Honjo International Scholarship Foundation to Study in Japan 2025

This scholarship is open to foreign students who study or plan to study in a Japanese graduate school for a doctoral or master’s degree. 

• Table of Content
• About Honjo International Scholarship Foundation (HISF)
• Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
• Aim and Benefits of Honjo International Scholarship Foundation
• Requirements for Honjo International Scholarship Foundation Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Honjo International Scholarship Foundation (HISF)

The Honjo International Scholarship Foundation was approved by the Minister of Education as an incorporated scholarship foundation on December 25, 1996. Its establishment was financed by the late Mr. Masanori Honjo, founder of ltoen, Ltd., who donated to the Foundation personal assets worth two hundred million in cash and one million stocks of his company as the Foundation’s seed capital, as well as another onehundred million in cash as working capital. The Foundation was approved by the authorities as a Specified Corporation in the Public’s Interest in March 1998. Mr. Masanori ... continue reading

Honjo International Scholarship Foundation

Aim and Benefits of Honjo International Scholarship Foundation

The scholarship will be provided monthly throughout the minimum period required to acquire the degree. The amount of scholarship depends on differs based on the period as below:

¥230,000 per month for 1 ~ 2 years degree
¥210,000 per month for 3 years degree
¥180,000 per month for beyond 3 years of degree

Requirements for Honjo International Scholarship Foundation Qualification

To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, the student must meet ALL of the requirement criteria listed below.

• The student must not possess Japanese citizenship.
• The student must be enrolled as of April 2026 or currently applying for the academic course starting from April 2025 at a graduate school in Japan. Those who are already enrolled and those who are not enrolled yet (including people who are currently employed with jobs at the time of applying for the program) are both eligible to apply for this scholarship if they are going to be enrolled in April 2026. Those who are going to enter graduate schools in the fall of 2026 can apply for this scholarship program.
• In principle, the student enrolling in a professional graduate school is not eligible to apply. However, the student who can submit a research plan is eligible to apply.
• The enrolment duration until graduation must be longer than 12 months.
• The student applying for the PhD program must start the PhD course by the age of 35.
• The student applying for the master’s program must start the master’s course by the age of 30 (No exceptions).
• The student must have a strong commitment to serving their home country as a future career plan.
• The student must have a deep understanding of international friendship and goodwill, attend events organized by the Foundation and take part in the network as an alumni member.
• The student must be able to carry out a basic conversation in Japanese. Interviews will be conducted in Japanese (No exceptions).

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Application Deadline

How to Apply

1. Confirm that you are eligible to apply.
2. Enter the “online application system.” Fill out the application form and upload the required files and documents. The movie which the applicant talks about his/her research for two minutes is required. 
3. Once the documents are submitted, the application number will be issued, and a PDF of your application form will be generated. Please save the PDF file, as you will need it when the result is announced on the website.

For Inquiry about the Scholarship * Inquiries are accepted by email. Honjo International Scholarship Foundation 1-14-9, Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0063 Website: https://www.hisf.or.jp Send inquiries to: [email protected]

For more details, visit Honjo International Scholarship Foundation webpage