Scholarship Program in Japan for 2012

(2) Age： Applicants must be born on or after April 2, 1977.
(3) Academic Background： Applicants must be graduate of universities or teacher training schools and have worked as teachers at
elementary or secondary educational institutions or teacher training schools in their home countries for at
least five years in total, as of April 1, 2012. (In-service university faculty members are not eligible.)
(4) Japanese Language Ability： Applicants must be willing to learn Japanese and receive research guidance in Japanese. Applicants must
also have the ability to do research in Japanese and adapt to living in Japan.
(5) Health： Applicants must be free from any mental or physical disability that would be an impediment to the
pursuit of study.
(6) Arrival in Japan： Applicants must definitely be able to arrive in Japan within two weeks counted from the starting day of
the study course set by the university in Japan (usually October) and the period set by the accepting
university. (If the applicant arrives in Japan before the designated period for any reason, their expenses
for travel to Japan will not be covered by the government. And, if the applicant cannot arrive in Japan
during the designated period, the applicant must resign.)
(7) Visa acquisition： Applicants are required to acquire “College Student” (ryugaku) visa when they come to Japan. Moreover,
in exceptional cases when successful applicants have been residing in Japan before their acceptance
under a status other than “College Student” and are to change their visa status within Japan, they must
acquire a “College Student” visa by the end of the month prior to the month in which they are scheduled
to start receiving the scholarship. Furthermore, note that those who change their visa status to something
other than “College Student” after arriving in Japan will also lose their qualifications to be Japanese
Government Scholarship recipients from the date when they change their visa status.
(8) Miscellaneous: Scholarship recipients must return to their home country right after the end of the scholarship period,
and be able to apply the results of their research on school education in Japan to their teaching after they
return to their home country as well by becoming reinstated after they return to their home country.
(9) Any applicant who meets any or all of the following conditions is not eligible. If identified after the start of the scholarship period, the
applicant will be required to withdraw from the scholarship.
a. Those who currently qualify as military personnel or military civilian employees.
b. Those who can not arrive in Japan during the period designated by the university.
c. Applicants who have been awarded a Japanese Government Scholarship in the past will not be selected
as recipients unless at least three years have passed since the first of the month following the final receipt
of the previous scholarship, as of October 1, 2012.
d. Recipients of scholarships from other institutions (including from his/her own government) will not be
selected as recipients of Japanese Government Scholarships.
(10) Study courses implemented
Study/training is implemented only for university/training courses indicated in the pamphlet “Course
Guidebook for Japanese Studies Students,” distributed at Japanese legations overseas. (The Course
Guidebook will also be available on the MEXT website:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/boshu/1300715.htm )

2．TERM OF SCHOLARSHIP
The term is the period necessary to complete each university’s training course and should be between October 2012 and March 2014.
(Extension of the term is not allowed.)

3．SCHOLARSHIP BENEFITS
(1) Allowance：The amount of the scholarship disbursement per month has yet to be determined. However, the figures for the 2011
academic year have been included here for reference. (The monetary amount each year may be subject to change
because of budgetary reasons.)
Actual amount of scholarship benefits in 2011: 150,000 yen per month (2,000 or 3,000 yen per month will be added
in case that the recipient researches in a designated area) However, the scholarship is cancelled in principle if the
recipient is absent from the university for an extended period.
The scholarship will be cancelled in principle in the following situations. And, if the recipient has been receiving the
scholarship despite his/her falling under any of the following situations, the recipient will be ordered to return the
amount of scholarship that he/she received during the period wherein he/she was involved with any of the following
situations.
1. The recipient is judged to have made a false statement on his/her application;
2. The recipient has violated any article of his/her pledge to the Monbukagaku-daijin (Minister of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology);
3. The recipient has been subjected to disciplinary action like expulsion or removed from registration by the
university or institution where preparatory Japanese-language lessons are undertaken;
4. It has been determined that it will be impossible for the recipient to complete the study course within the
standard time period because of poor academic grades or suspension from the university;
5. The recipient’s status, as defined in the Appended Table I-4 of the Immigration Act, has been changed into one
other than “College Student;”
6. The recipient has received a scholarship from another institution (excluding those specified as being for
research expenditures).

(2) Transportation
a. Transportation to Japan：The recipient will be provided, according to his/her itinerary and route as designated by MEXT, with an
economy-class airplane ticket from the international airport nearest to his/her home address* to the New Tokyo
International Airport (or any other international airport that the appointed university uses as a normal route).
Expenses such as inland transportation from his/her home address to the international airport, expenses within
Japan such as the airport tax, airport usage fees and special taxes on travel will NOT be provided and should be
borne by the student. (*The applicant’s official home address will be determined by their address as indicated on
the application form.). Moreover, an airplane ticket will not be provided from a country other than that of the
recipient’s nationality.
b. Transportation from Japan： A recipient who returns to his/her home country within the fixed period after the expiration of his/her
scholarship will be supplied, upon application, with an economy-class airplane ticket for the travel from the New
Tokyo International Airport (or any other international airport that the appointed university uses as a normal
route) to the international airport nearest to his/her home address*.
(Note) Any aviation and accident insurance to and from Japan shall be borne by the recipient. * In addition, the airport must be one in
the country of the recipient’ nationality.
(3) Tuition and Other Fees：Fees for the entrance examination, matriculation and tuition at universities will be paid by the Japanese
Government.

