, etc., is best, or a bookshelf. You could also use a virtual background showing your university, or the university that you want to study at in Japan.
You do not want a cluttered living space and also make sure that nobody else passes through the video area or makes noise around you during the video. Dress as you would for an in-person interview (at least from the waist, up!).
In an online interview, to make “eye contact” you want to look at the camera lens, not at the screen showing the speakers. It helps to keep your camera as close as possible to the screen. If it is in a different location, like far above or below, or off to the side, then every time you look at your screen, it’s going to look weird to the interview panel.
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.
- What are the limitations of your research?
This question will usually follow your explanation of your research and is designed to see if you have really thought through your research topic and know your methodology. The tricky think about this question is that an interviewer can ask it even if they don’t really understand your research topic.
Be prepared to explain one or two limitations and how you will overcome them or why your research is still valuable despite the limitations. (I recommend that you prepare this as part of your Field of Study and Research Program Plan.)
- 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.
- Is your research appropriate for the program you picked? (From an MBA applicant)
I heard about this question from one of my Patrons who was an MBA applicant, but it could apply to other fields that do not have a thesis as their culminating project. Even though the FSRPP asks you to write a 2-year plan (for a Master’s), many MBA programs do not have a thesis requirement and might only have a capstone class as one course in the second year, so the program doesn’t match the research plan requirements.
If this is the case for your application, you should know that in advance and describe how you will use other courses and time outside of class to prepare the research that you will submit during the final capstone. Describe how the topic and intended results are most important to you and that you will consult with your advisor at the university about different ways to approach it, but that your proposal is one way that you think you can achieve your academic goals within the degree and prepare for your future career.
- 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: Since 2020, this question has been added to the application form as an essay, but it still comes up in interviews. Another variation is “Why did you choose Japan instead of another country.”
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 home country, that’s a great thing to mention, too!
“Because of the scholarship opportunity” is not a good answer!
- What do you think you can contribute to the relationship between your home country and Japan?
Note: This is also an essay question in the application form, but I heard an applicant report they were asked the question during the interview in 2023.
Try to be specific and highlight a unique contribution that you can make. If possible, avoid something that anyone else can say.
Think about this question in two phases: What can you do in Japan while you are a student to contribute to the relationship between the countries (i.e. intercultural exchange related to your research topic or to a unique talent) and what can you do after you graduate to strengthen connections, regardless of whether you plan to work in Japan or your home country (i.e. a professional, diplomatic, academic, or volunteer contribution).
- 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?
(Or, “How long have you been studying 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.
- What are some famous places you want to visit in Japan?This question is just a test to see what you know about the country to make sure that you are really interested in Japan, and not just the scholarship.
To prepare, look up some locations in advance that are related to your research, if possible, related to the reason you described for your initial interest in Japan, or are at least near your intended universities.
- Tell us about your academic background.
Another variation on this question is, “Do you have any research experience, or will this be your first time?” (Particularly for MBA or master’s students without a thesis).
In this question, the reviewers are looking for evidence that you can handle the academic workload and research in Japan without needing a lot of support and hand-holding. So, this is a great chance to talk about your performance in your previous degree while highlighting the research methods you have used and any publications, presentations, or awards, particularly related to your field in Japan.
- Tell us about your background. (without the “academic” in the question).
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.)
- Why do you deserve this scholarship?
For this question, I recommend that you mention your past academic accomplishments and practical contributions (such as work experience or community service, etc.), to show that you have a track record of success and contribution, then pivot to explain how you will continue that pattern as a MEXT scholar and after graduation. You are trying to persuade them that awarding you the scholarship will better achieve the government’s goals of strengthening the link between the countries and contributing to society in both Japan and your home country than awarding it to another applicant.
- Do you have any questions for the panel?
Personally, I have always hated having to answer this question, but it comes up on almost all interviews, regardless of what it’s for. When I have sat on the other side of the room, as an interviewer, though, I have seen that it makes a significant difference if the applicant has prepared a well-thought-out question for the panel. It shows a level of interest and passion that gives a much stronger impression than someone who says, “No, thank you.” (Although a question that you should have been able to answer yourself, or a selfish question about the process, do not give a strong impression.)
One best practice is to ask a question that refers back to your previous conversation or a comment by the interviewers. For example, if the academic expert made comments about your research proposal or mentioned their own research, you could follow up on that.
Some “general” questions that almost anyone could ask would be about how the interviewers have worked with past MEXT Scholars after their studies, or you could ask the Japanese members of the panel what their one piece of advice would be for an international student when they first start their studies in Japan.
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 interview!
Hi Travis, unfortunately I was not able to pass the first screening this year. However, I would still like to tell you about my experience which may help someone else in the future.
For the documentation there was no major problem, the instructions from the embassy, in conjunction with the models you have on the blog are sufficient reference to easily pass that part.
The exam on the other hand, although I was able to pass it, I was informed that not having a high score was one of the causes of my final disqualification in this opportunity. I know that on the internet you can find past exams from the years 2007 to 2016 (not counting 2011) but I still don’t feel that there is enough material to practice and you have to end up looking for exams from other sources with similar fragments. My recommendation in this case would be to have a good tutor in English, even for native speakers because the grammatical knowledge needed is quite a lot.
As for the interview, it was a bit strange, I’m not sure if it was due to external causes or in my country is the usual way to conduct it, in it most of the questions were in my native language, which were:
1- Why study that specific topic and 2- Why in Japan, however, they asked one question not on the list which was: 3- Do you have a plan B of your thesis in case you cannot carry out your plan A. I suspect that this question was because my proposal was considered too ambitious to get good results (another reason for my disqualification) but I consider that it could happen in some other scenario. And they only asked one question in English which was: 4-Tell me about your extracurricular activities during your undergraduate years.
