The Embassy of Japan is pleased to announce that the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho:MEXT) Scholarships for Japanese Studies is now open for application until 18th February 2022.

Qualified Malaysian nationals who would like to pursue their studies in Japan are invited to apply. During the term of scholarship, monthly allowances of approximately 117,000 yen (approx RM4,400) will be given to each Japanese Studies grantee (amount is subject to change). Fees for entrance examination, matriculation and tuition at universities will be exempted. A round-trip airplane ticket is also provided.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan offers scholarships to international students who wish to study for a period of one year at designated Japanese universities as Japanese Studies Students in order to deepen their understanding of the Japanese language, Japanese affairs and Japanese culture under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program as follows.

Requirements:

1. Japanese Studies (1-year non-degree course from October 2022)
   
   • Applicants must be between 18 and 29 years of age as of 1st April 2022 (born between 2nd April 1992 and 1st April 2004).
   • Applicants must be 2nd or 3rd year undergraduate students (must not be final year students) majoring in Japanese Language or Japanese Culture enrolled in non-Japanese universities.
   • Applicants must have good command of Japanese Language.
   • Application for Japanese Studies Scholarship must reach the Embassy of Japan by 4:00pm on 18th February 2022. For details, please call 03-2177-2600 (ext.146)/ [email protected] or visit https://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/scholarship.html

The interviews for both programmes will be held on early March 2022. The Embassy of Japan will notify qualified candidates only (by email) to attend the interview. 

Qualifications & Conditions

MEXT accepts applications from international students for study in Japan who satisfy the following qualifications and conditions. Its aim is to foster human resources who will become bridges of friendship between the grantee’s country and Japan through study in Japan and who will contribute to the development of both countries and the wider world.

1. Nationality - Applicants must have the nationality of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. An applicant who has Japanese nationality at the time of application is not eligible. However, persons with dual nationality who hold Japanese nationality and whose place of residence at the time of application is outside of Japan are eligible to apply as long as they choose the nationality of the other country and renounce their Japanese nationality by the date of their arrival in Japan (the acquisition of student status). The First Screening must be conducted at the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of which the applicant chooses the nationality.
2. Age - In principle, applicants must be born between April 2, 1992 and April 1, 2004. Exceptions are limited to cases in which MEXT deems that the applicant could not apply within the eligible age limit due to the situation or circumstances of the applicant’s country (military service obligation, loss of educational opportunities due to disturbances of war, etc.) Personal circumstances (financial situation, family circumstances, state of health, circumstances related to applicant’s university or place of employment, etc.) will not be considered for exceptions.
3. Academic Background - Applicants must satisfy the following three conditions:
   • Applicants, in principle, must be undergraduates at foreign (non-Japanese) universities at the time of arriving in and leaving Japan;
   • Those who are majoring in fields related to the Japanese language and/or Japanese culture. On the other hand, those who are majoring in fields of study other than Japanese language and culture (such as engineering, economics, agricultural science, architecture, and art) and pursuing complementary studies in Japanese language and culture are ineligible;
   • Those who have studied the Japanese Studies at a university for a total period of one year or more as of September 1, 2022. Those who have studied Japanese Studies at another university should submit documents (transcript of grades at another university, etc.) which can verify that the applicant has studied Japanese Studies for a total period of one year or more at the attended universities including current university.
4. Japanese Language Ability - Applicants must have Japanese language ability sufficient for receiving education at a Japanese university in Japan.
5. Health - Applicants must submit a health certificate in the prescribed format signed by a physician attesting that the applicant has no physical or mental conditions hindering the applicant’s study in Japan.
6. Arrival in Japan - In principle, applicants must be able to arrive in Japan by the designated period (usually September or October) between the day two weeks before the course starts and the starting date of the course. If the applicant cannot arrive in Japan during the specified period for personal reasons, travel expenses to Japan will not be paid. Excluding cases in which MEXT deems as unavoidable circumstances, the applicant must withdraw from this scholarship program if the applicant cannot arrive in Japan by the end of the specified period above which decided by MEXT or the accepting university.
7. Visa Requirement - An applicant shall, in principle, newly obtain a “Student” visa at the Japanese diplomatic mission located in the applicant’s country of nationality, and enter Japan with the newly obtained residence status of “Student.” Accordingly, even if the applicant already has other residence status (“Permanent resident,” “Long-term resident,” etc.), the applicant must change it to the “Student” status and re-enter Japan. The applicant should be aware that the original resident status of “Permanent resident” or “Long-term resident,” might not be necessarily granted after the expiration of the status as a MEXT Scholarship student. Moreover, it should be noted that if the grantee comes to Japan without newly obtaining the “Student” visa, the provision of the scholarship will be stopped. 
8. Non-Eligibility - Those who meet any one of the following conditions are ineligible. If identified ineligible after being selected as a scholarship student, he/she must withdraw from the scholarship:
   • Those who are military personnel or military civilian employees at the time of their arrival in Japan or during the period of the payment of the scholarship;
   • Those who cannot arrive in Japan by the last date of the period specified by MEXT or the accepting university;
   • Those who are previous grantees of Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship in the past (including those who withdraw from the scholarship program after the arrival in Japan). It does not apply to those receiving the Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately-Financed International Students in the past;
   • Those who are currently also applying for another program for which scholarship payments will begin in fiscal 2022 through a Japanese Government (MEXT) scholarship scheme including University Recommended Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship for Japanese Studies Students;
   • Those who are already enrolled in a Japanese university or other institution with a residence status of “Student,” or who are going to be enrolled, or plan to enroll, in a Japanese university or other institution as a privately-financed international student from the time of application to the MEXT scholarship program in the applicant’s country until the commencement of the period for payment of the MEXT scholarship. However, this stipulation does not apply to privately-financed international students who, even though they are enrolled, or are planning to enroll, in a Japanese university or other institution, verifiably complete their studies before the start of the scholarship payment period, return to their home country at the time of the scholarship application, and newly acquire the “Student” residence status and come to Japan;
   • Those who are planning to receive scholarship money from an organization other than MEXT (including a government organization of the applicant’s country) on top of the scholarship money provide by MEXT after the start of the scholarship payment period;
   • Holders of dual nationality at the time of application who cannot verify that they will give up Japanese nationality by the time of their arrival in Japan (the acquisition of student status);
   • Those who change their residence status to that of other than “Student” after their arrival in Japan.
9. Return and Continue to Study after the End of the Scholarship Period - Applicants must assure that they return to their home country by the end of the final month of the scholarship period and continue to study Japanese language and culture at the undergraduate program of their institution which applicants had enrolled at the time of the arrival in Japan. If a grantee fails both conditions, he/she may be ordered to return the entire amount of the scholarship paid during the scholarship period. Those who are uncertain about returning and continuing to study after the end of the scholarship period should not apply for this program.
10. Others - MEXT Scholarship will be granted those who are willing to contribute to mutual understanding between Japan and their home country by participating in activities at schools and communities during their study in Japan while contributing to the internationalization of Japan. They shall also make efforts to promote relations between the home country and Japan by maintaining close relations with the university attended after graduation, cooperating with the conducting of surveys and questionnaires, and cooperating with relevant projects and events conducted by Japanese diplomatic missions after they return to their home countries.

