日本・アフガニスタン日本語学校パスウェイズ2026年度募集
Application is open from Wednesday, 23rd July to Friday, 15th August, 2025.
If you are interested in applying, please read this web page carefully and apply.
What is Japan-Afghanistan Language School Pathways (JALP)?
Japan-Afghanistan Language School Pathways (JALP) offers an opportunity for Afghan youth to study Japanese in private language schools across Japan for two years. The program targets those in Afghanistan who seek evacuation to Japan or have fled to other countries after August 2021. From 2022 to 2025, 21 Afghan students were admitted to Japan through this program with the support from private language schools, supporting companies, NGOs, individuals and local communities. Selected students study tuition-free in the two-year program, which is considered the minimum required to reach a level of Japanese necessary to enter university or find employment in Japan.
In April 2026, 8 Afghan students can be admitted to this program.
Program Overview
Recruited students will be placed in one of the Japanese language schools across Japan.
The program will provide the following:
・Pre-departure Japanese language classes before traveling to Japan
・Airfare to Japan
・Support for visa issuance and residence permit
・Tuition at a Japanese language school for two years(worth USD15,000)
・Stipend for the first six months
・Introduction of part-time job opportunities and housing
・Educational and career consultation every three months to enter university or find employment
*Please note that students are expected to work part-time to cover their rent and living expenses. Pathways Japan and language schools will help them find part-time work.
*After completion of the program, students are expected to apply to universities or find employment.
We will organize online Info Sessions on the dates below
1st August Fri 12:00 PM (Afghan time)
If you are interested in taking part, please register here.
Future Prospects
If you are a high school graduate …
After you improve your Japanese language skills and obtain sufficient scores in the
Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU), you can apply to universities in Japan. The program will offer regular consultation on the preparation for this exam, but scholarships for universities are not guaranteed and it is your responsibility to apply for financial aid. After graduating from a university or vocational school, you will have a good chance of finding a job in Japan. When you find employment, you can obtain a work visa in Japan.
If you are a university graduate …
Once you complete the two-year course, you can apply for a master’s degree by obtaining a scholarship. It is also possible to find employment and obtain a resident status with work permit. A high level of Japanese is normally required to find a job in Japan, even if one is fluent in English.
Eligibility
- Must be an Afghan national
- Must reside in Afghanistan and seek evacuation to Japan or fled to other countries after August 2021
- Must be single without accompanying families (The Japanese government does not issue visas for accompanying family members for language students.)
- Must have completed 12 years of school education, or be expected to complete 12 years of school education by March 2026 (This is a requirement to obtain a student visa in Japan.)
- If you are a high school graduate, you must be 26 years old or younger; if you are a university graduate, you must be 33 years old or younger.
- Must have studied or be studying Japanese.
- Must agree to work part-time at an entry-level job to cover your own living expenses
- Must NOT have a financial obligation to support family members (Students should expect part-time work to cover only their own living expenses, and not to support their families.)
- Must be able to submit the following documents:
a) Document describing your refugee background (e.g. letter explaining the difficulty of staying in or returning to your home country, issued by an NGO or an expert. If this cannot be obtained, the candidate can write his/her own statement.)
b) Passport copy (If you do not currently have a valid passport, you must renew it by January 2026 or obtain one newly by October 2026)
c) High school graduate certificate or equivalent document
d) High school transcript for grades 10-12 or equivalent document
e) (If you are a university student or graduate) University certificate and transcript for registered terms
f) Recommendation letter (*This letter should not be written by family members, relatives or friends. A letter from someone in Japan who may offer advice, information or any support to the applicant is desirable.)
Supporting Organizations
Pathways Japan – Implementing Organization
In 2026, around six Japanese language schools are planning to admit Afghan youth to study Japanese from April 2026 to March 2028. These schools will provide a full-tuition scholarship.
Japanese Language Schools – Host Organizations
In 2026, around six Japanese language schools are planning to admit Afghan youth to study Japanese from April 2026 to March 2028. These schools will provide a full-tuition scholarship.
Japan ICU Foundation – Funding and Implementing Organization
The Japan ICU Foundation (JICUF) is a US non-profit organization based in New York. Since 2016, JICUF has partnered with JAR, and later with PJ, to administer the Syrian Scholars Initiative (SSI), a scholarship program for Syrian students to study at International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan. JICUF currently provides funding to administer Language School Programs for Syrians, Afghans and Ukrainians. It also manages Japan Education Pathways for refugee-background youth living in Japan to access a scholarship to study at universities in Japan.
