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Studying in Japan: the honest guide for students and parents

Japan is one of the cheapest places in the developed world to earn a degree from a serious research university, and one of the hardest to do without the language. Most undergraduate programmes are taught in Japanese; the English-taught route is real but narrow. This is the whole picture in yen, as it stands in August 2026: how the system works, how admissions run, what it costs, and who it genuinely suits.

12 min read - Grades 10-12 - Updated August 2026

In short

How education works there

Study in Japan, the government portal run by JASSO, lists five types of higher education institution: universities, junior colleges, colleges of technology, specialised training colleges and graduate schools, each of which can be national, local public or private. For an international student finishing Grade 12 the realistic target is a university bachelor's degree. National universities (the University of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Tohoku are examples of the type) are the research-heavy, lower-fee tier; large private universities (Waseda, Keio, Sophia are examples) are the other main tier and cost more.

A bachelor's degree is four years and at least 124 credits, per the portal's education-system page; medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and pharmacy are six. Master's degrees are two years. The academic year runs April to March, and while April entry dominates, the same page notes that some schools offer autumn enrolment, which is where most English-taught programmes sit.

Language of instruction, stated plainly: the default undergraduate degree in Japan is taught in Japanese, and admission to it assumes you can follow lectures and write exams in Japanese. Study in Japan maintains a separate list of 'Degree Programs in English' for universities and graduate schools. These exist at a minority of institutions, often as a named programme within a faculty (a PEAK-style liberal arts or science track at a national university, or an international liberal arts or engineering programme at a private one), usually with a September start and their own admissions. If you do not intend to reach university-level Japanese before you arrive, the English-taught list is your entire universe, and it is short. Check it before you fall in love with a campus.

Classroom culture is lecture-led and formal. Professors are addressed by title, attendance is often graded, and the final exam or report carries most of the weight. Seminars (zemi) in the third and fourth year are small and close, and the professor who runs yours becomes your reference for jobs and graduate school.

How admissions actually work

Each university runs its own admissions; there is no national platform and no central offer system. For Japanese-taught programmes the central instrument is the EJU, the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students, run by JASSO. Study in Japan's examination page describes it, as of August 2026, as a test of Japanese language plus academic ability, with the Science, Japan and the World, and Mathematics sections worth 200 points each and offered in both English and Japanese; science candidates choose two of physics, chemistry and biology. It is held twice a year, in June and November, with results around July and December, in 17 prefectures in Japan and, for the 2026 first session, in 13 countries and regions overseas including New Delhi, per JASSO's overseas-venue page. The same portal page says a large majority of Japanese universities use EJU scores, and that many run 'pre-arrival admission', deciding on your EJU score and documents without you travelling to Japan.

English-taught programmes are different: they typically ask for school transcripts, predicted or final board results, an English test (the portal lists TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC and Eiken as commonly required), often SAT or ACT or IB results, essays and an online interview, on a direct application to the university, with no EJU. The JLPT, held in July and December, is a language certificate rather than an admissions test, but a Japanese-taught programme will usually want N2 or N1 from a non-native applicant.

Timeline in months, using Study in Japan's flow chart as the skeleton: roughly twelve months before entry you shortlist schools and request their guidelines; six to nine months before entry you submit documents and pay examination fees; you sit the EJU in June or November of Grade 12 for an April entry the following year; universities' own tests and interviews follow; once admitted, the university applies for your Certificate of Eligibility as your proxy, you take the COE to the Japanese embassy for the visa, and you land in late March. For a September English-taught entry the application windows are typically the preceding autumn to spring; the university's own page is the only calendar that counts.

What internationals submit: school-leaving certificate and transcripts (CBSE, ISC and IB are all recognised as 12 years of schooling), EJU or the programme's own tests, a language test (Japanese or English depending on the track), a statement of purpose, recommendation letters for the selective English programmes, and a financial-support document that the university needs for the COE.

What it costs

Tuition is the pleasant surprise. Study in Japan's academic-fees page lists first-year totals, including admission fee, of approximately JPY 820,000 at national universities, JPY 910,000 at local public universities and JPY 1,300,000 at private universities, rising to approximately JPY 3,800,000 for private medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, as of August 2026. From the second year the admission fee drops away, so the annual figure is lower. Some English-taught programmes at private universities charge more than the faculty average; read the programme page, not the university average.