4．DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED
Applicants must submit the following documents together to the Japanese legation by the required date. The submitted documents will
not be returned. (Original) (Copy)
(1) Application Form (prescribed forms) 2
Application Form (Annex) (prescribed form) 1
(2) Photographs or digital image (Size: 4.5×3.5 cm, upper half of body, full-faced, hatless) taken within
the past 6 months (should be pasted on the application forms and Annex)
(3) Certified grade transcript for each academic year and the diploma from the last university attended
(issued by that university) 1 1
(4) Recommendation from the present employer (any form will be accepted) 1 1
(5) Certificate of employment (issued by the present place of employment) 1 1
(6) Medical certificate (prescribed form) 1 1
(Note 1) Please choose universities and field which you wish to attend from among those indicated in the pamphlet “Course Guide for Teacher
Training Students,” to be mailed by separately, and write them down on the application form (Annex). (The Course Guide will also be
available on the MEXT website.)
(Note 2) These documents must be written in Japanese or English, or translations in either of these languages should be attached.
(Note 3) Regarding the diploma mentioned in (3), a photocopy thereof may be an acceptable substitute. However, this should be attested by the
school authority concerned.
(Note 4) No application will be considered unless the aforementioned application and all other documents are fully and correctly completed.

5．SELECTION
(1) The Japanese legation will carry out the preliminary screening from among applicants by means of an interview, a written
examination, and a review of the submitted documents.
(2) Results of the preliminary screening examination will be notified on the date separately designated by the Japanese legation.
(3) Applicants who pass the preliminary screening examination will be recommended by the Japanese legation to MEXT.
(4) MEXT will conduct a final screening examination for the applicants who passed the preliminary screening and select the scholarship
recipients.
(Note) In order to judge the level of language education needed for successful candidates after their arrival in Japan, written
examinations in Japanese and English will be given for reference purposes at the time of the preliminary screening
examination.

6．PLACEMENT IN AND SPECIALIZED TRAINING AT UNIVERSITIES
(1) MEXT, in consultation with the university concerned, will decide on the university in which each recipient shall be enrolled, taking
into consideration the study courses he/she wishes to be enrolled in. Objections regarding university placement will not be allowed.
(2) The training at universities will be conducted in Japanese, in principle.
(3) International students whose Japanese language ability is insufficient will undergo Japanese-language education in a Japanese
language study course at the appointed university or at a university designated by MEXT. Japanese -language education is generally
provided for six months at the beginning of the program, but some of the accepting universities may conduct Japanese language
education parallel to the training.
(4) The training mainly consists of educational administration (such as educational administration and finance, school management),
educational methods (examples: classroom teaching, learning system theory, curriculum, and educational assessment), specialized
subject research (examples: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and gymnastics), and observational tours and practice (examples: class
observations, participation in special educational activities, and tours of educational research facilities). Guidance plans will be
organized flexibly according to the research themes the foreign students wish to study.
(5) A recipient who has completed a specified course at the university concerned will be given a certificate.
However, the purpose of this scholarship program is not to obtain a diploma. Therefore, a recipient cannot be enrolled in an
undergraduate course at a university or a master’s or doctorate course at a graduate school as a Japanese-government-sponsored
(MEXT) international student during the term of or right after the completion of this program.

7．NOTES
(1) Each recipient is advised to learn the Japanese language and to acquire some information on Japanese weather, climate, customs,
university education, and conditions in Japan., as well as about the difference between the Japanese legal system and that of his/her
home country before departing for Japan.
(2) The recipient should bring approximately US $2,000 or the equivalent to cover immediate needs after arrival in Japan
(3) Accommodations:
1. Residence halls for international students established by national university corporations.
National university corporations have residence halls for international students. The recipients enrolled at national universities
where such facilities are available may reside, if they so desire, at these residence halls under certain conditions. However,
because of the limited number of rooms, some of these facilities may not be able to accommodate all the students who wish to live
in them.
2. Private boarding houses or apartments.
Those who are not able to find accommodation in the aforementioned facilities may live in regular dormitories of the university or
in a private boarding house/apartment introduced by the university.
It is very difficult for recipients with dependents to find appropriate housing in Japan. The recipient is requested to arrive in Japan
alone first to secure housing before having his/her spouse and/or family come over to Japan.
(4) In addition to the information determined in this guideline, matters which are necessary to implement the Japanese Government
Scholarship are determined by the Japanese Government.
(5) More detailed information on this scholarship program is available at the Japanese legation in your country.