On this occasion we were 10 applicants and 5 passed successfully the first screening, so here is the final question. Do you have any advice about the acceptance letter, the format? What it should say? That will be helpful for my colleagues.
Finally, I remain grateful for all the information provided both in your books and in the blog and I know I will be writing to you again next year. A friendly hug from Venezuela.
Hi Augusto,
I am sorry to hear that your application was not successful this year, but thank you for sharing your experience! I am also glad to hear that you will try again next year.
I appreciate the feedback on the tests in interview! I’m sure that will be helpful for future applicants.
I have heard of applicants being asked what they will do if they do not get the scholarship, but I think this was the first time I heard of anyone being asked about a plan B for their thesis.
Regarding the Letter of Provisional Acceptance, there is a set template, so you do not need to worry about it. In the past, MEXT asked applicants to send the template to universities along with their application documents, but that no longer seems to be a requirement this year. (It was pretty useless in the past, too, to be honest, since most universities already had it!)
Just in case a university asks you to send it, here is the template for the 2021/2022 application cycle (word file download from MEXT website).
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you again for your helpful comments.
Just an update from my initial contact: Fortunately, with the help of your website and confessions of MEXT Scholars, I have been able to pass the primary screening. I would like to share my experience.
Just to provide a clear background, I do not have any Japanese proficiency and I was honest about it on my application form as well.
I was worried because I was dressed semi formal , But now that I think of it, I believe that my attire might have been a good representation of how I may look as a student.
With the help of the sample papers, online tests and IELTS/TOELF sample papers, the English exam went well. The Japanese exam on the other hand was completed in 5 mins ( the examiner also joked about it but she encouraged us that it will not affect our application.
My interview time was meant to be for only 20 mins. It was in a huge room with 3 interviewees (two Japanese officials). I will mention the list of questions that were asked below but one thing I was mostly surprised during the interview was that they did not asked a single question about my research topic. ( Economics; Macroeconomics; Public policy)
1. Introduce yourself and explain why do you want to travel to Japan.
2. Your first choice is a uni in Tokyo. How will you manage the cost of living?
3. What will you do to maintain the relationship between your country and Japan?
4. Classes in Japanese Universities may end quite late at night, do you believe you will be able to manage?
5. Did you get in touch with any faculty members?
6. At the moment you are unemployed, if you get a job, with a very good pay prior to the scholarship, will you take it?
7. Would you prefer to work in Japan or your country?
8. What obstacles do you believe you will face in Japan?
9. During your UG studies, did you travel to your home country?
10. What are your plans after your PG?
11. How will you represent your country during your stay in Japan?
The interview went on for around 40-45 mins. For the first few minutes, I was nervous( also had trembling fingers), but after that, The line of questioning was so lively and fun that I ultimately feel like I didn’t have a interview but a long informal conversation. After the interview, they gave the timeframe and within 1 week, I was advised that I had passed the primary screening.
Now, I am in the process of waiting for a LOA and I had a doubt. The embassy requested for the Placement preference form during the document screening phase where I added uni A, B and C on the form. After a more detailed research, I found Uni C to be better for me that Uni B and I requested for LOA from Uni A and B. Both of them replied and said that They will start the screening after 27th Aug and will get back before 29 Sept. (deadline)
1. Will I need to submit an updated Placement preference form since my number 3 is now number 2?
2. if both of them reject after 27th Aug and the deadline to request a LOA is over, Do you believe I will lose the opportunity to get the scholarship and an admission at my 3rd choice as well?
Thank you again for all your help and Support. Really appreciate it!
Hi Krishtee,
Congratulations on passing the Primary Screening!
I appreciate your feedback on your Primary screening process and sharing the questions from your interview, too! That is very helpful for future applicants.
It’s interesting that in some cases the interviewers focus entirely on the research and in others, they don’t ask about it at all.
About your questions:
1. In general, you will need to resubmit the Placement Preference Form again after getting your Letters of Acceptance, no matter what, and you should be able to change the list of universities. In fact, you might have to! If one of the universities rejects your application, then you would be required to remove it from your Placement Preference Form. Even if none of the universities reject your application, you should still be able to reorder them on your form (or add a completely new university, for that matter).
2. If both universities that you applied to for an LOA reject your application, then you would not be able to list them on your final Placement Preference Form. You would have to replace them with new universities. In that case, you would still resubmit the Placement Preference Form to the embassy, even if you had no Letters of Acceptance. You would not automatically lose the scholarship opportunity. MEXT would still screen your application and reach out to the universities on your list to ask them to accept you, but ultimately if none of the three universities on your final list accept you, then you would lose the scholarship.
Over this last year, I have seen both results from applicants who did not get any Letters of Acceptance. Some still earned the scholarship and were placed at a university on their list, while others could not be placed and so lost the scholarship.
Hopefully you get two Letters of Acceptance and have nothing to worry about. If you have researched your universities and professors well, then there should be no problems!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
I want to share a terrible interview experience. I thought the interview is going to be conducted in English with some simple questions asked in Japanese but it turned out to be ENTIRELY in Japanese. I also heard from a past scholarship recipient from my country that the interview is going to be mainly on general questions like why study in Japan but mine was mainly on research! I was so shocked and frustrated that I could not give complete answers and I am 100% sure that I will fail! I guess they did so because I wrote the research plan in Japanese and I applied for Japanese Applied Linguistics. But really? I don’t think it was a fair interview because those asked in English must perform way better than me and I am sure that I could have given good answers in English as I have prepared scripts for the interview. If I apply it again next year (well, I was quite discontent with the unfair treatment), I will not write the research plan in English and may consider other program choices.
Hi Yoyo,
I’m sorry, that sounds like it was a very challenging experience!
If you plan to conduct your research in Japanese and write your Field of Study and Research Program Plan in that language, they will expect you to be able to discuss your research in Japanese, but frankly, I’m surprised they had an interview panel that was capable of interviewing you all in Japanese. Usually there are some local experts from your field of study, too.
