MEXT Japanese Language: What's Required and What Helps
The single most confusing part of the MEXT application. Japanese isn't required for most categories — but leaving the exam blank can get you rejected. Here's the full picture, explained clearly.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
2 min read
Updated Oct 5, 2026
Japanese language and MEXT
Japanese proficiency is NOT required for most MEXT categories. Research applicants only need to be "willing to learn Japanese" and to deepen their understanding of Japan after arriving. But your Japanese dramatically affects your experience. Here is how the language requirement actually works.
- On the Embassy track, research applicants sit a Japanese exam. The result is used as a reference for your preparatory course — and to judge whether you can go straight into your programme.
- Some subjects need advanced Japanese. If yours does, the interview must show a considerable level.
- Certificates (JLPT and similar) are optional. If you submit one, it must be dated no more than two years before your application.
What level do you need?
Find your current level below.
Most MEXT programmes do not require Japanese. If you need it, you get intensive Japanese training in Japan before your degree starts — six months for research students, one year for undergraduates. On the Embassy exam, attempt the Japanese section anyway: even a guess shows effort.
N5–N4 won't get you out of the preparatory course, but it shows effort on the exam and helps significantly with daily life in Japan. Keep studying during the application.
N3 shows serious commitment. On its own it is unlikely to get you out of the preparatory course, but it significantly improves your interview performance and daily life.
If your accepting university judges your Japanese good enough for research or lectures, you can enter your programme directly and skip the preparatory period — applicants usually point to JLPT N2 or higher. That saves six to twelve months.
The preparatory course
Research students who need it spend the first six months in a Japanese preparatory course arranged by the accepting university or MEXT, then move on to research. Undergraduates spend a full year at a designated preparatory institution, studying Japanese plus subjects such as maths and science, before entering university. A typical one-year course looks like this:
- 1April–SeptemberIntensive Japanese
Typically several hours a day, from the basics to conversational: kanji, grammar, speaking.
- 2October–MarchAdvanced Japanese and academic prep
Technical vocabulary and university-level reading.
- 3April (year 2)Enter your degree programme
Many students reach around N3–N2 by this point (our estimate).
Japanese doesn't have to be a barrier. Start learning the basics now — then follow the application guide or choose your track.