Heiwa Nakajima Foundation Scholarship for Foreign Students in Japan

The Heiwa Nakajima Foundation is a private grant-making foundation in Tokyo that funds international students already studying at a university in Japan. Its scholarship for foreign students pays a monthly living stipend for one academic year, from April to the following March, as a grant that carries no repayment obligation. The foundation does not deal with applicants directly: it sends the call and the forms to universities across Japan at the end of August, and each university selects and nominates its own candidates.

Undergraduate and graduate students in any field may be nominated, and no nationality or age restriction is set. Competition is heavy: in the 2023 cycle the foundation received 297 undergraduate and 254 graduate applications and selected 50 scholars in each group.

Benefits & funding

Undergraduate scholars receive ¥120,000 per month.
Graduate scholars, in a master’s or doctoral course, receive ¥150,000 per month.
The award runs for one year, from April to March of the following year.
The money is a grant and does not have to be repaid.
Scholars may not hold another scholarship or grant at the same time. A tuition reduction, or an in-house university scholarship that serves as one, is allowed.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold a foreign nationality and be enrolled at a university in Japan at the time of application.
They must be enrolled in a regular degree course at that same university in April of the award year. Research students and other non-degree students may be nominated if they will be in a regular course during the funding period.
Residence status must be 「留学」 (Student).
Applicants must not exceed the minimum standard period of study for their course. Repeating a year or taking a leave of absence in the current course rules a student out.
Previous recipients of a Heiwa Nakajima Foundation scholarship may not apply again.
Applying for, or holding, another scholarship or grant at the same time is not allowed. Kyoto University’s call names JSPS Research Fellowships, the SPRING program and the next-generation AI program as examples.
No age limit, nationality restriction or field of study restriction is set.
Each university may nominate only one undergraduate and one graduate student, so an internal selection normally comes first.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Residence required
Japan
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Master Enrolled · PhD Enrolled

Check my eligibility — free

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Wait for the annual call. The foundation sends the guidelines and forms to Japanese universities at the end of August, and applications are invited during September and October for the following academic year.
2
Contact the scholarship office or international student office of your own university. The foundation does not send materials to individuals and does not accept direct applications.
3
Meet your university’s internal deadline, which falls earlier than the foundation’s. In the 2026 cycle internal deadlines ran from 10 September to 21 October 2025 depending on the university.
4
Prepare the documents your office asks for. These typically include the application form, a supervisor’s recommendation letter, a résumé, a personal statement and official transcripts.
5
Your university submits its nominations to the foundation, which selects scholars by document screening.

Program timeline

the foundation sends application guidelines to universities in Japan.
Late August
universities collect and submit nominations for the following academic year.
September to October
internal deadlines set by individual universities in the 2026 cycle.
Sep 10, 2025 to Oct 21, 2025
close of the application window for the 2026 cycle.
Oct 31, 2025
2026-04
the 2026 award period starts.
2027-03
the 2026 award period ends.
September to October 2026
the foundation plans to run the call for the 2027 academic year.