I hope the panel considers that you were presenting in Japanese when they evaluate the results in comparison to the applicants who spoke in English. I have heard of other cases where applicants with Japanese language ability tended to be favored over those without, so maybe that will help you.
I know you’re not expecting to succeed in the Primary Screening now, but if you do get good news, please let me know.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Great work Transenz I will like to know if the interview phas is the only criteria for embassy selection. Particularly for graduate students.
Hi Humility,
The document screening, language tests, and interview are all parts of the embassy selection. Your combined performance on all of them should determine your final results.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your efforts in helping people to be more competent for the scholarship.
Well, I have some bit off-topic question.
1) I am still doing my master’s and I have applied for a Ph.D. degree in humanities. I have an interview within 10 days, and I am wondering if I can change my application to have a second master’s degree rather than a PhD, how applicable is that?
2) After finishing the language preparation period and taking the entrance exams, if for any reason I failed and could not get in after the 6-month language preparation in Japan, what would be the possible consequences?
3) finally, before ending my interview, the moment they ask me “Do you have any questions for the committee?” what the perfect answer should be to leave the interview with a good impression?
Sorry if the questions are a lot. Thank you!
Hi Emma W,
1) If you have already submitted your application saying that you wanted to apply for a PhD and it has gone through the first part of the document screening, I do not think it is possible to change it to a second master’s degree at this point.
2) If you start in the language program, you would be considered to be a research student and you can remain in the research student status for up to two years (if you arrived in April) or three semesters (if you arrive in the fall), including that language program. You could continue to remain in the research student status and try again to pass the entrance exam, as long as it was within that time frame and there is no gap between when you finish your research student status and start your degree.
3) In my experience as an interviewer (not for the MEXT Scholarship, but other roles in Japan), one of the best responses I have seen in that situation is when applicants take the opportunity to make a statement instead, focused on their goals and what they hope to contribute to society after earning the scholarship or a summary of the key points they have made in the interview.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hey,
I’m really glad that I found your blog, it has been super helpful through my MEXT process. I am a research student, with the Embassy interview coming up soon and I’m almost done preparing for it. I have a question that may possibly come up during my interview and I request your assistance regarding it. The professors that I mentioned in the placement preference form, and my research plan are from a different department/field/school from my current ongoing bachelor’s degree program. Should a question arise something along the lines of “why did you choose this field while your current course of study is different?” what would be the best course of action?
Hi Ramshey,
You should certainly be prepared to explain why you are changing fields, and you also need to be able to show how the research you plan to pursue in Japan is related to what you have studied in the past, since that is a requirement.
Ultimately, you should be able to explain why you are interested in the field you plan to study in Japan – explain it in terms of how you will use that research experience to work to improve society – as well as what motivated you to pursue those studies, which should include your academic background.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Hope you are well and safe.
I would honestly like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the hard work that you put in setting up this website and replying to everyone.
I have passed the document screening and will be going for the written exams & interview on 30th June. I have a doubt and would be grateful if you could please help me.
The universities that I have selected and written on the preference form require a research/thesis on the 2nd year and therefore there is no need for an entrance exam in the beginning. Do you believe I must let the interviewers know this particular information and whether this information may hinder my chance of getting this scholarship?
Hi Krishtee,
Thank you very much for your kind words and congratulations on passing the document screening!
An “entrance exam” is always required for every degree program. Without passing the entrance exam, you cannot enroll at the university. It has nothing to do with your thesis or completing your degree.
However, an “entrance exam” does not always require a paper test. Sometimes a university considers the screening of application documents and interviews to be the entire entrance exam.
I would recommend that you do not try to tell the interviewers that there is no entrance exam, since that would not be correct and it would indicate that you do not understand the university system.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I find your blogs about the MEXT scholarship very informative and helpful and aiming to reply for MEXT scholarship to pursue my PhD degree.
I have a small question related to English proficiency certificate. Is IELTS or TOEFL test score mandatory before filling the application form either for Embassy Recommendation or University Recommended MEXT Scholarship?
Thank You
Nadir
Hi Nadir,
Thank you for your kind words!
IELTS/TOEFL is not required for the Embassy-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, but some universities may require language proficiency test scores when you apply to them for a Letter of Acceptance.
For the University-Recommended MEXT Scholarship, though, TOEFL/IELTS (etc.) are almost always required. You would need to have your test scores before submitting your application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thanks to your books i was able to pass the document screening, and now i am waiting for the written examination to be done next week. I want to make you some questions, firts i am afraid for the Japanese test, i know is not mandatory to pass it, but i also know is very helpful in my postulation if i can answer some of that question in the test. Do you know what is the bare minimum to past both Japanese and English Test? I fell mor confortable with the interview, but i need to pass the written examination first.
Second, How can i do the approach with my posible tutors, before recommendation letter period, because i feel more confortable with a preview contact but i don’t know what write to them or how to write a mail without sound annoying, there is a example or a format that i can see to guidance?
Thank you for your time
Hi Augusto Arvelo,
Congratulations on passing the document screening! I have very happy to hear that the books were helpful with that process.
If you are applying for a degree taught in English, there is no minimum grade for the Japanese test. Do not leave it blank, since I have heard of applicants being rejected for that in the past. The better you do, as opposed to other applicants, the more it should help with your application, but that is not going to be as important as the FSRPP, your grades, and your interview.
For the English test, you would need at least B2-level proficiency on the CEFR, but I do not know exactly what that would be on the Embassy test.
In general, I do not recommend contacting potential professors during the primary screening process, since you are less likely to get a response. In many cases, they will know the application cycle and they know that most applicants for the MEXT Scholarship get rejected during the primary screening, so some universities even have policies to not reply to anyone who hasn’t passed the Primary Screening.
