Japan
Four-year degrees with a growing set of English-taught programmes, and a national examination for international applicants to most Japanese-taught ones.
How the degree is shaped
Bachelor’s degrees are four years at national, public and private universities.
English-taught undergraduate programmes exist at a number of universities and are applied to directly.
Japanese-taught programmes generally require the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students, and a Japanese language qualification.
Before you go further
What Indian applicants are routinely not told
None of this is hidden — it is on the official sites. It is simply not what the material aimed at you leads with.
Government scholarships for international students exist and are applied for through official channels rather than through agents.
The academic year commonly begins in April, which does not line up with the Indian one — plan for the gap rather than being surprised by it.
The route in
Applying through Study in Japan
The official government portal. Applications are made to each university; there is no single national undergraduate system for international students.
Open Study in Japan (official site, opens in a new tab)
Link reached the official site on 23 August 2026. We did not read the page — dates and eligibility are published there.
We link to it and take nothing from you for doing so. Deadlines, requirements and fees are published there and change between cycles — this page does not track them.
Tests usually involved
TOEFL
English language testAn English language test widely accepted in the United States and elsewhere. Institutions publish their own required score.
IELTS
English language testAn English language test accepted for study and immigration across the UK, Australia, Canada and much of Europe.
British Council, IDP and Cambridge — official site (opens in a new tab)
Official source
Permission to study is decided by this body. We do not summarise what it requires — those rules change, they are regulated, and getting them second-hand is how people lose money.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (official site, opens in a new tab)
The official site answered on 23 August 2026 but declined our automated check. The link is live; open it directly.