Study in Japan in 2026: universities, tuition, MEXT scholarship, work hours and job-hunting visa
Last reviewed 2026-10-26. Rules, fees and processing times in this area change often. Check the official source before you act, and tell us if something looks out of date.
Japan has world-ranked universities, relatively low national-university tuition and a generous scholarship programme, but many courses are taught in Japanese. This guide uses Study in Japan, JASSO, the Embassy of Japan in India and university pages where possible. Some visa details come from third-party sites and are flagged.
Universities
QS World University Rankings 2026: Kyoto 57, Osaka 91, Tohoku 109, Nagoya 164, Hokkaido and Kyushu equal 170, and Waseda 196. In the Times Higher Education 2026 ranking reported by Nippon.com, Tokyo is 26, Kyoto 61, Tohoku 103 and Osaka 151. A third-party site puts the University of Tokyo at 36 in QS, but we could not confirm the edition.
Tuition and living costs
From the official Study in Japan site, first-year admission fees plus tuition are roughly:
| Type | Undergraduate | Graduate |
|---|---|---|
| National university | about JPY 820,000 | about JPY 820,000 |
| Local public | about JPY 910,000 | |
| Private (non-medical) | about JPY 1,300,000 | about JPY 1,100,000 |
| Private medical, dental, pharmacy | about JPY 3,800,000 |
Living costs average about JPY 105,000 a month nationally (JASSO 2023 survey), with housing around JPY 41,000 nationally and JPY 57,000 in Tokyo.
Student visa
- The school applies for a Certificate of Eligibility on your behalf, which a third-party site says takes 4 to 8 weeks.
- The visa fee is reported as JPY 3,000 for a single entry plus a visa-centre service charge. We could not check it against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- A suggested funds level of JPY 2,000,000 for one year comes from a third party and is a recommendation, not an official minimum.
- A third-party source says appointments are mandatory at most visa centres in India from March 2026, which we could not verify.
Working while you study
You need permission for any work outside your status. University pages say up to 28 hours a week, and in long vacations up to 8 hours a day. A third-party site says 40 hours a week in holidays, which conflicts. Entertainment-related work is prohibited.
After graduation
A university page says graduates can stay up to one year in the "Designated Activities" status to look for a job, in six-month periods extendable once. You need a recommendation letter from your university, and part-time work up to 28 hours a week remains allowed. Other routes, such as the Highly Skilled Professional visa, were not verified here.
MEXT scholarship (Embassy of Japan in India)
- Research students (master's and PhD): under 35, a minimum of 70% marks (65% in humanities and social sciences), a monthly stipend of JPY 143,000 to 145,000, tuition exempt and airfare provided. The 2026 round (form 15 May, written exam 5 July, interviews 16 to 19 July) has passed, and the next dates have not been announced in the pages we read.
- Undergraduate: born on or after 2 April 2002, 80% in Grade 12, JPY 117,000 a month, up to 12 slots. The 2026 application opened 25 May with an exam on 20 June.
- Submission is by post, and Japanese is preferred.
Intakes and language
April is the main intake, with September at some universities. A third-party site advises applying 6 to 12 months ahead. English-taught programmes typically want about IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL iBT 80, and Japanese-taught programmes want JLPT N2 or N1.
2026 changes
- Residence permit fees are scheduled to rise from 1 October 2026. One site reports a draft amount of JPY 33,000 for a one-year change or extension, up from JPY 6,000, subject to final approval, so check with the immigration authority.
- Employers and schools are expected to report student working hours more closely from 2026 (third-party source).
How it compares
Japan is cheaper than the US, UK and Australia for national universities, but visa and funds figures are less certain than elsewhere in this series. See post-study work visas compared, engineering abroad and scholarships for Indian students. For a working-holiday alternative to study, see our working holiday guide.
Sources
- Study in Japan: academic fees
- Study in Japan: cost of living
- Study in Japan: MEXT scholarships
- Embassy of Japan in India: research students
- Embassy of Japan in India: undergraduate students
- Hosei University: residence status
- Musashi University: career support for international students
- Nippon.com: THE 2026 rankings
- QS World University Rankings
- Collegedunia: Japan student visa
- GoAsia: Japan residence permit fees from October 2026
Figures were gathered in October 2026 from government, university, law-firm and education-site pages. Several official pages could not be read directly, many figures come from a single secondary source, and where sources disagreed we say so. Fees, thresholds and processing times change often, so confirm everything on the official site before you apply. Visa Ray is a rule-based reference tool, not a law firm. You can run a free assessment on Visa Ray for your own profile.
