Fledge

MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship for a bachelor's

For study starting in April 2028 (MEXT 2028 round, embassy recommendation). The round for an April 2027 start closed in May 2026, so it is too late to apply for 2027.

Japan's government pays for a full bachelor's degree at a Japanese national university: no tuition, 117,000 yen a month to live on, and a flight to Japan and back. It is for school graduates under 25 who apply through the Embassy of Japan in Mongolia; most winners first spend one year learning Japanese.

Checked against official pages on 8 October 2026.

Key dates

These dates follow the last cycle. The new call is not out yet, so check it when it opens.

  1. Call published on the embassy website

    Usually mid-April 2027 (previous round: 22 April 2026)

  2. Hand in documents (a 4-day window only)

    Usually between May and July 2027 (previous round: 13 to 16 May 2026; the round before: 16 to 19 July 2025)

  3. Document check result by email

    1 to 3 weeks after the document window (previous round: early June 2026)

  4. Written exam 1: mathematics and science

    A Saturday 3 to 4 weeks after the document window (previous round: Saturday 13 June 2026)

  5. Written exam 2: Japanese and English

    One week after exam 1 (previous round: Saturday 20 June 2026)

  6. Interview

    1 to 3 weeks after exam 2 (previous round: late June to early July 2026)

  7. MEXT second screening in Japan

    Usually November 2027 (previous round: late November 2026, as planned)

  8. Final result from the embassy

    Usually December 2027 to February 2028, by email and phone

  9. Arrive in Japan

    Usually the first week of April 2028 (previous round: 1 to 7 April 2027)

What it pays

  • Monthly allowance of 117,000 yen (2027 rules), plus 2,000 or 3,000 yen a month in some designated regions. The amount can change each year with Japan's budget.
  • University entrance exam fee, admission fee and tuition are waived.
  • An economy-class air ticket to Japan at the start, and one home after you graduate if you return by the end of the scholarship period.
  • One preparatory year of Japanese and school subjects, then 4 years at university: 5 years in total. Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and 6-year pharmacy: 7 years in total.
  • Not paid: rent or dormitory fees, travel inside Mongolia and Japan, airport taxes, travel insurance and extra baggage. The first payment arrives 1 to 1.5 months after you land, so MEXT advises bringing about US$2,000.

Who can apply

  • Citizen of Mongolia (any country with diplomatic ties to Japan qualifies). People who hold Japanese nationality cannot apply.
  • Age, 2027 round: born on or after 2 April 2002 (under 25 on 1 April 2027). The 2028 round will set its own date in its guidelines.
  • School: 12 years of schooling completed by March of the start year (2027 round: by March 2027). Students finishing 12th grade in June 2027 fit the 2028 round, if it keeps this rule.
  • Willing to learn Japanese and to study in Japanese. No Japanese certificate is required to apply, but every applicant sits a Japanese test.
  • One course only: Social Sciences and Humanities A or B, or Natural Sciences A, B or C, with up to three majors. Art and music are not eligible.
  • Healthy enough to study, confirmed by a doctor on the MEXT health form.
  • Able to arrive in Japan in the set week in early April (2027 round: 1 to 7 April).
  • Not eligible: past MEXT scholars, anyone applying to another MEXT programme at the same time, military personnel, and students already enrolled in Japan as self-funded students (with some exceptions).

How you apply from Mongolia

You apply directly to the Embassy of Japan in Mongolia; no ministry or school nomination is needed. The embassy runs the first screening itself: a document check, two written exams and an interview. It then recommends the candidates who pass to MEXT (Japan's Ministry of Education), which makes the final choice and decides your university.

One scholarship, a different application for each course

In Mongolia everyone applies for the MEXT Undergraduate scholarship through the same embassy call, but the course you pick decides your application: which written exams you sit, where you spend the preparatory year, and which faculties you can be placed in. You cannot change course later, and you do not choose your university: MEXT places you after the preparatory year and each university runs its own short selection. Practical art and music majors are not accepted. A separate route, university recommendation, starts with a university's own admission instead of the embassy. The rules here are from the 2027 round, so check the 2028 guidelines (usually out in April) and each university's own pages.