I haven’t written an article with a template email yet, so I do not have anything specific to direct you to. (There is one in my book that just came out, but I haven’t gotten it updated here yet). In general, though, if you are contacting professors before asking for a Letter of Acceptance, I recommend that you keep it to about 3 short paragraphs, make sure it is tailored to each professor and expresses why you are interested in working with them, in particular. I recommend that you briefly describe your research topic and ask if they would be willing to have a follow-up conversation with you about whether they would be able to supervise your research.
I’m sorry that isn’t much details, but I hope it helps.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, i am glad to tell you that i pass the written examination screening and have my interview next week. Thanks to all your advises and books i can move forward thought the primary screening, if i achieve my scholarship and have the opportunity to know you let me buy you some beers (in my country it is a sign of gratitude and respect for someone)
On the other hand, I would like to ask you about the interview, I have already found out from you what I can say, but I would like to know what I CAN’T say, phrases and other things that can be misinterpreted. also the embassy asked me for a self-introduction document where I talk about myself and my extracurricular experiences, together with a Meishi, what is the best way to elaborate both documents?
All thanks to you and your time
Hi Agusto Arvelo,
Thank you very much for your kind words. I look forward to meeting you in Japan for a beer next year!
That’s an interesting question about what not to say. Nobody has asked me that before and I’m not sure I can think of anything in particular. You should avoid sounding like you know better than the interview panel, etc., (so, avoid absolute statements about whether or not you think you need the Japanese language program, or avoid making statements about the education system in Japan, etc., unless you are absolutely sure that what you are saying is correct, or you can cite a reference). But that’s really just common sense level.
As for elaborating on your self-introduction and meishi, I would recommend trying to think of connections between your current/past activities and your research goals in Japan as well as your ideas for community interaction. If they give you the chance, then highlight activities that you want to continue in Japan to get involved or ways that your past activities have prepared you for your research, living in another culture, taking responsibility for yourself, etc.
I hope that helps.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
Thank you for all the helpful tips for application and interview. Honestly, without your blog as a guidance I would not be able to pass the document screening for sure. I just received the invitation to interview yesterday, and the interview is only four days away! I am applying for PhD position, and in the email the consulate sent me they mentioned that there is going to be a Japanese language proficiency assessment during the interview and I have no idea on how to prepare for it. I do have some knowledge on the language, but they are limited to reading and listening since I do not have the environment to practice Japanese conversation. Is it possible that they can let me reply to their questions in English? I did marked on the application that my ability to speak Japanese is poor.
Another question I have is that will the committee have a higher standard for English proficiency for applicants in the United States? I immigrated to the United States when I was 17, so my English fluency is definitely not comparable to native speakers, and I am afraid that this will hamper my chance of being selected.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your kind words!
Unless you are applying for a degree program taught in Japanese, most of your interview will be in English. They may ask one or two basic questions in Japanese to assess your ability if you listed Japanese language ability in the application form. (Sample questions I have heard before include “What are your hobbies?” or “How did you get here today?”). All serious interview questions about your research, etc. should be in English.
The Japanese language exam is separate from the interview. You can find examples of past exams on the official Study in Japan website. Again, if you are applying for a degree taught in English, that is not going to be a major factor. However, make sure that you do not leave it blank. You should make an attempt no matter what.
I do not think that there will be a higher standard of English language ability for applicants in the US, but it is unavoidable that interviewers will compare your performance to other applicants. If your spoken English is as good as your written English in this comment, though, you should have no issues. They are not looking for perfection, just competence.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis,
For the interview, I was wondering what kind of questions do they ask in Japanese. Also, I did an exchange program in Japan where I took Japanese B1 and did an online class with Japan last semester where I took B2. However, my Japanese is still not that good especially when it comes to conversation. Do you think it can affect my eligibility to succeed?
Hi Meru,
As long as you are not applying for a degree taught in Japanese, having B2-level ability should be more than sufficient! If you are applying to study in Japanese, you may get some research-related questions, but if you are applying to study in English, they are probably going to ask you some simpler questions just to check your language ability. Other people have shared in the comments what they were asked, but I remember some questions being things like “How did you get here today.” or “What do you like to do in your freetime.”
If you are not comfortable with conversing in Japanese, I recommend practicing in advance if you can!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you so much for your reply, dear Travis.
I chose to do my master in English
However, if I have conversation in Japanese, and my ability does not demonstrate that I am a B2 level, do you think it will decrease my chances? Like the fact, I have studied Japanese but I am still not good at it? Is it going to look like I do not want to learn it? The thing is that I want to, but I just need daily practice and it’s been a while since I did not speak it, so I feel pretty stressed since the interview is in 3 days. Also, I wish to take 6 months of Japanese classes if I get the scholarship because I want to learn it bettert, or is it only for students who never studied Japanese?
Hi Meru,
If your research and degree program is in English, then there would be no language ability requirements for you in Japanese. The fact that you can speak any would be beneficial to your application!
Most universities and officials in Japan are aware that students who have studied Japanese in the classroom outside of Japan tend to have technical ability, but struggle with actually using it in context. However, that gets a lot better once you’re living in Japan and using the language on a regular basis.
As for the language program, that’s going to be up to the university to decide. If you already have B2-level ability, it might be too low level for you. I’m not entirely sure what level it is targeted at, but maybe someone else who has gone through it can add a comment here.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello Travis,
A big thanks for all your blogs! I have my interview in a weeks time and all the information has been of great help!
I do have one question though – I sent in my Placement Preference form alongside my initial application documents stating my preferred supervisors. However, I have reviewed them and found a better supervisor related to my research at my first choice university.
Whether or not I pass my interview (fingers crossed!) would it look bad if I contact the embassy to try and edit my choice?
Thanks again for the all the help,
Yusuf
Hi Yusuf,
Thank you for your kind words!
In all cases that I know of, you are allowed to change the list of universities and professors in your Placement Preference Form after the primary screening. (And in some cases, you may have to!)
