YKK Leaders 21 Scholarship Grant for Foreign Students

Benefits & funding

• Living stipend of ¥230,000 per month throughout the term of the grant.
• Graduate school fees of up to ¥2,500,000 in total during the term.
• Family allowance, where applicable.
• Round-trip travel expenses to Japan.
• Entrance examination support: round-trip economy-class airfare at cost, the entrance examination fee, and travel plus accommodation in Japan for up to three nights.
• Term of the grant: up to two years on a master’s course, up to three years on the final three years of a doctoral course.

Eligibility

• Nationality of a country within the scope of the grant: Southeast Asian, South Asian, West Asian and Central Asian countries, African countries, and Mongolia.
• A university degree from an institution in one of those countries, or a higher qualification; the awarding country need not be the country of nationality.
• Entry in autumn 2026 or spring 2027 to one of the ten designated Japanese graduate schools, on a master’s course (two-year standard term, including the first two years of a doctoral course), the last three years of a doctoral course, or by transfer into the third year of a five-year integrated doctoral course.
• A natural-science specialisation at the Japanese university.
• Not yet arrived in Japan when the application is filed with the foundation, plus continuous residence of one year or more in a country within the scope of the grant as of 1 April 2026 for autumn entry, or 1 October 2026 for spring entry.
• Age of no more than 30 for a master’s course, or no more than 35 for the last three years of a doctoral course, as of 1 April 2026.
• Nomination by a designated university; the foundation accepts no direct applications from students.

Application process

1. 1
   Apply for admission to a natural-science graduate programme at one of the ten designated universities.
2. 2
   Ask that university’s scholarship or international office, and the prospective advising professor, to consider you for the YKK Leaders 21 nomination. Each university sets its own internal timetable.
3. 3
   Prepare the documents: the application form (No.1 Form C, in Japanese or English); a letter of recommendation from the advising professor at the Japanese university (No.2 Form C); a letter of recommendation written in English by the university from which you graduated; and a copy of the acceptance letter from the Japanese graduate school if admission has already been decided.
4. 4
   The university submits its single nomination to the foundation.
5. 5
   The foundation’s Managing Director, who also sits on the scholarship screening committee, checks the documents, and the result is passed to the applicant through the Japanese university.

Program timeline

1. the foundation opens its recruitment round with the designated universities.

   April

2. June 2026

   application guidelines for autumn 2026 and spring 2027 entry published.

3. Ongoing

   each designated university sets its own internal nomination deadline; the foundation publishes none.

4. Ongoing

   awards are decided as nominations arrive and are notified through the Japanese university.

5. enrolment, and the grant begins.

   Autumn 2026 or spring 2027