MEXT Embassy Recommendation: How to Apply Through Your Japanese Embassy (2028 Round)

To get a MEXT embassy recommendation, you apply to the Japanese embassy or consulate general in the country where you hold citizenship, not to MEXT in Japan and not to a university. Each embassy publishes its own call, sets its own deadline, and runs the first screening (documents, written exams and an interview) before it recommends candidates to Japan.

As of 24 October 2026, every embassy round for 2027 arrivals that I checked has closed. Deadlines fell between 19 May and 11 June 2026. The next round is for students arriving in Japan in 2028. The UK and Kenya embassies say that window opens in April 2027, and if embassies keep this year’s dates, the 2028 deadlines run from 19 May to 11 June 2027. This guide shows how to find the right office for your nationality, the 2027 and 2028-round deadlines in major countries, and what to prepare before the 2028 call goes up.

How MEXT embassy recommendation works

MEXT (Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) recruits scholars in two ways. Under university recommendation, a Japanese university nominates you. Under embassy recommendation, the Japanese mission in your country runs the first selection. The embassy route is the one most people mean when they say “the MEXT scholarship”, and it is the one with fixed yearly calls.

The Study in Japan site, run for the Japanese government, says recruitment for arrivals in April or September/October 2027 took place between April and May of the previous year, with the first screening from May to July. It also warns you not to send any documents straight to MEXT.

This post sticks to the embassy step. For the allowance amounts, the university recommendation route and other Japanese awards, see our Japan scholarships guide.

How to find your Japanese embassy or consulate for MEXT

1. Start from your citizenship: the Consulate-General of Japan in Vancouver states that applications are accepted only by the embassy or consulate in the country where you hold citizenship.
2. Open the official list: Study in Japan links to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan list of embassies and consulates. Most embassy sites follow the pattern of a two-letter country code before “.emb-japan.go.jp” (for example, ng for Nigeria, ke for Kenya, uk for the United Kingdom).
3. Check whether a consulate covers your region: large countries split applicants. In India, residents of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry apply to the Consulate-General in Chennai, while the rest apply to New Delhi. In the United States, the embassy in Washington handles only DC, Maryland and Virginia residents. In Pakistan, the test location decides whether you send papers to Islamabad or the Karachi consulate.
4. If Japan has no embassy in your country: look for the embassy accredited to your country. The Embassy of Japan in Ghana, for example, published a submission address in Monrovia for Liberian applicants, and the embassy in South Africa takes research applicants from Eswatini and Lesotho.
5. Find the scholarship page, then check its year: look under “Study in Japan”, “Scholarships” or “Culture and Education”. Confirm that the title names the right intake year. Many links shared online still point to 2022 or 2023 notices.
6. Write down the submission rules: receipt deadline, accepted delivery methods and contact email. These differ more between embassies than the eligibility rules do.

MEXT embassy deadlines by country: 2027 and 2028 rounds

The 2027 dates below are as published on each mission’s own page, and all of them have passed. The second deadline column is for the 2028 round (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens).

Bangladesh works differently: the embassy page says applications go to the Ministry of Education, Bangladesh, not to the embassy. Some other countries also route MEXT through a national ministry or scholarship agency, so read your embassy’s page before you post anything.

The 2028 MEXT embassy timeline

The 2028 column carries this year’s calendar forward by one year, using the Study in Japan schedule and the embassy pages above.

Who can apply through a Japanese embassy

The core rules are set by MEXT and are the same everywhere. For the 2027 round, the embassy in South Africa listed them this way:

For 2028 the cut-off birth dates should move forward by one year, but wait for your embassy’s call to confirm them. Embassies can add local rules on top, such as minimum grades. Not every embassy offers every category, so the 2027 list for your country is a good hint of what will be on offer.

Documents to prepare before the call opens

Study in Japan publishes the forms and guidelines for each year. Use only the forms for the current cycle; the Ghana embassy states this plainly. The core set for the embassy route is:

• Application form: printed and filled by hand, typed, or completed with software, as Study in Japan allows.
• Placement Preference Application Form: the universities and programmes you want, for research and undergraduate applicants.
• Certificate of Health: completed by a qualified medical doctor.
• Recommendation letter: Study in Japan accepts any format; the sample is only a guide. Our recommendation letter samples can help your referee.
• Transcripts and certificates: some embassies want certified or notarised copies. Liberian applicants handled by the Ghana embassy, for example, had to send notarised colour photocopies.
• Research plan (research students): the study you want to do in Japan, in your chosen field.

There is no application fee for MEXT. Your costs are courier fees, document certification, the medical check and travel to the exam centre.

Mistakes that get MEXT embassy applications rejected

• Emailing the application: the embassies in India, Nigeria and the Philippines all said they would not accept emailed applications for 2027.
• Posting it on the deadline day: Washington, Nairobi and Pretoria all used receipt deadlines. Washington said plainly that its date is not a postmark deadline. Courier your envelope at least a week early.
• Applying where you live instead of where you are a citizen: a Ghanaian studying in the UK still applies through Ghana. The UK embassy tells non-UK citizens to contact the embassy in their own country.
• Sending papers to MEXT in Japan: Study in Japan says not to do this. Papers sent there are not considered.
• Using an old list of embassy links: some lists online point to the wrong country or to notices from past years. Go to the embassy’s homepage and read the year on the notice.
• Missing the exam prep: undergraduate applicants sit written exams. In Washington these covered Japanese, English and maths, plus chemistry and physics or biology for science applicants. Past papers are on Study in Japan.

If you missed the 2027 MEXT embassy deadline

You have two realistic options. The first is to prepare now for the 2028 embassy call, whose deadlines fall between 19 May and 11 June 2027: line up referees, get your health check scheduled for April 2027, and, if you are a research applicant, draft your research plan and shortlist professors. The second is the university recommendation route, where some Japanese graduate schools run their own MEXT calls in autumn for October entry. These calls are programme-specific, so search the English site of the graduate school you want.

If you are comparing MEXT with awards that also charge no fee to apply, our list of scholarships with no application fee covers several government programmes.

FAQs on applying for MEXT through an embassy

Can I apply for MEXT at the Japanese embassy in the country where I live?

Only if you are also a citizen of that country. The embassy route accepts applications only in the country of your nationality, so contact the Japanese embassy or consulate in your home country.

When does the MEXT 2028 embassy application open?

The UK and Kenya embassies say the 2028 window opens in April 2027. Going by this year’s dates, deadlines run from 19 May 2027 (Kenya) to 11 June 2027 (Australia), with Nigeria on 8 June 2027 and the UK on 1 June 2027.

Can I submit my MEXT embassy application online?

Usually not. Most embassies, including those in Nigeria, India and the Philippines, required paper applications delivered by hand, post or courier for 2027. Always follow your own embassy’s instructions for the year.

Is the MEXT scholarship fully funded?

Yes. It covers tuition and admission fees, a monthly allowance and an economy return flight, with no application fee. Allowance rates are set by MEXT each year and are listed in our Japan scholarships guide.

For categories, allowances and the full timeline, read our complete MEXT scholarship guide.

Sources and updates

Process and timing come from the Study in Japan embassy recommendation page for the 2027 programme. Deadlines, categories and submission rules come from the 2027 MEXT notices of the Embassies of Japan in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States, the Consulate-General of Japan in Curitiba and the Consulate-General of Japan in Vancouver. Jordan, UAE and Australia dates were taken from those embassies’ 2027 pages as checked for our Japan scholarships guide. The Study in Japan application page links to the official embassy list. This page was checked on 24 October 2026 and will be updated when embassies publish their 2028 calls.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.