MEXT vs JASSO scholarships: amounts and Japanese requirements

Last checked: 2026-11-06

MEXT's Japanese Studies scholarship paid 117,000 yen a month with tuition waived in the 2026 guidelines, and JASSO's Honors Scholarship pays 48,000 yen a month at universities or 30,000 yen at language schools. You apply for most MEXT programs before you go to Japan, and for JASSO mostly after you arrive.

The two compared

	MEXT, Japanese Studies (2026)	JASSO Honors Scholarship
Monthly amount	117,000 yen, plus 2,000 or 3,000 yen in some regions	48,000 yen at universities and similar. 30,000 yen at language schools
Period	Up to one year	Generally one year, or six months from October. Not stated for language schools
Tuition	Waived, with entrance fees	Not covered
Airfare	Economy ticket provided, with conditions	Not listed
Who applies	Students abroad majoring in Japanese language or culture	Self-funded students on a Student visa
Japanese requirement	Enough to study at a Japanese university	N2, or EJU 200+, or English at B2. None at language schools
Apply through	Japanese embassy, or a university	Your school in Japan, or the EJU Reservation Program

Amounts may change each year. MEXT says so in its guidelines, and these are the 2026 guidelines, the latest we could read. We have not seen the 2027 Japanese Studies guidelines.

Do you need a JLPT level for MEXT?

The Japanese Studies guidelines name no N-level. They say you need Japanese good enough for university study, and classes are in Japanese. The first screening includes a written Japanese exam and an interview. Each university states its level in the Course Guide, so check that before you list your choices.

A language certificate is only needed if you have one. If you send one, it should be dated no earlier than two years before you apply. So an old JLPT certificate that never expires may still not count here.

The Embassy of Japan in Ireland says successful candidates should preferably have N2, but that it is not essential. The UK embassy says much the same. These are embassy pages for their own applicants, not MEXT's guidelines. Ask your embassy.

Other MEXT programs differ. Study in Japan says the embassy exam for research students covers Japanese and English, and for undergraduates it adds mathematics and science. The monthly amounts below come from each program's guidelines. Study in Japan also lists 242,000 yen, but no page we read ties that to the programs here.

MEXT programs at a glance

Program	Age limit	Length	Monthly amount
Japanese studies	18 to 29	One academic year	117,000 yen (2026)
Research students	Under 35	Depends on the route	143,000 yen for preparatory and non-regular students, 144,000 yen for master's, 145,000 yen for doctoral (2027)
Teacher training	Under 35	1 year 6 months	143,000 yen (2026)
Undergraduate	Under 25	5 years by the embassy route, 7 for some fields	117,000 yen (2027)
College of technology	Under 25	4 years, with exceptions	117,000 yen (2027)
Specialized training college	Under 25	3 years	117,000 yen (2027)

Age limits and lengths are from the Study in Japan summary. It says to follow the latest guidelines if they differ. Amounts for 2027 are from MEXT's guidelines, which add 2,000 or 3,000 yen in some regions and say the amount may change each fiscal year. The 2026 teacher training amount is from the Embassy of Japan in Georgia, and we did not read that program's guidelines.

Worked example: how far each one goes

This is our own calculation. We compare a year of payments with 12 months of average living costs: 105,000 yen a month, or 1,260,000 yen (2023 JASSO survey).

Scholarship	12 months	Share of living costs
MEXT Japanese Studies	1,404,000 yen	111%
JASSO at a university	576,000 yen	46%
JASSO at a language school	360,000 yen	29%

The language school line assumes 12 months, which the page does not state.

So MEXT may cover your costs at the average, and tuition too. JASSO is a top-up, and it does not cover tuition. Study in Japan itself says to plan your budget without relying on a scholarship. See our one-year language school budget.

JASSO conditions that often matter

A grade average of at least 2.30 for the previous year.
Money sent from abroad averaging under 90,000 yen a month, excluding entrance and tuition fees.
Your school must nominate you. Each school has a limited number of places, so some cannot nominate anyone.
At a language school, you must aim to enter higher education in the following year.

MEXT conditions that often matter

You must be an undergraduate abroad, majoring in Japanese language or culture, with at least a year of study.
You must return and continue your degree. If you do not, you may have to repay the whole amount, apart from some joint-degree cases.
The first payment comes one to one and a half months after you arrive. The guidelines suggest bringing about US$2,000.

Which should you apply for?

This is our own decision rule.

You study Japanese at a university abroad: look at MEXT Japanese Studies first.
You are planning a degree in Japan: look at the other MEXT programs through your embassy, and sit the EJU for the JASSO Reservation Program.
You are already in Japan: ask your school's office about JASSO now. N2 helps at a university, so see how to register for the JLPT.