After the Primary Screening, you will contact universities for Letters of Provisional Acceptance, but you might not be able to get a letter from each university that you reach out to, so in that case, you would have to change your list, anyway. It should also be no problem to change the list (and contact universities that aren’t on the list at present) based on your preference, too.
There is no need to contact the embassy now to change the list, you will have the opportunity later.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis!
So I had my interview two weeks ago today and still have not heard any response from the embassy. Not even in the Spam box!
I think it went quite well – they were far more personable than I was expecting, someone asked me if I would do kendo in Japan because I enjoy fencing – but have gotten stressed by the complete silence. Especially considering the timely process of reaching out for Letters of Acceptance.
If I didn’t pass the interview is there a chance they wouldn’t say anything at all?
I’m thinking of trying to contact them by the end of this week but thought to first ask if you have any advice?
Thanks,
Y
Hi Y,
I think if you get to this stage, they ought to contact you with the final result. Did they give any projection about when the results would be released? If they gave you an estimated timeline and that time has passed, I think it would be a good idea to reach out to them.
Otherwise, you can still contact them now and ask when the results are expected.
Either way, I hope you hear good news soon.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi again Travis,
An update! I’ve just received confirmation that I passed the interview and primary screening!
Got the email today, a lengthy 5 week-long wait but it came through. I did email them though and they said I would have been notified regardless.
Now onto the next step! Thanks again for everything,
Yusuf
Hi Yusuf Latief,
Congratulations! I am very happy for you.
Good luck getting the Letters of Provisional Acceptance!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, Thank you very much for such kind of nice and helpful information. i have done my interview today. Due to Covid-19 they cancelled the written test and held interview by phone. I have M.Sc degree from one of the universities of Japan through one of the projects of JICA, and now I am candidate for PhD studies. They just asked me three questions.
1) What is your study topic?
2) Why do you want to study in japan?
3) What will you do after completion of PhD studies and how will you will utilize your knowledge.
I answered all the questions by detail then the interviewer told me another person will ask some questions in Japanese, But unfortunately I couldn’t succeed to give answers in Japanese language. I am worry about my result due to no answers in Japanese!
Hi Johny Johny,
Thank you very much for your feedback and sharing your interview situation.
An interview by phone sounds difficult!
If you listed in your application that you had no Japanese language ability, then not being able to answer questions in Japanese shouldn’t hurt you in the interview. After all, the staff should have already known that!
(There are some countries where I have heard that they prefer to select applicants who have Japanese language ability, but even if that is the case, the interview is not going to make a difference, since they would have already known from your application form.)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis!!
Thank You so much for creating this blog and guiding us through the mext process.
I have been selected for the exam+interview in the embassy of my country and I am applying as a candidate for phd studies. I guess I could say I am getting really nervous as this is my ultimate dream to carry out my research in Japan as it is related to directly to Japanese urban and architectural context and the topic of seismology – this is the only destination I consider as it is so strongly correlated with what I do – it’d be the worst not to get accepted. I am starting to wonder if as a Plan B it is possible to apply to the universities directly (university mext track) after you’ve been rejected at your embassy, the same year? Are there any chances I get accepted there after being rejected?
I was also wondering how many applicants I can expect at the interview stage? Is it that they are putting through everyone who has applied to interview? Or was there already some selection carried out? My country offers 7 scholarships – at the interview can I expect hundreds of applicants? Or more in the numbers of 10s? I am so nervous I do net get it :O
I have also only started learning Japanese so the most I can do is introduce myself and talk about my favourite Japanese food : D I’m afraid that could put me a little bit behind, especially since I am applying for pdh research (do the embassy prefer to give scholarships to masters students, or phd is also welcome the same way, or are there smaller chances?) However I made sure to choose english and international-friendly laboratories and professors, as I would like to carry out the research in english. At the same time I would love to better my Japanese skills to become fluent by the time I am in Japan, that could help me carry out site analysis and interviews for my research. I hope that is feasible.
I was also wondering how long after the interview the results come in?
Do You have any phd-specific tips for the interview?
Thank You so so much!!
Hi Anna,
Congratulations on passing the document screening and getting invited to the exam and interview! That’s a huge first step.
For the short term, I would recommend focusing on preparing for the next step of the Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship, not worrying yet about your back-up plan if it doesn’t go well.
(But yes, if you do not pass the Primary Screening, you can apply for the University Recommended MEXT Scholarship in the same year and I have seen cases where applicants didn’t pass the embassy screening but were selected for the University MEXT. I suspect in many cases, it was when those applicants had a strong academic appeal, but were not able to frame their research and future goals in a way that appealed to the embassy staff).
Each country and embassy is going to run their selection process differently, so I can’t say for sure how many applicants you will see at the interview, but logically it should not be many. They would not want to invite applicants who did not have a chance of passing, since each applicant that they interview is additional work for the staff and also an additional infection risk in the current pandemic situation. So, I suspect that they would only invite the applicants who are already in the top 7 based on the document screening so far and those who have a chance of displacing someone in the top 7, based on the results of the exams and interviews. At least, that’s how I’d do it!
I do not know if any specific preference for Master’s or PhD students. I think it is more about how you show how your research and degree will help you serve society in your home country and strengthen the connection between Japan and your country. Remember, at the embassy, not everyone on the interview panel is going to be an academic expert. You will likely have some bureaucrats mixed in there, so you need to make sure that you can state the importance of your research both in academic and practical terms. (All my tips are in the article, so I do not have anything else that I have been holding back!)
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Dear Travis!
Thank You so much for the reply! It is very reassuring to know that there might not be many applicants at this stage and that in the case of failure I will be able to recruit for university recommendation. I will try to do my best at the interview though. Thank You!!
