1. Japanese Government Scholarship Students

Japanese Government Scholarship Students are international students who are provided with a scholarship by the Japanese Government (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: MEXT). The Scholarship offers a monthly allowance, tickets for round trip airfare, as well as an exemption from entrance and tuition fees.
Below are the allowances (monthly) for Japanese Government Scholarship Students of FY 2023 at Saitama University.

Regular Courses

 Undergraduate Students: 120,000 yen – Master’s Program Students: 147,000 yen – Doctoral Program Students: 148,000 yen

Non-regular Courses

Japanese Studies Students: 120,000 yen – Teacher Training Students: 146,000 yen – Research Student Course: 146,000 yen

2．How to become a Japanese Government Scholarship Student

Below are the three ways to become a Japanese Government Scholarship Student.

1)Embassy Recommendation

This is the way you can apply through Japanese diplomatic missions overseas. An initial screening is conducted by the Japanese diplomatic mission in each country, followed by a second screening by the MEXT, on the basis of the results of the first screening. Those who have been assigned to certain universities will be recruited as Japanese Government Scholarship Students. As times of recruitment and screening processes differ according to each country, please contact the Japanese diplomatic mission in your country for details.

After passing the primary screening, it is necessary to obtain informal consent from your prospective supervisor, in order to enter Saitama University. For details of Saitama University’s academic staff, please see the Researcher Directory on our website, http://s-read.saitama-u.ac.jp/researchers/search_en

Please see below for the ways to request informal consent

2)University Recommendation

 This is the way to recruit excellent students as Japanese Government Scholarship Students, mainly from universities with partnership agreements with Saitama University. Those who have passed the screenings of each graduate school, university and the MEXT, will be recruited as Japanese Government Scholarship Students.

 The University recommendation route is only available for those who will newly come to Japan to study, and not for the students who already live in Japan.

3. Types of Japanese Government Scholarship Students

At the Saitama University, we accept the following 4 categories of Japanese Government Scholarship Students.

1) Research Students (Recruitment methods: Embassy Recommendation, University Recommendation and Domestic Selection)

For those who will be assigned to Graduate level courses, two methods are available; enroll in a Master’s/Doctoral Program as a regular student, or enroll as a non-regular Research student. (However, domestic selection is only available for those who have been enrolled/will enroll in regular courses).

2)Teacher Training Students (Recruitment methods：Embassy Recommendation）

For those who are currently teachers at primary/secondary schools or enrolled in a Teacher Training college in their home countries with active experience as a teacher totaling more than 5 years, they will conduct education-related research at universities in Japan.

3) Undergraduate Students (Recruiting methods：Embassy Recommendation ）

For those who will be assigned to Undergraduate level courses, they will first have a year of Japanese preparatory education, either at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies or at Osaka University, which will be followed by entering one of Japan’s national universities.

4)Japanese Studies Students (Recruitment methods: Embassy Recommendation, University Recommendation）

For those who are enrolled in the faculties of universities outside Japan, majoring in the fields of Japanese Language/Japanese Culture, at the time when they come to Japan and when they return to their home countries, they will be given opportunities to study areas related to Japanese Language Proficiency and Japanese Affairs and Japanese Culture at universities in Japan.