Applications for the Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship for 2025 are being accepted from Monday 28 October 2024 to Monday 6 January 2025.
This scholarship is one of the few programs in Japan that provides scholarships (tuition and other fees and subsidies for living expenses) for young refugees to pursue higher education at universities and graduate schools. It provides a pathway to the future for many young people from Syria, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and other countries who have been forced to flee to Japan due to recent conflicts and persecution, or who find it difficult to return home.
Online information session on this scholarship program will be held as below. If you are considering applying, please feel free to register and join in.
You can register for the Second session here.
First session: 13th Sep 2024 Fri 6:00-7:30pm
Second session: 29th Nov 2024 Fri 7:00-8:30pm
Message from Mr. Toshizo Watanabe
(On the occasion of the establishment of this scholarship, we would like to share with you a message from the donor, Mr. Toshizo Watanabe, to the young people who have gone through the refugee experience.)
I have worked for a long time in the United States, which has hosted many refugees. I have seen many people who fled their home countries, received higher education in the U.S. as refugees, and have integrated into American society. The U.S. has accepted many refugees from Vietnam and provided them with opportunities for higher education, and many refugees are active in American society. The first female Secretary of State, Ms. Albright, who died in March 2022, was a refugee from Eastern Europe. She received her higher education in the U.S. as a child of refugees and later served in the Clinton administration as Ambassador to the United Nations and then as Secretary of State.
Japan has not accepted refugees for a long time, but I want you to prove that refugees who have fled to Japan can also play an active role in Japanese society if they are given the opportunity to pursue higher education in Japan. I have established this scholarship fund in the hope that Japan will become as accepting of diversity as other developed countries. You may be active in Japanese society after completing your higher education in Japan, or you may return to your home country in the future and play an active role there, and that is fine. But in any case, I hope that you will become a bridge between Japan and your home country.
Whatever your dreams are, please make them your own.
Toshizo Watanabe
Program Overview
■Scholarship Benefits
（１）Tuition and Fees
- 1,700,000 yen or less per year (Expenses other than tuition fee required by the educational institution, such as facility management and maintenance fees, laboratory training fees, etc., will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the financial situation within the above limit).
*The amount of the scholarship will be determined after taking into consideration the applicant’s financial situation at the time of application and receipt of other scholarships, etc.
（２）Subsidy for living expenses in accordance with regulations
- 1-2 years of undergraduate study: up to 70,000 yen per month
- Undergraduate 3 years: up to 60,000 yen/month
- Undergraduate 4 years and graduate: up to 50,000 yen per month
*The amount of the scholarship will be determined after taking into consideration the applicant’s financial situation at the time of application and receipt of other scholarships, etc.
*Not required to repay the scholarship as it is a benefit-type scholarship.
*Combination with other scholarships: Combination is possible. Efforts to obtain other scholarships, etc. will be encouraged and evaluated.
Eligibility
A person who meets all of the following criteria
- A person with a refugee background living in Japan who falls into one of the following categories:
* Persons who have been recognized as refugees or granted international protection by a foreign government or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) outside of Japan.
* Those accepted into Japan through the Complementary Pathways Program.
* Those who are unable to return to their home country due to conflict or political upheaval. - Completion of 12 years of formal education in a foreign country or Japan, or expected to complete such education by March of the year of admission, or those who are recognized by the scholarship selection committee as having equivalent or better qualifications.
- Those who have difficulty in attending higher education in Japan due to economic or other reasons. (*1)
- Applicants must have the basic Japanese language and other language skills necessary for employment after graduation from higher education.
* Undergraduate applicants whose academic language medium is in Japanese: EJU (Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students) or JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) required subject
* Undergraduate applicants whose academic language medium is in English: Tests proving the required English proficiency and JLPT N5-4 level or higher, or equivalent.
* Graduate applicants: Exam score to prove the required English proficiency and JLPT N5-4 level or higher, or equivalent. - Those who have been accepted to a university or graduate school in Japan, whether before or after being selected as a scholarship recipient for this scholarship.
(*1)Those who are eligible for government support such as New Student Support Program for Higher Education（修学支援新制度）etc. are not eligible for this scholarship.
How to apply
① Download and read the Application Guidance carefully to ensure that you meet the eligibility requirements.
② Download and fill out the application form.
③ Prepare necessary documents such as proof of graduation/transcripts, proof of refugee background, proof of language proficiency, proof of financial status, letters of recommendation, etc.
④ Upload the above documents to the online application form by the deadline of 12th January.