Placement & Study in Japanese Language & Culture at Universities

1. The study/training is implemented only in the university study courses listed in the “Course Guide of Japanese Studies Program.” This Course Guide is available from the MEXT’s website and the Japanese diplomatic mission in the country of applicant’s nationality.
2. MEXT, in consultation with the universities concerned, will decide on the university in which each grantee shall be enrolled by taking into consideration his/her Japanese language ability, the result of written examination and specialized courses he/she wishes to take. Objections regarding university placement will not be accepted. If the accepting university has yet to be determined by the specified period of time (by the middle of August 2022), the applicant will be rejected.
3. The study at universities will be conducted in Japanese.
4. Specialized Japanese language and Japanese culture study will be divided into the following two courses, depending on the objective of the study:
   • A course intended mainly to study about Japan and Japanese culture
   • A course intended mainly to improve Japanese language proficiency
     The specific course contents vary with each university, but the grantees will take special lectures on Japan, Japanese culture, and Japanese language and specialized practical study. They might also take classes in the departments related to his/her individual major.
5. A grantee who has completed a specified course at the accepting university will be given a certificate from the university. Please be aware that the purpose of this scholarship program is not to obtain an academic degree. The grantee, therefore, shall return to the home country by the end of the final month of the scholarship period after the completion of the course and resume his/her study in Japanese language and culture at the undergraduate program of their institution which applicants had enrolled at the time of the arrival in Japan. If a grantee fails both conditions, he/she may be ordered to return the entire amount of “4?SCHOLARSHIP BENEFITS” paid during the scholarship period.

Period of Scholarship

The scholarship period is the necessary period for the completion of the accepting university’s study course, which should be within one year from October 2022 (or the starting month of the course). Extension of the scholarship period is not permitted.