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your reply. I wish you the best of luck at the interview. Please let me know how it goes!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis
What you are doing here amazing, just reading your comments gives a ton of information. I would like to thank you for that.
I am applying for undergraduate and I wanted to know if all the 3 rows in field of study in Japan section has to be filled or if the other 2 are optional.
If yes, will doing so affect my chance of getting the scholarship?
Hi Mussie,
The application guidelines do not say that it is required to fill in all three lines, so it should not disqualify you to fill in only one or two. Personally, I would recommend choosing at least two, just so you have a back-up plan.
Honestly, I do not know how it would affect your selection chances beyond saying that it won’t disqualify you. I think other factors, like your grades in secondary school and your performance on the tests and interviews, will be much more important.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Pls I really need help on this, am writing my mext exam this year, pls anyone guide me and pray for me, how do I go about this
Hi Blessing Egurefa,
If you’re just getting started, this probably isn’t the most helpful article.
Check out my index of all the most recent articles at https://mext.transenzjapan.com/ and choose the articles you need as you proceed through each step of the application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hi Travis, thank you so much for this platform, i can’t appreciate you enough. i wanted to ask for some clarifications when applying for the MEXT. do i need to also apply at the school if i’m going to spend a year studying Japanese or i’ll do that when i get the scholarship (i’m not doing a direct placement), i want to be sure because i don’t want to mess things up at the embassy and also because i’m actually having some problems with the applications at the schools. i’m also going to be required to write mathematics but as an art student, i’m not well versed in the subject so is there a particular scope to it that can help me with at least knowing enough to be able to pass the exam because that’s the only thing keeping me anxious because i’m confident i can ae the english exam and at least give a good impression in the Japanese exam as well.
Hi Doyin,
It sounds like you’re applying for the undergraduate scholarship. In that case, you do not need to apply to universities in Japan, you only need to submit the application to the embassy.
As for the exams, you can find examples of past exams on the official study in japan website, so I recommend reviewing those to prepare!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thank you Travis for the good work you are doing.
I’m in Ghana and I want to apply for the scholarship this year but I’m kind of nervous even before submitting my application forms. I want to know if there is a quota for the number of student they will choose for each county. And if there is a quota, how many Ghanaians will they pick this year?
Moreover, I want to know the percentage of students that are selected each year in Ghana among those who apply in a particular year
Hi Emmanuel Nyame,
Thank you for your kind words!
Yes, there is a quota assigned to each country each year, but MEXT does not make that information public. Sometimes embassies release it when they announce the scholarship and another way you can guess what it might be would be to try to find our how many Ghanians won the scholarship last year.
The percentage selected depends on the number of applicants. There are a fixed number of scholarship places available, so more applicants means a lower percent accepted.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis,
I am applying for the embassy recommended MEXT scholarship and on the application form, there is this question I need you to help me this through. “What kinds of things do you think you can contribute to Japan and your home country through your experience of studying in Japan?”
Thanks
Hi Yakubu,
I discuss that question in my article about how to fill out the application form, so I would suggest checking there for my tips!
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
hi Travis, thank you for this, i’m currently planning to apply for the MEXT this year and i’ve gotten the form. do i need to have written an english proficiency exam or it isn’t necessary? also, i’m not well versed in mathematics so if I don’t pass the mathematics exam as well as the others is it going to reduce my chances of getting chosen? also, i should be about to enter the second year in university but due to covid, i haven’t even started yet and was just given admission. do i just need to submit my admission letter instead?
Hi Doyin,
It is not mandatory to have an English proficiency test score, unless your embassy tells you otherwise. In most cases, you will take a language proficiency test at the embassy during the primary screening.
All of your test scores will likely be a factor in your final selection, including math, if you are applying for the undergraduate scholarship.
If you have not yet started university, then you should not need to submit your letter of acceptance or any other documentation about it, but you can ask your embassy directly to be sure.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello. Thanks for this blog. Are the exams being taken on the same day of the submission in the undergraduate program??
Hi Sandra,
No. Only applicants who pass the document screening are called for the exams and interviews. It could be a few days or even weeks after the submission deadline that you get the notification about being invited to the exams. The specific schedule is going to be different from embassy to embassy.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello again Travis!
As I mentioned in my other comment a few minutes ago: I’m reapplying for the research scholarship this year. My question is: does it look bad to reapply? Obviously that’s subjective but I’m worried about it coming across as desperate. I was initially just going to apply straight to graduate school on my own after getting passed up last year, but when I read about the different graduate schools it really felt like the coursework–not my research–would be my priority as a “regular” graduate student in Japan. This made me realize how passionate I am about my research, and how important it is for me to do be able to do it.
As someone who knows the graduate school climate in Japan well, could you comment on whether that is a legitimate concern or not? Also I’m applying for a Master’s in BA or Economics–would a lack of relevant career experience be a red flag for the panel or MEXT? I’ve heard various responses: some people say an MBA with no job experience is a waste of time, others say it doesn’t really matter. Once again, I’m sure this is dependent on the panel, but what are your thoughts?
Thank you again!
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your feedback in the other comments.
I do not think that it looks bad to reapply. I have heard of applicants being successful on their second or third attempts in the past. I would recommend that you try to strengthen your application in the meantime, though, particularly your Field of Study and Research Program Plan.
Most Master’s degrees in Japan combine coursework and research, but it is going to be the same whether you apply directly or through MEXT. MEXT makes you emphasize your research in the application process, but once you get into the degree, your experience will be no different from anyone else there. Some programs are heavier on research than others, though, so choosing your university is going to be important. For example, the Master’s program in Economics at my former university did not even assign advisors until the second year, since the first year was all coursework.
If you are passionate about your research, then I think Economics might be better than Business Administration. An MBA is a practitioner’s degree and would be more focused on application than research. Economics degrees should have a thesis. It would also be slightly more common to go straight into an Econ degree with no working experience than it would for an MBA.