Living costs, per the portal's cost-of-living page, average JPY 105,000 a month excluding study costs, from JASSO's 2023 survey of privately financed international students, with housing at a national average of JPY 41,000 a month and JPY 57,000 in Tokyo. Its December 2025 retail figures (rice around JPY 5,000 for 5 kg, milk under JPY 300 a litre) give a feel for groceries. A realistic Tokyo budget for a student in a private apartment is JPY 120,000 to 150,000 a month; regional cities are meaningfully cheaper.

What families forget: the move-in cost of a private apartment, where deposit (shikikin), gratuity money (reikin) and agent commission typically add up to several months' rent in advance; a guarantor, or a guarantee-company fee in place of one; National Health Insurance premiums; the residence card and municipal registration; a commuter pass; a phone contract that may need a Japanese bank account first; furniture, since apartments are unfurnished; and the visa and COE process fees. Budget the first month at roughly three to four times a normal month.

Scholarships and aid, honestly

The headline award is the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship. Study in Japan's MEXT page describes seven categories including an undergraduate one; for undergraduates, as of August 2026, it states that tuition is exempted, that a monthly stipend and round-trip airfare are provided, that applicants must be under 25 and have completed 12 years of schooling, and that there are two routes: embassy recommendation, run by the Japanese embassy in your country, and university recommendation, where an approved Japanese university nominates you. The embassy route includes a preparatory Japanese language period before the degree. It is extremely competitive and the embassy round typically opens in the spring of the year before entry, so a Grade 11 student who wants it must be watching the Embassy of Japan in India's site a full year early.

Beyond MEXT, the portal lists JASSO's Honors Scholarship for privately financed students, local-government and private-foundation scholarships, and university tuition reductions and waivers, and is candid that most of these provide partial support for living costs or tuition rather than full funding, and that most must be applied for through your school after you arrive. National universities in particular have tuition-exemption schemes worth asking about.

The honest framing: plan to pay the full published fee and living costs, treat MEXT as a lottery ticket you buy early, and expect any campus award to be a partial reduction decided after enrolment.

The student visa and working while you study

The route is the status of residence 'Student'. Study in Japan's immigration-procedures page (https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/planning/immigration-procedures/) states, as of August 2026, that the first step is a Certificate of Eligibility applied for at a regional immigration bureau in Japan, that in most cases the accepting school serves as the student's proxy, that the application needs proof of financial capacity such as a savings balance certificate, an income certificate for the past year and documentation of the source of funds, that the Student status is granted for a period not exceeding four years and three months, and that after arrival you register at your municipal office within 14 days to receive your residence card. With the COE in hand you apply for the visa itself at the Japanese embassy or consulate in India (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, https://www.mofa.go.jp, is the visa authority).

Working: the portal's part-time-jobs page (https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/work-in-japan/part-time-jobs/) states that students need 'permission to engage in activities other than that permitted under the status of residence previously granted', that work is limited to within 28 hours a week, with up to eight hours a day during long school holidays, that work in adult entertainment businesses is prohibited by law, and that earnings are meant to supplement study and living expenses, not to be saved or remitted. Convenience stores, restaurants and language tutoring are the usual jobs, and nearly all of them need conversational Japanese.

Insurance: the portal's insurance page states that foreign residents staying three months or more must enrol in National Health Insurance at the municipal office, that it covers 70 percent of medical costs, and that premiums are income-based and reduced for low-income students who declare their income. Enrol the week you register your address.

What life is like

Housing: Study in Japan's accommodation page says roughly 70 percent of international students live in private housing rather than dormitories, because dormitory places are limited. Dormitories are cheaper, furnished and social, with rules and sometimes curfews; the page's example of a JASSO dormitory room in Tokyo is JPY 28,000 a month. Private apartments are small, unfurnished and come with the deposit, gratuity and agent costs described above; the page suggests JPY 60,000 a month as a reasonable Tokyo target and JPY 30,000 to 40,000 in rural areas. Apply for the university dormitory the moment the option appears; it is the cheapest and simplest first year.

