Japan offers scholarships for Indian students pursuing UG courses

The Government of Japan is offering scholarships to Indian students for the academic year 2025 under the Japanese Government MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology) Scholarship programs.

These scholarships are available for undergraduate courses, college of technology, and specialized training college courses in various subjects from Social Science & Humanities, and Natural Sciences.

Selected candidates will receive scholarship worth 117,000 yen (approximately Rs 62,796) per month. The students will also get an additional regional allowance of 2,000 yen (Rs 1,073) or 3,000 yen (Rs 1,610) per month for those studying or conducting research in designated areas.

The amount is subject to change annually depending on the Japanese government's budget. If a grantee is absent from the university or preparatory institution for a prolonged period, the scholarship will be suspended during that time.

Interested candidates can send their applications to the Embassy of Japan in New Delhi or the Consulates of Japan in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The deadline for application is May 27, 2024.

The applications done for the College of Technology category should be sent to the Embassy of Japan or the Consulates in Chennai and Kolkata while the applications for the Specialised Training College category should be sent to the Embassy of Japan or the Consulate in Kolkata.

To avail the scholarship, the candidates must meet the following requirements:
-Applicants must be from a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan.
-Dual nationality holders with Japanese citizenship must renounce their Japanese nationality by the time of arrival in Japan.
-Applicants must be born on or after April 2, 2000.
-Applicants must have completed 12 years of schooling or equivalent outside Japan by March 2025 (or August 2025 for those enrolling in the autumn term).
-Applicants must be willing to learn Japanese and have an interest in Japan. Studies will generally be conducted in Japanese.
-Furnish a medical certificate confirming no physical or mental conditions hindering study in Japan.
-Applicants must be able to arrive in Japan between April 1 and April 7, 2025, or as specified by the accepting university for the autumn term.
-Applicants must obtain a "Student" visa from the Japanese diplomatic mission in their country and enter Japan with this status.

Selected students will undergo a one-year preparatory course in the Japanese language and other necessary subjects. Upon completing the preparatory course and passing the entrance examination, students will be placed in a university designated by MEXT.

However, applicants who have sufficient Japanese language proficiency will be directly placed into a university without undergoing preparatory education.

The applicants pursuing undergraduate courses that do not require Japanese language proficiency will get enrolled directly without preparatory education. 

Enrolment begins either in the spring term (arriving in April 2025) or the autumn term (arriving in September or October 2025), depending on the university's academic calendar.