Application Timeline
| 1 (Fri) Aug 2025 12:00pm – 13:30pm (Afghan time) | Online Info Session |
| 23 (Wed) July – 15 (Fri) Aug 2025 | Application Period |
| 1 (Fri) August– 11 (Thu) Sep 2025 | Document screening |
| 12 (Fri) Sep 2025 (Planned) | Announcement of Document screening result (first screening) |
| 20 (Sat), 21 (Sun) and 27 (Sat) Sep 2025 | Trial Japanese language classes (online) |
| 17 (Fri) Sep – 1 (Wed) Oct 2025 | Interview (online) by Pathways Japan (second screening) |
| 10 (Fri) Oct 2025 (Planned) | Announcement of second screening result |
| 24 (Fri) Oct – 6 (Thu) Nov 2025 | Interview (online) by Japanese language schools (third screening) |
| 7 (Fri) Nov 2025 or later | Announcement of final results |
Steps After Selection
| Between 13 Oct and mid Nov 2025 | Application for a school and residence status in Japan |
| Mid Nov 2025 – Mar 2026 | Preparatory Japanese online classes |
| Last week of Mar 2026 | Travel to Japan |
| Second week of Apr 2026 | School starts |
How to Apply
Please fill in the Application Form below.
Application Form for JALP 2026
Application Period: 23rd Jul Wed – 15th Aug Fri 2025 (11:59pm UTC+3, 01:30am 16th Aug AFT)
Before you make your application, please refer to Programme Guidance 2026 for JALP to understand the details of the program.
If you have any questions, please contact us here.
FAQ
Q: What will my legal status be in Japan during the program?
A: You will stay in Japan with a resident status of student for two years. Please note that you will not travel to Japan with “refugee” status.
Q: What will my legal status be in Japan after the program?
A: If you are a high school graduate, by entering university or a vocational school, you can extend your student until graduation. If you find employment after graduating from university/vocational school, you can apply for a resident status with work perm. The Japanese government does not issue work permits to foreigners without university or vocational school certificate (except for some designated skills status defined by the government.)
If you are a university graduate and you find employment after finishing the language school program, you can apply for a work permit. Alternatively, if you enter graduate school, you can extend your student status until graduation.
Q: What will happen if I am not able to attend university or vocational school, nor find employment?
A: If you are unable to enter a university or a school, nor find employment, you can apply for temporary protection status given to Afghans to continue your stay in Japan. PJ can give technical assistance but each student has to be responsible for one’s own legal status as the decision will be made by the government.
Q: Can I work with a student status?
A: As a student, you are legally allowed to work part-time up to 28 hours a week while school is in session, and 40 hours during school holidays. It will be necessary for you to work to pay your rent and living expenses, but your work will be also beneficial to improve your language skills and get accustomed to the local culture and people.
Q: What types of scholarships are there to attend university?
A: The tuition fee for universities and vocational schools in Japan normally costs USD50,000-150,000 per year, so it will be necessary to prepare and apply for a scholarship to make an access for higher education. Make some savings while being a language student is also important to partially cover the cost for higher education.The following are some scholarships that you can apply for.
a) Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship by Pathways Japan
In 2021, PJ established a new scholarship program for refugee background people seeking higher education named Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship (TWIS). Students who have been admitted to the JSLP and have obtained sufficient EJU scores are eligible to apply. The details of TWIS can be found here.
b) UNHCR Refugee Higher Education Program (RHEP)
UNHCR Japan offfers Refugee Higher Education Program
(RHEP) for students with refugee background who are living in Japan. After your arrival in Japan, you will be eligible for this full scholarship program.
c) Philoxenia Scholarship offered by JELA
Japan Lutheran Evangelical Association offers the Philoxenia Scholarship for students with refugee background in Japan. Students admitted through JSLSP are eligible. Students must apply separately to universities and be admitted to receive this partial scholarship.
d) Refugee Vocational Education Program (RVEP)
UNHCR Japan, JELA and Wesley Foundation offer a scholarship to study at vocational schools in Japan. There are around 2,800 schools in Japan where students can get vocational trainings in various fields including IT, architecture, nursing, etc. Students with high school certificate and sufficient Japanese proficiency can apply for the program.
e) Other scholarship opportunities
There are other organizations which provide scholarships to international students in
Japan. For a comprehensive list, please visit the JASSO website.
Eligibility
Q: If some one has afghan nationality but because of situation in Afghanistan immigrated to Iran, can apply for this program?
A: If you left Afghanistan after August 2021, then you are eligible.
Q: I have been living as a refugee in Iran for several years. However, I was recently deported to Afghanistan. Am I eligible to apply?