Pick one to see what your application involves.

Social sciences and humanities (courses A and B)

Course A is for law, politics, pedagogy (education), sociology, literature, history, Japanese language and «Others». Course B is for economics, business administration and «Others» such as accounting and financial economics. Both courses sit the same three exams and spend the preparatory year at ABK College in Tokyo. Psychology and other fields not named on the list can only go under «Others» in course A, and MEXT warns that some «Others» majors may not find a university.

How they select
The embassy screens in four cuts: documents, an exam in Mathematics A, an exam in Japanese A and English A one week later, then an interview in Japanese or English. MEXT then holds a second screening in Japan and picks grantees from each course. For this field only, MEXT can also place you straight into a university, with no preparatory year, if it judges your Japanese strong enough.
Language
No Japanese certificate is needed to apply, but you sit the Japanese A and English A papers. University classes are in Japanese, so the preparatory year at ABK College is mostly intensive Japanese. MEXT describes the usual group as about 5 beginners, 15 to 20 intermediate and 15 to 20 advanced learners, some already holding JLPT N1.

Who you deal with and how each one selects

  • Embassy of Japan in Mongolia · Ulaanbaatar

    Runs the first screening for every MEXT Undergraduate applicant from Mongolia. The call is posted around April (2027 round: 22 April 2026).

  • MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) · Tokyo

    Makes the final choice of grantees and decides where each one studies.

  • ABK College (ABK学館日本語学校) · Tokyo

    The one-year preparatory course for MEXT Social Sciences and Humanities grantees since April 2026. It took over from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, which taught it from 1970. About 40 MEXT students a year. Subjects: Japanese, Japanese affairs, mathematics, English and social studies.

  • Japanese national university (placed by MEXT) · Various cities

    All teaching is in Japanese, in the faculty MEXT assigns. You cannot change course or move to another university later.

Each university's own selection is in Plus: what it tests, how and when.

Step by step

  1. Step 1 · Now (October to March)

    Choose your course and majors

    MEXT sorts applicants into five courses, and your course decides your exams. Social Sciences and Humanities A (law, politics, education, sociology, literature, history, Japanese) and B (economics, business administration) take Japanese, English and Mathematics A. Natural Sciences A (mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, information engineering) take Japanese, English, Mathematics B, physics and chemistry. Natural Sciences B (agriculture, pharmacy, nursing, biology) and C (medicine, dentistry) take biology instead of physics. You cannot change course later, so pick the one that matches your strongest school subjects.

    Tip: The full list of majors is in section 2 of the guidelines. Choosing «Others» in Social Sciences and Humanities A can make it hard to find a university that accepts you.

  2. Step 2 · Now to May

    Practise with real past papersThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  3. Step 3 · January to April 2027

    Collect your school papersThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  4. Step 4 · Before you apply

    Add a language score if you have oneThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  5. Step 5 · From April 2027

    Watch for the call and download the new formsThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  6. Step 6 · April to May 2027

    Fill in the application formThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  7. Step 7 · Between May and July 2027 (previous round: 13 to 16 May 2026)

    Hand in two packets in the 4-day windowThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  8. Step 8 · June to August 2027 (previous round: 13 and 20 June 2026)

    Sit the two written examsThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  9. Step 9 · June to August 2027

    Pass the interview, then see a doctorThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

  10. Step 10 · November 2027 to April 2028

    Wait for MEXT, then prepare to flyThe how-to for this step is in Plus.

Documents to prepare

10 in Plus

How they choose

In Plus

For applicants from Mongolia

8 in Plus

Mistakes that cost applications

6 in Plus

Official sources

All scholarships