StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarship
The MEXT Scholarship (University Recommendation) at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) is Japan’s government scholarship, administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), with APU selecting and recommending candidates. APU, in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, is one of Japan’s most international universities — around half its students come from outside Japan — and its graduate schools run English-taught Master’s and PhD programmes in Asia Pacific Studies and Management.
The funding is genuinely full: full admission fee and tuition, a ¥144,000 monthly stipend (including housing) and economy round-trip airfare, for the full length of the programme. But the route is narrow in two ways that listings keep getting wrong. It is graduate study only — there is no undergraduate MEXT route at APU — and it is for September 2027 enrolment only. If you are applying for an April start, or for a Bachelor’s, this is not your route.
Eligibility
- Apply for a Master’s or PhD at APU (Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies; Graduate School of Management / MBA). Undergraduate applicants are not eligible for this route.
- Be a citizen of a MEXT-designated country (a country with diplomatic relations with Japan); not a Japanese national, including dual nationality.
- Intend to study in Japan from overseas and hold, or be eligible for, a Student visa.
- Be born on or after 2 April 1992.
- Hold a GPA of at least 2.30 on a 3.00 scale at your most recent university.
- Show English at B2 CEFR level or above — TOEFL iBT 72 or above, or IELTS 5.5 or above, or an English-medium-of-instruction certificate from your previous university. Only English tests taken on or after 15 March 2025 count.
- Excluded: active military personnel and civilian military staff; previous MEXT recipients (with limited exceptions); holders of another unapproved concurrent scholarship.
Benefits
- Full admission fee and 100% of tuition (through the APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship).
- A monthly stipend of ¥144,000 (including housing; the amount is subject to change).
- Economy-class round-trip airfare between your home country and APU at the start and end of the programme.
- Funding for the full length of the enrolled graduate programme.
- Note that the number of awards is not published — it varies annually with MEXT allocations.
Documents to prepare
- The online application through APU’s application system.
- Academic transcripts (plus a grade scale sheet).
- A graduation or enrolment certificate.
- A valid passport copy.
- English proficiency evidence (TOEFL iBT 72+, IELTS 5.5+, or an English-medium-of-instruction certificate).
- A statement of purpose / research plan.
- Recommendation documents.
- The screening fee of ¥11,250 (bank transfer only, non-refundable).
- Note that this list is assembled from secondary sources: APU’s admissions site is currently restricted after a critical PHP vulnerability was identified, so check the 2027 Graduate Application Handbook on the APU admissions site once it is restored.
How to apply
- Choose an APU graduate programme (Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, or Graduate School of Management / MBA).
- Apply for admission through APU’s online application system (apply.admissions.apu.ac.jp) by 5 November 2026.
- Pay the ¥11,250 screening fee by bank transfer.
- APU reviews applications and selects candidates to recommend to MEXT.
- Recommended candidates are notified with their APU admission result.
- MEXT makes the final scholarship decision by the end of June 2027.
- Do NOT apply directly to MEXT for this route — there is no separate MEXT application.
FAQs
5 November 2026, for September 2027 enrolment only (MEXT University Recommendation route). The application period opened on 1 September 2026. There is no April 2027 round for this route.
Yes. It covers the full admission fee and 100% of tuition, a ¥144,000 monthly stipend (including housing) and economy round-trip airfare, for the full length of the graduate programme.
No. The MEXT University Recommendation route at APU is for Master’s and PhD applicants only. Listings that say Bachelor’s are wrong.
Yes, unless you can show an English-medium-of-instruction certificate from your previous university. You need TOEFL iBT 72 or above, or IELTS 5.5 or above, at B2 CEFR level — and only tests taken on or after 15 March 2025 count.
You must be born on or after 2 April 1992. One source gives 2 April 1986; six sources give 2 April 1992, which is used here.
¥11,250, paid by bank transfer only, non-refundable.
MEXT makes the final scholarship decision by the end of June 2027. APU notifies recommended candidates with their admission result first.
Verified 26 Oct 2026: APU’s own MEXT University Recommendation page (admissions.apu.ac.jp/graduate/how_to_apply/external_scholarship/u_recommendation/) as quoted by Academia Magazine, AfterSchoolAfrica and Bright Scholarship — deadline 5 November 2026, September 2027 enrolment only, ¥144,000 monthly stipend, full admission fee and tuition, economy round-trip airfare, born on or after 2 April 1992, GPA 2.30 on a 3.00 scale, TOEFL iBT 72+ / IELTS 5.5+ (tests on or after 15 March 2025), final MEXT decision by end June 2027; allpakalerts.com, o4af.com, scholarshipforphd.com, educatewithguide.com, career.mystudypals.com — corroboration. CORRECTION: Bright Scholarship says this award covers Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD — wrong, it is graduate-only; Bright also calls APU "Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation" (a Malaysian university) and says APU was founded in 1993 — both wrong (APU was founded in 2000). Bright’s "no IELTS/TOEFL needed" headline is misleading — English proficiency evidence is required. One source gives the age cut-off as 2 April 1986; six sources give 2 April 1992. APU’s admissions site is currently restricted after a critical PHP vulnerability was identified (a stripped-down temporary site is live at sub-buildman.ssl-lolipop.jp/apu/en/), so the full document list is assembled from secondary sources and readers should check the 2027 Graduate Application Handbook. The number of awards is not published.