I do not think that a lack of working experience would be a red flag for the MEXT review panel in either case, though.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis and everyone!
I applied last year and made it to the interview stage but unfortunately someone else was selected (unfortunate for me, but good for someone else I suppose!). I’m in the process of reapplying this year. was looking back through my notes and thought I’d share what my interview experience was like:
Mine was virtual so that likely impacted things (it was through Microsoft Teams which I wasn’t super familiar with) but it wasn’t like what I was expecting. It was 4 people (they never introduced themselves so I’m not sure who they were or what their roles were) two were Japanese and asked me questions in Japanese. Of the two one asked me very very simple questions in incredibly slow Japanese (what did you eat today? what day of the week is it? etc.) I’m assuming this is because there was no test portion. The 2nd person spoke normally to me but I had a hard time understanding them which probably didn’t look great–their sound came in muffled and a bit distorted but I didn’t have that issue with anyone else. They asked me if I had been to the areas around the universities I was interested in and if I liked them.
I really recommend reading this guy’s article if you’re going in for an interview: https://www.wemakescholars.com/blog/fulbright-scholarship-interview
While the Fulbright and MEXT are two very different scholarships most of what’s written in that article I felt after finishing my interview. I’m not sure if other scholarship interviews are like this (or even if other MEXT interviews are like this) but my interview was very, very serious: no introductions, we went straight to questions and there wasn’t much room for conversation. This is not at all what I was expecting but is covered in that guy’s article so I really recommend reading his to see what yours *might* be like. I was also told by a family friend to always ask “When should I expect to hear back from you?” at the end of interviews and that did not go over well. One guy was trying to (and failing miserably) cover the fact that he was laughing after I asked that. Now, it was a video call so I suppose he could have been laughing at something going on in his house but it really felt like he was laughing at me and my question (maybe it looked presumptuous, maybe it was seen as too aggressive–I’m not sure). So I recommend NOT asking that during the interview, Instead send a note following the interview to whoever the consulate/Embassy lists on their website as being the person to contact regarding the scholarship (if you don’t know who interviewed you) and ask what a time frame looks like for when results should come out.
Other than that I recommend trying not to read too much into facial expressions/body language, I know it’s difficult but like I said everyone was very serious during mine and nothing I ever said really seemed to elicit a reaction (I tried being bubbly, then matching them at serious, and even a mix of the two but they never changed). This was very weird for me as usually during job interviews people are friendly cuz you’re trying to see if you’ll make a good fit for the company, but this is not a job interview it’s a scholarship interview so maybe that’s why it was different. Or maybe it’s cuz it was online. I’m not sure, but I just wanted to warn others about it cuz it really messed with me mentally and (negatively) impacted my ability to answer the questions.
Now then: following the interview I wrote down all the questions they asked me and will list them here (hopefully they’ll be useful to somebody!)
1. What drew you to the MEXT Scholarship? (it seems so obvious but I really was not prepared for this one, I thought they would start off by asking me about my research)
2. This was specific to my research.
3. Methodologies? Although this was covered in my proposal they asked me how I planned on conducting my research and I pretty much restated what was in my proposal.
4. What sort of culture shock did you face in Japan (I’d previously studied there for a year) and how will you handle being there for 3 years instead of just 1? They asked me this question 3 times in 3 slightly different ways so I’m assuming they didn’t like the answers I had. The first two times I said the same thing: I didn’t really have culture shock (true). Most of my friends are in Japan and through their stories, pictures, etc. I didn’t really have any difficulty adjusting (and I explained this to the interviewers). When they asked me this a third time I really felt that they just wanted me to say *something* so I said I got homesick but was able to get over that through technology like LINE and Skype. This seemed to satisfy them as they didn’t ask again but I did find it weird that they kept pushing so I recommend having a pre-prepared answer for something like that even if you have to tell a white lie.
5. Japanese questions (discussed above in 1st paragraph)
I had some questions for Travis, but this comment already seems long enough so I’ll post them in a different comment! If anybody has any questions about my interview experience please feel free to reply to this comment and I’ll do my best to respond! Good luck 2022 applicants!!
Hi Sarah,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience! I’m sure that is going to be very valuable to the applicants who are preparing for this year’s interviews.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Sarah!
Thank you so much for your comment. It is really helpful to read someone else’s experience as I am going to be going through the interview process soon (via Microsoft Teams). I just wanted to ask: could you expand a little more about the Japanese oral exam? You mentioned that they asked questions like “what did you eat today?” and “what day of the week is it?” etc. Do you happen to remember any other questions you had?
I understand that the Japanese exams are not supposed to affect our chances of getting the scholarship, but I seem to see that that is a main contention point for many applicants, so I would like to be as prepared as I can!
Thanks for any help you provide.
-Mark Nugent
Hi. Thank you for sharing helpful information.
I have a question about Mext Master degree.
1. I’m 1 year student in Master degree in univercity at my home country. Can I apply for another Mext master degree in Japan?
Hi Shoxrux,
Yes, it is possible to apply for a Master’s degree under the MEXT Scholarship if you are already enrolled in, or have already completed a Master’s. However, you will need to justify in your application why a second Master’s is the best degree to achieve your goals, rather than a PhD.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Travis, thanks so much for your good wotk on this blog. I am completely inspired to here. My few questions include
1. When applying for undergraduate scholarship, do i need a field of research article or speech for the interview.
2. Is it true that programs for undergraduates are in japanese. I hope i would also need some japanese ability too?
Thanks alot again.
Hi Chinonso,
My area of expertise is the scholarship for graduate students, so I am less clear on the details about the undergraduate scholarship, but I will answer your questions as best I can and hope that someone else can chime in with more experience, too!
1. You do not need a Field of Study and Research Program Plan, but you will need to participate in the interview. I do not think you would be giving a speech there, but you should be prepared to answer questions about your study plans in Japan and how you will use your studies to benefit society in the future.