Scholarship Benefits

1. Allowance - After arrival in Japan, 117,000 yen per month will be paid. A supplemental regional allowance of 2,000 or 3,000 yen per month will be added to the monthly scholarship amount for the grantees studying or conducting research in specially designated regions. Due to the situation of the Japanese Government’s budget, the amount of payment may be subject to change each fiscal year. If a grantee is absent from the university for an extended period, the scholarship shall be suspended for that period.
2. Education Fees - Fees for the entrance examination, matriculation and tuition at universities will be paid by MEXT.
3. Travel Expenses
   • Transportation to Japan - For grantees who come to Japan within the fixed period stipulated in 1. (6) “Arrival in Japan” above, in principle, MEXT stipulates the travel schedule and route, and provides an economy-class airline ticket for the flight from the international airport closest to the grantee’s residence (in principle, the country of nationality) to an international airport in Japan used on the normal route to the accepting university. The travel schedule change or route change is not allowed after provision of airline ticket. The grantee shall bear at his/her own expense all costs related to domestic travel from the grantee’s residence to the nearest international airport, airport taxes, airport usage fees, special taxes necessary for travel, travel expenses within Japan (including airline transit costs), travel insurance expenses, carry-on luggage or unaccompanied baggage expenses, etc. The grantee shall also bear at his/her own expense travel and lodging costs incurred in a third country if the grantee must travel to a third country before coming to Japan for visa purposes because there are no Japanese diplomatic missions in his/her country, if there are no direct flights from the grantee’s country of residence to Japan. MEXT will provide an economy-class airline ticket from the grantee’s country of residence to the said third country, and from the third country to an international airport in Japan used on the normal route to the accepting university. In principle, the address given in the space for “Your address before departure for Japan” on the application form shall be recognized as the “residence,” and the airline ticket will be arranged for a flight from the international airport nearest to that address. Except for cases when the grantee must travel to a third country to obtain a visa, MEXT will not provide an airline for cases of travel to Japan from a country other than the grantee’s country of residence due to the grantee’s personal circumstances. Moreover, if, due to personal circumstances, the grantee comes to Japan outside of the fixed period stipulated in 1. (6) “Arrival in Japan” above, the travel expenses will not be provided.
   • Transportation from Japan - Based on the application by the grantee, MEXT will provide an airline ticket to grantees who shall complete the study course at the accepting university and return to the home country by the end of the final month of the scholarship period (See “3. PERIOD OF SCHOLARSHIP”) designated by MEXT. MEXT, in principle, shall provide an economy-class airline ticket from an international airport in Japan used for the normal route to and from the accepting university to the international airport (in principle, in the country of nationality) nearest to the returning grantee’s residence. The travel schedule change or route change is not allowed after provision of airline ticket. The grantee shall bear at his/her own expense all costs related to travel from the grantee’s residence in Japan to the nearest international airport, airport taxes, airport usage fees, special taxes necessary for travel, travel expenses within the country of nationality (including airline transit costs), travel insurance expenses, carry-on luggage or unaccompanied baggage expenses, etc. If a grantee returns to the home country before the end of the scholarship period due to personal circumstances, or reasons stated in “5. SUSPENSION OF PAYMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP”, MEXT will not pay for the returning travel expenses. 
     
     If a grantee will also not return to his/her home country by the end of the final month of the scholarship period, or will not resume his/her studies at the undergraduate program of their home institution which had enrolled at the time of the arrival in Japan, MEXT will not pay for the returning travel expenses.

Suspension of Payment of Scholarship

Payment of the scholarship will be cancelled for the reasons given below. Should any of the following reasons apply, the grantee may be ordered to return a part of, or all of, the scholarship paid up to that time. Payment of the scholarship may also be stopped during the period up to the decision on the disposition of the matter:

1. A grantee is determined to have made a false statement on his/her application;
2. A grantee violates any article of his/her pledge to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;
3. A grantee violates any Japanese laws and is sentenced and imprisoned for an indefinite period or for a period of exceeding 1 year;
4. A grantee is suspended from his/her university or receives other punishment, or is removed from enrollment; as a disciplinary action in accordance with school regulations of the accepting university;
5. It has been determined that it will be impossible for a grantee to complete the study course within the standard time period because of poor academic grades or suspension or absence from the university;
6. A grantee came to Japan without newly acquiring the “Student” residence status, or changed his/her residence status to one other than “Student”;
7. A grantee has received another scholarship (excluding those specified for research expenditures);
8. A grantee does not return to his/her home country by the end of the final month of the scholarship period and does not continue to study Japanese language and culture at the undergraduate program of his/her institution which had enrolled at the time of the arrival in Japan.

Selection

• The Japanese diplomatic missions will conduct the First Screening of applicants by means of examination of submitted application documents, a written examination (subject: Japanese) and interviews.
• The date and time of the notification of the results of the First Screening will be specified separately by the Japanese diplomatic mission in the applicant’s country; the reasons for the results of the screening will not be disclosed. Those who pass the First Screening will not necessarily be selected as the MEXT Scholarship grantees.
• Applicants who have passed the First Screening will be recommended to MEXT. MEXT will conduct the Second Screening of applicants who have been recommended by the Japanese diplomatic mission, and will select the successful applicants of the Second Screening.
• The results of the final selection will be notified on a date separately designated by the Japanese diplomatic mission in the applicant’s country. The name of accepting university will also be notified to the scholarship grantees. Any objections to the decision on the university placement will not be accepted. If the accepting university has yet to be determined by the specified period of time (by the middle of August 2021), the applicant will be rejected.

Application Process

January - February: Submit application form by due date (18 February 2022). Download forms here. 

March: Interview. Only successful candidates will be notified to attend the interview.

August:  Notification of final result

October: Depart to Japan

Important Notes:

1. Late submissions will not be entertained no matter what reasons are given.
2. Applications without sufficient documents (stated in the guidelines) will not be considered.
3. Submitted application forms and documents will not be returned, whatever reasons given.
4. The decision on successful candidates made by the Embassy of Japan is final. Any queries on the final decision will not be entertained.

Source: https://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/japanesestudies.html