Cities: Tokyo is vast, expensive and has the most English-taught programmes and the most Indian community; Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe form a cheaper, more relaxed alternative with strong national universities; Sendai, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo are regional university cities where rent is far lower and your Japanese improves faster because you must use it.

Transport is trains, and they run to the minute. A commuter pass between home and campus is the one monthly transport cost; bicycles cover the rest. Taxis are a luxury.

Food: cafeterias and convenience stores keep eating cheap, and rice, noodles and vegetables are inexpensive at supermarkets. Vegetarians should know that dashi (fish stock) is in most soups and sauces and that 'vegetarian' is not a widely understood category outside big cities; cooking at home solves most of it, and Indian groceries are available in Tokyo and Osaka and online. Halal options exist near large campuses.

Weather: humid summers with a rainy season in June and July, typhoon season in late summer, cold clear winters in Tokyo and heavy snow in the north. Earthquakes are a fact of life; the country is built for them and your university will drill you.

Safety is very high. Healthcare is good and, with National Health Insurance, affordable; university health centres handle routine care and many hospitals in big cities have English-speaking desks. Community: Indian student associations exist at the larger universities and there is an established Indian population in Tokyo's Nishi-Kasai and in Osaka; Diwali events are easy to find in Tokyo.

Language in daily life is the honest constraint. City rail signage is bilingual, but banks, city offices, doctors, landlords and employers operate in Japanese. Students on English-taught programmes who do not study Japanese alongside spend four years in a bubble; those who reach conversational level by year two have a completely different experience and a completely different job market.

After you graduate

Japanese hiring runs on a fixed calendar: companies recruit third-year students for jobs that start the April after graduation, so job hunting begins roughly a year before you finish. Study in Japan's employment page (https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/work-in-japan/employment/) and its work-immigration page state, as of August 2026, that a graduate who has not found a job by graduation can change from Student to the 'Designated Activities' status to continue job hunting, granted for six months with a one-time extension for a maximum of one year. A job offer in a professional or technical field lets you change to a work status such as 'Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services', with the immigration bureau needing your contract, the company's documents and your graduation certificate.

The caveat: outside a handful of global firms and engineering roles, Japanese employers expect business-level Japanese, and the hiring calendar assumes you understand it. The Designated Activities year is generous on paper; it is only useful if your Japanese is ready.

Who it suits, and who it does not

Common questions

Do I need Japanese to study in Japan?

For the default undergraduate degree, yes: it is taught in Japanese and admission usually runs through the EJU's Japanese section and the university's own tests. A minority of universities offer degree programmes in English, listed on Study in Japan, with their own direct admissions. Even on those, daily life and the job market run in Japanese.

What is the EJU and can I take it in India?

The Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students, run by JASSO: Japanese language plus Science, Japan and the World, and Mathematics, offered in English and Japanese, held in June and November. JASSO's overseas-venue page lists New Delhi as a venue for the 2026 first session. English-taught programmes usually do not require it.

How much does it cost?

Study in Japan lists first-year tuition including admission fee at approximately JPY 820,000 (national), JPY 910,000 (local public) and JPY 1,300,000 (private), and average living costs of JPY 105,000 a month from JASSO's 2023 survey, with Tokyo housing around JPY 57,000. Add the heavy move-in costs of a private apartment.

Can I work while studying?

With a permission to engage in activities outside your status, up to 28 hours a week, or up to eight hours a day in long holidays, per Study in Japan. Most jobs need conversational Japanese. It is pocket money, not a funding plan.

Is MEXT realistic?

It is real and generous (tuition exempted, stipend, airfare, per the MEXT page) but highly competitive, with an under-25 age limit and an embassy round that opens roughly a year before entry. Apply, and plan as if you will not get it.

Can I stay after graduating?

Yes: change to Designated Activities to job-hunt, six months plus one extension for up to one year, per Study in Japan; a professional job offer moves you to a work status such as Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services. Business-level Japanese is the practical requirement for most employers.

Sources

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