2. My understanding is that most undergraduate MEXT Scholars study in Japanese. There are some English undergraduate programs in Japan, but unless you apply via Direct Placement to one of those programs, then the typical pattern is that you will spend your first year in Japan in an intensive Japanese language program that is designed to get you to the point that you can participate in a degree program in Japanese, then you will move on to your degree. So, you do not need to be fluent in Japanese in advance, but it certainly wouldn’t help to have some knowledge of the language before your application.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Thanks so much Travis, I am all grateful. Dont mind that i also ask please, will need to submit transcripts. Actually am supposed to be in my Second Year inbthe university but due to covid-19 and other factors i would still be in my first year at the time of application so how many years transcripts would i need. I dont know if transcripts are even needed just heard it from somewhere.
2. I also want to know, in which major can i study Software Engineering. Would it be under the Information Sciences.
Thanks alot again for your time and quick response.
Hi Chinonso,
If you haven’t yet done so, I would recommend that you read the official application guidelines. They will tell you what you need to submit, including an explanation of what transcripts are required.
Here are the guidelines from last year from MEXT’s site, in English.
Regarding the field of study, my understanding is that software engineering would be under information engineering, but to be sure, you could look up the degree programs offered at a few Japanese universities to see how they are structured and where software engineering falls.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
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
hello Vanessa
I have also applied for a master’s in Hokkaido University, If you get the results for the application please let me know.
Hi Kaushal Vora,
In general, I do not censor any posts on this page, but the one exception is that I do remove any personal contact information. I actually get a lot of spam posts on here, and I am afraid that if you post your email address, then you will receive spam, as well.
If Vanessa replies to this post, you should get an email notification about it (the same as for my reply right now!) so hopefully, you can exchange information that way.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hi Vanessa!
I didn’t have an interview with a university like you did, but for my interview with the embassy it was conducted via Microsoft Teams so I feel like I can maybe respond to your questions. I recommend a plain white background and that you try to bow from the waist while sitting down. They’ll see your head bob when you do this and that combined with your greetings should cue them into the fact that you’re bowing (even if it may not look exactly like it).
Perhaps they will be more professional since they’re a graduate school but those that interviewed me last year did NOT have a plain background. 1/4 did but the rest all had items in the back that were distracting (one even had a large analog clock partially in their background which was incredibly distracting) so I recommend really trying to focus on your camera lens and only looking down occasionally if you can help it.
Hi Sarah,
Thank your for your feedback here, too.
Good idea to look at the camera! That gives the person on the other side the impression that you’re making eye contact.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
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
Hi Travis. Thank you very much for this informative blog. I am trying to figure out a few unclear things stated in the guidelines.
First question: So I have been employed for three years but I left my job. Do I need to ask my previous employer for a recommendation letter? I have only one recommendation letter from my university supervisor is it enough? They only asked for one recommendation letter from the university supervisor and one from your current employer, but I am unemployed.
Second question: Will they ask for the thesis I wrote in the university? I have the abstract but the complete thesis was submitted to my university and the softcopy kind of got lost.
Third question: Could you please elaborate more on how we can answer the contribution question to both Japan and my country?
Hi Zeynep,
First: If you are not currently employed, then you do not need to submit a letter of recommendation from an employer. Just the letter from your university should be sufficient.
Second: Typically, they are only going to want to see the abstract during the application review. Your future academic advisor may want to see more once you start your studies (although I understand that is not possible in your case), but by that point, you would have already earned the scholarship.
Third: This really depends on your field of study! What are the possible social benefits of the research that you want to do? Think about how the outcomes could be used and that use could benefit society in both countries.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz
Hello,
Thank you for running this blog it’s very helpful.
I’m applying this year and if you don’t mind, I have 3 questions:
1. I want to go to Japan as a MEXT student for 18months, do my 1-year research and then continue my professional career, I do not want to prelong my scholarship to full-time graduate studies. Do you think that would lower my chances of getting the scholarship?
2. Is it by any chance possible to study one major and have Academic Supervisor from another major? I’m a graphic design student and as a part of those studies I learned packaging design which I want to pursue in my research. But on Japanese universities packaging design is usually a part of Industrial design/Product design majors – and all the experts in the field of packaging are professors of those majors. That is something I could never study, because I literally never learned that – except for the very narrow area that is packaging design and in this specific field I am trained.
So now it seems like I have to choose – either work with Academic Advisor that is NOT an expert in my field, or work with an expert, but in the major I literally have never studied.
3. Regarding the question in the form “What do you think you can contribute to Japan and your home country by your experience of studying in Japan? ” – I’m studying at Arts University and I wanted to mention I wish to contribute to exchange between my home univeristy and the japanese university – to help organize an exhibition that will be the exchange between students from the two Universities – my home Uni already have been doing such exhibitons with Univeristies from Japan before. Now – do you think that would be relevant and worth mentioning or in this question I should refer more to my professional career and how can I use specific skills I I learned in Japan in my home country etc.?
Sorry the questions are so long. Thank you!
Hi Gabriela,
I am afraid this answer is coming much too late to help you.
1. If you can show that your research scholarship will enable you to make a strong contribution to society and to the relationship between Japan and your home country, then I think you still have a chance. But you are going to be under increased scrutiny, since your path is outside of normal expectations, so you’ll have to work harder to make a case for your applications.
2. No, your academic supervisor must come from your department. It is possible to consult with professors in other departments or even other graduate schools, if they are willing to work with you, but they cannot be your supervisor.
3. I think that your stated contribution to Japan and your home country must be something that will only become possible because of what you are able to accomplish during the MEXT Scholarship. You need to make the point here that you will make a strong contribution, but that it relies on your earning the MEXT Scholarship and accomplishing your specific research goals in Japan.
Good Luck!
– Travis from TranSenz