A: Yes. If you are currently in Afghanistan because you were deported from Iran, you are eligible to apply. This applies even if you moved to Iran before August 2021 but have now been deported back to Afghanistan.
If your situation in Afghanistan is unstable and not safe enough to continue your life, you meet the eligibility criteria to apply.
Q: Why Afghan youth refugees who have left Afghanistan before 2021 August are not eligible for this opportunity?
A: Our scholarship is quite limited, and last year we received nearly 1,000 applications. Because of this, we focus on people who fled to other countries after August 2021.
Q: Can you explain more about refugee background, how can we provide it?
A: You can write a statement to explain about your situation. In addition, it is better to have a testimony of a thierd person as a referene letter. If you have an NGO or an expert to testify and explain your experiences, it gives more objective view for your statement.
Q: I am 35 years old now. Can I still Apply to this Program?
A: We have set age restrictions as follows.
“If you are a high school graduate, you must be 26 years old or younger; if you are a university graduate, you must be 33 years old or younger.”
This is because after graduation, we do not expect that you can return to your host country or home country under the current situation. Basically, you will need to live in Japan and find a job here.
However, if your age is above a certain limit, it will be harder to find a job. For people with a foreign background, it can be even more difficult.
Application documents and process
Q: What is the selection criteria for the program ?
A: The committee will evaluate candidates based on their adaptability, motivation to learn Japanese, and clear career goals. Another criteria is whether applicants have already started learning Japanese and have basic Japanese language skills.
Q: About “Recommendation letter”, It is written that a letter from someone in Japan who may offer advice, information or any support to the applicant is desirable. I don’t know anyone who lives in Japan.What should I do?
A: If you do not know anyone living in Japan, it is completely fine to ask someone in Afghanistan or in another country to write a recommendation for you.
This person should know your academic or personal background well, such as a teacher, a manager, or someone from an NGO.
However, family members cannot write your recommendation letter.
If a reference person is in Japan, it would be preferable if the person can offer advice or useful information to an applicant upon arrival.
Of course, it is preferable if someone can be your emergency contact or can support you financially even partially in an emergency, but again it is not a requirement.
Q: Is an online high school transcript from in Afghanistan accepted for admission?
A: This online high school transcript is an official document issued by an educational institution in any country, and is therefore accepted. However, it must be a valid and recognized transcript in that country.
For example, if you obtain an online transcript in Afghanistan, it must be officially recognized there and eligible for admission to an Afghan university. Likewise, if you obtain it in Pakistan, it must be recognized as valid in Pakistan. The same applies to other countries.
Q: Should the transcript be translated with the stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or is the stamp of a certified translation agency sufficient?
A: It’s not required in this program. You can just submit the copy of it.
Q: My high school certificate has not yet been transcribed. Is it possible to upload my documents later?
A: You need to submit the high school certificates in your application. If you don’t have it with you now, then please write a letter to explain the situation and you can apply for us.
But you need to obtain your certificate by your interview date or by 10th of October when the final decision is made. So until that time, if you don’t receive your certificate, unfortunately, you cannot be selected for this year.
Q: In the application form a question asks” Please describe what is your career plan after you complete your education in Japan?” Do you mean after the Japanese language or After my university studies ?
A: It means after you complete all the education in Japan, if you go to university, then after complete your university education, then what’s you gonna do in Japan.
Q: I am currently a university student. Do I still need to submit my high school transcripts, even though I am studying at university?
A: Yes, because we need a high school certificate or university certificates. You don’t have a certificate of university, then you have to have submit the high school certificates.
Q: How much do work experience and social activities affect your chances of being selected?
A: In the application form, there is a section to list your work history. If you have work experience, please describe the type of work you have done. This helps the committee understand your background, especially since you will be required to work soon after arriving in Japan.
Social activity experience can also be relevant. If you think an activity is related to the program, include it in your application.
Q: If someone is in a very difficult financial situation, can they still join the program? Also, how much money should a participant prepare before joining?
A: There is no financial requirement to join the program. Ideally, it is recommended to have about 1,000 to 1,500 US dollars when you arrive in Japan to help cover housing and initial living expenses. However, this is not mandatory.
In the past, some students from various countries arrived in Japan with less than 500 US dollars and were still able to start their lives, partly because we provide some accommodation support after arrival.
You do not need to worry if your financial situation makes it difficult to prepare cash before coming to Japan.
Support after arrival
Q: After the two years of language study, what kind of support is provided to help us apply for university or find a job in Japan?
A: While you are a language student, his program offers regular counseling on scholarships, university application plans, and preparing to find a job.