Culture & Education

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan offers Research Student Scholarships to students with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree who wish to study in graduate courses at Japanese universities as Research Students (either as regular students or non-regular students) under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Programme for 2026. In principle, applicants must have been born on or after 2 April 1991.  
 
MEXT will cover entrance examination, matriculation and university tuition fees, and flights to and from Japan, and provide a monthly allowance of between JPY143,000 and JPY145,000 (subject to change). Successful applicants will depart for Japan in April or September/October 2026.  
 
Guidelines and application materials for the 2026 Research Student Scholarships can be downloaded from the Study in Japan website. A full list of application documents is available on page 6 of the 2026 Application Guidelines. 
 
Applications should be submitted by e-mail to the International Cooperation Unit, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), Marlborough Street, Dublin 1, D01 RC96 at Scholarships@dfheris.gov.ie by Tuesday, 03 June 2025. 
 

• Please make sure to include your name and “2026 MEXT Research Student Scholarship application” in the subject line of your e-mail.  

• Please combine your application documents as PDFs in the numerical order from 1 to 11 listed on page 6 of the Application Guidelines and keep the total file size per PDF file less than 10MB. If your files are larger than this, they should be sent in separate e-mails. 

• Recommendation letters from universities and employers can be e-mailed directly to DFHERIS at Scholarships@dfheris.gov.ie.  

 
A written Japanese language examination and interviews for shortlisted candidates are scheduled to take place in person at the Embassy of Japan on Thursday, 26 June and Monday, 30 June. These dates may change and shortlisted candidates will be notified individually of the date and time of the examination and interview. Shortlisted candidates will be required to submit their original paper application documents and 2 sets of copies to the Embassy on the day of the examination and interviews. Submitted documents will not be returned.  
 
Past examination papers from 2014 to 2019 can be viewed here.  
 
For further information, please contact the Information & Culture Section at culture@ir.mofa.go.jp. 
 
If you are not an Irish citizen and wish to apply for a MEXT scholarship, please contact the Embassy of Japan in your home country. 
 
For information to help with the selection of universities and courses in Japan, please see the following websites: 
 

• researchmap – a database of researcher information launched by the National Institute of Informatics in 2009  

• Study in Japan – information on types of third level institutions in Japan, including lists of degree courses offered in English  

• Japanese College and University Portraits (JPCUP) – a data portal for the publication of educational information on national, public and private universities and colleges 

 
A report by Amy Metcalfe on her experiences as a Research Student in Tokyo is available on the Embassy website.  
 
Timeline 
 

03 June (Tue) 2025	Application deadline
26 June (Thur) 2025	In-person examination
30 June (Mon) 2025	In-person interviews
July 2025	Notification of results of First Screening conducted by Embassy
Until 22 August (Fri) 2025	Period for applicants who pass First Screening to contact preferred universities to request provisional acceptance
Early September 2025	Deadline for applicants who pass First Screening to submit a completed Placement Preference Application Form and up to two Letters of Provisional Acceptance to Embassy
From October 2025	Second Screening and university placement conducted by MEXT
January – February 2026	Notification of final selection results and university placement
February/March 2026 OR August/September 2026	Student Visa issued, Pre-Departure Orientation held at Embassy
April 2026 OR  September/October 2026	Departure for Japan

 
 

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan offers Undergraduate Student Scholarships to students who wish to study Social Sciences and Humanities OR Natural Sciences at university in Japan under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Programme for 2026.  
 
MEXT will cover entrance examination, matriculation and university tuition fees, and flights to and from Japan, and provide a monthly allowance of JPY117,000 (subject to change). 
 
Applicants must be Irish nationals and secondary school graduates or equivalent, and in principle, have been born on or after 2 April 2001. The term of the scholarship is between 4 and 7 years, depending on the field of study, including one year of preparatory education in the Japanese language and other subjects, if required, provided upon arrival in Japan. Successful applicants will depart for Japan in April OR September/October 2026. 
 
Guidelines and application materials for the 2026 Undergraduate Student Scholarships can be downloaded from the Study in Japan website. A full list of the required Application Documents is available on pages 7-8 of the 2026 Application Guidelines.  
 
Applications should be submitted by e-mail to the International Cooperation Unit, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1, D01 RC96 at Scholarships@dfheris.gov.ie by Tuesday, 03 June 2025. 
 

• Please make sure to include your name and “2026 MEXT Undergraduate Student Scholarship application” in the subject line of your e-mail.

• Please combine your application documents as PDFs in the numerical order from 1 to 9 listed on pages 7-8 of the 2026 Application Guidelines and keep the total file size per PDF file less than 10MB. If your files are larger than this, they should be sent in separate e-mails.

 
Written examinations and interviews for shortlisted candidates are scheduled to take place in person at the Embassy of Japan in late June. These dates may change and shortlisted candidates will be notified individually of the date and time of their examinations and interviews. Shortlisted candidates will be required to submit their original paper application documents and 1 set of copies to the Embassy on the day of the examinations. Submitted documents will not be returned.   
 
Past examination papers from 2014 to 2019 can be viewed here. There is no textbook or syllabus for the exam but the EJU syllabus can be used for reference. 
 
For further information, please contact the Information & Culture Section at culture@ir.mofa.go.jp. 
 
If you are not an Irish citizen and wish to apply for a MEXT scholarship, please contact the Embassy of Japan in your home country. 
 
A report by Sean McLaverty on his experiences as an Undergraduate Student in Yokohama is available on the Embassy website.  
 
Timeline 
 

03 June (Tue) 2025	Application deadline
26 June (Thur) 2025	In-person examinations
30 June (Mon) 2025	In-person interviews
July 2025	Notification of results of First Screening conducted by Embassy
December 2025 – February 2026	Notification of final results of Second Screening conducted by MEXT
February/March 2026 OR August/September 2026	Student Visa issued, Pre-Departure Orientation
April 2026 OR  September/October 2026	Departure for Japan

MEXT offers Japanese Studies Student Scholarships to Irish undergraduates to study at designated Japanese universities for a period of one year as part of their degree, in order to deepen their understanding of the Japanese language and Japanese culture and affairs. 
 

• Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 30 at the time of application.
• Applicants must be enrolled as full-time students at a university when they depart for Japan and return to Ireland. They must have majored in fields related to Japanese language and/or Japanese culture for at least one year as of September in the year of departure for Japan.
• The scholarship is for one year at a university designated by MEXT. However, applicants can state their preference from a selection of universities in their application. The scholarship covers tuition fees, return airfares to Japan, and a monthly allowance for living costs.
• It is desirable for successful candidates to have a level of Japanese ability equivalent to Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N2, but it is not a requirement.

 
Application information and materials for the 2026 scholarships are expected to be available in December 2025. If you are not an Irish citizen but wish to apply for a MEXT scholarship, you are advised to contact the Embassy of Japan in your home country.
 
Click here for further information on applying for MEXT scholarships. Past examination questions for Japanese Studies Students have not been disclosed by MEXT. Please refer to the Japanese papers in the Past Examination Questions for other scholarships.
 
For enquiries, please contact the Embassy’s Information & Culture Section at culture@ir.mofa.go.jp.