Upload the above documents to the online application form and submit between 28th October 2024 and the deadline of 6th January 2025. (11:59 p.m. JST)
Download
Application form
For inquiries
If you have any questions, contact us here.
Frequently asked questions
About application
Q. I will take the exam this year and plan to enter university (graduate school) next April, but am not currently a university (graduate school) student.
If so, can I apply for the current year’s application?
You can apply.
After passing the selection process, you will be officially hired if you are confirmed at one of the three universities (graduate schools) that you have filled out the application form.
*If you pass the scholarship selection process but have not been accepted to a university (graduate school), you will not be considered as a scholarship recipient.
Q. I am currently living outside of Japan. Can I apply for this scholarship?
Unfortunately, you cannot apply. This scholarship is for those who already reside in Japan.
Q. I am currently an undergraduate student (graduate student). I have already applied for other scholarships and have received assistance for half of my tuition and other expenses. Can I apply to cover the rest of my tuition?
You may apply.
Please fill in the required amount on the application form.
Q. I wish to enter a vocational school.
Unfortunately, the Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship is for university study. If you need a scholarship for vocational school, please consider applying for the Refugee Vocational Education Program (RVEP) by UNHCR and JELA.
Q. I am not a refugee, but I am unable to return to my home country. Can I apply?
You may apply as a person with refugee background.
Please submit documentation explaining why you are unable to return home.
Please submit a statement issued by an NGO or other documentation explaining your inability to return home.
About documents
Q. What documents should I submit explaining that my household is in a difficult financial situation?
If you worked in Japan last year, your employer should have issued an income tax deduction (源泉徴収票 げんせんちょうしゅうひょう), a copy of which should be submitted. If you do not have one, a copy of your pay slip or bank account is acceptable.
You will not be asked to submit proof of income for family members who are out of the country.
Q. What kind of person should write a letter of recommendation? Can I have a teacher or other person from my home country write them?
Ask a third party other than a family member who knows you well. The content should convey your personality, your academic and subsequent career plans, how and in what way you will work hard in the future, and other motivational information.
It is possible to have someone out of the country write it for you, but the language must be English or Japanese only.
Q. The applicant is still in the process of applying for refugee status and has not yet received refugee status from the foreign government/UNHCR.
Applicants may apply even while applying for refugee status. However, you must have obtained the necessary status of residence at the time of admission to the university.
Q. I was born and raised in Japan, so my native language is Japanese. Therefore, I have never taken JLPT. What should I do for the “Japanese Language Test Result” section?
If you have a high school diploma in Japan, you may leave the Japanese language test result blank.
Q. I am considering applying to a university where I can enroll and earn credits in English. Would I still need to have JLPT N4/5?
You may apply without JLPT 5-4 certification itself, but equivalent Japanese language skills are required. (As for documents to be submitted, proof of study at a Japanese language institute or explanatory documents from a Japanese language teacher may be substituted.)
If your Japanese language skills are not even at the N4 level, even if you earn a degree in English, you will not have the prospect of finding a job and building a life in Japan, so we require the Japanese language skills necessary to find a job after graduation in order for you to make the most of the scholarship in the future. If you haven’t reache N5/N4 level yet, please improve your Japanese level to master the basics before applying to TWIS.
Q. I have studied Japanese, but I do not have any Japanese language qualifications. What kind of documents should I submit?
If you do not have the results of JLPT, JPT, etc., proof of study at a Japanese language education institution or documentation of explanation by a Japanese language teacher may be substituted. Please include information such as how long you have been studying and with which materials.
About university
Q. I took the entrance exam this year and will be enrolling in a college or university next year. Which university would be eligible for the scholarship? Is this scholarship linked to a university?
The Rizo Watanabe International Scholarship is not a university-linked scholarship. You must apply to the university (graduate school) and take the entrance examination by yourself. For more information on the application process, please visit the website of the university of your choice.
To be selected as a scholarship recipient, you must be planning to enroll or be enrolled in a university (graduate school) in the following academic year.
Q. The deadline for payment of the enrollment and tuition fees for the 2025 academic year is February or March 2025. When will the payments be made?
Once you have been officially accepted as a scholarship recipient, we will make the payment even during the fiscal year 2024. If you need to make a transfer of funds before your acceptance is confirmed, you will be required to make the transfer yourself.
About interview screening
Q. Will the interview test be conducted in person?
Interviews will be conducted in person at a venue in Tokyo.
For those who live outside of the Tokyo metropolitan area, transportation will be covered by our organization.