1．What is the Nippon Foundation Nikkei Scholarship?

This project is aimed at providing an opportunity to study in Japan for young Japanese descents having definite plans and dreams of promoting understanding between the country of resident and Japan and contributing to the development of the country of resident and local communities.

2．Qualification Requirements

(1) Applicants must be Japanese descents (regardless of nationality, educational background or previous visits to Japan).
(2) Applicants must be 18 to 35 years old in principle.
(3) Applicants must be recommended by overseas Japanese descent organizations in principle.
(4) Applicants must have a dream of acquiring technical knowledge and, after graduation, playing active roles in the countries of resident and local communities.
(5) Applicants should have a dream of working as a bridge for their countries of resident and Japan by making most of overseas study experiences.
(6) Applicants must be willing to participate in overseas students’ volunteer activities and social action programs.

3．Countries

North and Latin American region (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, etc.) and the Southeast Asian region (the Philippines and Indonesia).

4．Number of Students to be accepted

About 30 students

5．Recruiting Period

From May 19 to July 31, 2025

6．Selection

（1）Primary selection:
Documentary examination in the last 10 days of August
（2）Secondary selection:
Interview between the last 10 days of September and the first 10 days of October
（3）Final decision of acceptance/rejection:
The last 10 days of November
*Timing of selection and final decision of acceptance is subject to change.

7．Notice of Acceptance/Rejection

Applicants will be notified of the results of primary selection and secondary selection in writing. No inquiries regarding applicant’s acceptance or rejection will be accepted.

8．Educational Institutions

Any educational institution is acceptable. Applicants, however, must select a school and negotiate with it on enrollment formalities. If applicants want to study at Japanese-language schools, they must be those designated by us.

(1) Applicants who have been already admitted to educational institutions
Applicants who have been already admitted to schools in Japan (universities and graduate schools) after April 1, 2026 must submit an informal letter of acceptance. An applicant without an informal letter of acceptance at the time of application is required to indicate the name of the desired educational institution in the Overseas Study Plan. In either case, the successful applicant must obtain a letter of acceptance (or a certificate showing he/she is scheduled to be admitted) by the end of March 2026.

(2) Applicants without desired educational institutions
They must go through the enrollment formalities at a Japanese-language school after April 1, 2026 They are required to negotiate with desired schools on enrollment formalities at their own risk or must pass the entrance examination. In all cases, applicants must decide on their desired school by the end of March 2027. If they fail to decide on the school by that time, scholarship payment will be suspended.

9．Details of Scholarship Payment to Students

(1) Round-trip airfare
(2) Any expense to be paid to the school including examination fee, admission charge, tuition, etc.
(3) Living expense (140,000 yen/month), housing expense (max. 50,000 yen/month), key money (max. 200,000 yen), student commutation ticket, medical insurance premium (fraternal insurance), etc.
(4) Expenses for group workshops.

10．Period of Overseas Study

Maximum 5 years. However, if the student spends an extra year at the school or the secretariat finds the student against the spirit of this scholarship system, the scholarship payment will be suspended.

11．Japanese Language Proficiency

It is desirable that the applicant is proficient enough in Japanese that he/she has no trouble listening to lectures at the school or leading daily life in Japan. If applicants wish to improve their Japanese, they will be able to take Japanese lessons for 6 months to one year.

12．Application Methods and Documents

Applicants must send by e-mail the following documents to our office by July 31.　Please refer to the download page for the email address to send your application to. We are not responsible for the result of your sending to another address.

(1) Personal History (Form 1)　*Send data typed in PDF format. Handwriting is not acceptable.　*Please complete Form 1 in either Japanese or English.
(2) Photo(4.5cm×3.5cm)
(3) Composition (Form 2)　*Send data typed in PDF format. Handwriting is not acceptable.
(4) Overseas Study Plan (Form 3)　*Send data typed in PDF format. Handwriting is not acceptable.
(5) Informal Letter of Acceptance (Form 4)　* Optional. For applicants who were already admitted to the schools in Japan
(6) Medical History (Form 5)
(7) Letter of Recommendation by overseas Japanese descent organizations (Form 6)　*Submit in principle.
(8) Confirmation of Intent (Form7)
(9) Graduation certificate or student registration certificate (translation required)

13．Instructions

(1) The above-noted documents prepared in local language are acceptable.
(2) Essay (Form 2) must not exceed the space specified in length.
(3) When sending the Informal letter of acceptance, Medical History, Letter of Recommendation by Japanese descent organizations, and Confirmation of Intent, they must be submitted scanned data of the original.(No photocopy is accepted).
(4) Where the final school does not issue a graduation certificate, a copy of graduation diploma notarized by a notary public must be submitted.
(5) Submitted documents will not be retuned under any circumstances.
(6) If the application documents are found to be defective, they will not be accepted even if they were in before the deadline.

*Applicants should fill in the “entry form” and press “send” button,then you will receive email that contain the link to application form download page.
*Please note that “entry form”is not application document.You cannot be accepted unless all application documents is submitted by postal mail.
*There is a problem with the URL of the application form for those who registered via Gmail. If you do not find the URL in your spam box, please contact us (see “Information” below for contact details).

14．Contact details

2-3-1, Shinko, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, 231-0001, Japan
JICA Yokohama 2F
“Kaigai Nikkeijin Kyokai / Nikkei Scholarship”
TEL :045-211-1788　　FAX : 045-211-1781
Information