Procedure of Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship for MS and PhD

I am writing this for all who wants to know about the procedures of Embassy Recommended
MEXT scholarship of Japanese Government for the Research student category, especially in the
context of Pakistan Embassy applicants. (There is also University Recommended MEXT
scholarship, but the procedures and timelines are slightly different). The details of the procedures
and the timelines may vary year to year, but the general framework followed is similar.
MEXT (Monbukagakusho in Japanese) means the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology in Japan. This scholarship is offered by the Japan Government in 10 different
categories.
1. MEXT Research Scholarship
2. MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship
3. MEXT Teachers Training Student Scholarship
4. KAKEHASHI Program-Building Bridge between High School Students in Japan and Asia
5. The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) (for civil servants only)
6. Young Leaders Program (YLP) (for civil servants only)
7. Asia Leadership Fellowship Program
8. Joint Japan/World bank Graduate Scholarship Program
9. Innovative Asia (UET Lahore, NUST Islamabad, NED University Karachi)
10. SAKURA Exchange Program in Science

➢ In order to do masters or PHD program, or simply do research under a non-degree

category, apply for the first category.
➢ In order to do an undergraduate degree, apply for second category.
➢ I wanted to go for PhD. So, I came under the first category, research student.
➢ There are other scholarship opportunities also which you can avail if you lie in that
particular category

Procedure:
• Call for Applications:
The notification about MEXT comes through the Japanese Embassy webpage on MEXT
scholarships, and is likely to reach you through your academic/institute networks or some
Facebook groups. Else you have to check this website. The call for applications comes around
April for the Embassy recommended Research student scholarship.
You will find the application form and all the basic information in the below link of the Official
Page of Embassy of Japan in Pakistan:
→ https://www.pk.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/MEXT_Research_Scholarship.html

• Stage 1: Application Form

You are required to fill in an application form (do write your name in Urdu in native language
row) given in the above page of the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan. In that, you apply under one
of the departments/fields as prescribed by MEXT that year. Mine was Systems and Control
Engineering (as my Masters was in AI and Robotics). The application form requires you to submit
your academic details as well as a research plan. Shortlisting from the applications, I believe, is a
sort of weighted average of your academic merit and research proposal (Factors may vary for
different Embassies).

The deadline for submitting this preliminary application form to the Embassy varies on yearly
basis but it is generally June 5th. Names of the shortlisted candidates are released in July but it
can also vary for that particular year.

• Stage 2: First screening

It involved a language test and Embassy interview. A written test is held in the embassy for
shortlisted candidates to test the English language proficiency. Past paper samples are available
on the website below:
➔ https://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e-32.html#1
Result of the English language test is released on the same day and if you are further shortlisted
for an interview, representative of a Japanese embassy will call you and inform you about the
interview date. If you pass the interview step, then you have passed the first screening.

• Stage 3: Finding lab and academic supervisor

Next, you have to find a maximum of three or four universities which is suitable for your study.
This means to find a professor who has the same research field as your interest. To find professors
and details about them, surfing the university websites would be the best way. You may also go
via other channels like conference/journal works etc., I advise using a combination of both.

In Japan, each professor will be associated with a research lab which makes it easier for you to
find your tribe. Each University has their own graduate schools like Graduate School of
Engineering, Graduate school of Information Science and Technology etc. Departments generally
come under that. Japanese Universities have many interdisciplinary fields and departments. It
can happen that you end up doing your favorite research in some interdisciplinary field and
department.
I chose Tohoku University, Tokyo Institute of Technology and Kyushu University as my three
choices and contacted the professors related to my field of interest. The professors inquire you
about your research interests (through emails). The procedure for writing a good email to
professor has already been discussed many times in this group so I assume you will not send
stupid emails to the professors. Mostly professors agree to your research proposal and
sometimes they ask you to write a new one for the problem assigned by them. I got accepted for
all the three universities and I had to give a Skype interview before they wrote me the Letter of
Acceptance. At this point you should be clear with the professors that as MEXT requirement you
need three acceptances and it is not sure that I will be finally doing research with you. The original
Letter of Acceptance needs to be sent to the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan from your prospective
supervisors and deadlines are specified by the Embassy.

• Stage 4: The final confirmation of the scholarship from MEXT

Getting the LOA nearly always means you have secured the scholarship (See application
guidelines for the details), but there are still some internal screenings involved at the MEXT level.
Till this point you are not sure either you will be selected or not. Some students get rejected after
the internal screening done by MEXT in Japan. So, you wait... My final results were announced in
mid-January 2019. With final selection I was placed in Systems and Control Engineering at Tokyo
Institute of Technology.
This is the timeline of MEXT Scholarship Application experience in my case. It was not easy
because it is almost a yearlong procedure. I submitted my stage 1 application form in May, 2018
and I got the final confirmation by January 2019. After coming to Japan, you are enrolled as non-
degree research student and you have to secure a admission in your respective department. The
research student period officially starts on April 2019. It was almost a year of long risky wait and
it wasn’t even sure that the scholarship would be granted in any of these steps. The embassy will
guide you but you have to work a lot of your own mostly and patiently wait for the result.
However, the risk and effort are totally worth it, not only because it gives you an opportunity to
pursue higher studies under a fully funded scholarship scheme, but you also do that as a student
ambassador who acts to cement the international relations between Pakistan and Japan. You get
an opportunity to learn, mingle and experience the hospitable and unique culture of this unique
nation called Japan. And you get to study in world class universities and work with top-notch
researchers in a development and progress-oriented community. The new experiences and
opportunities tied up with this scholarship is totally worth the effort. I encourage more students
to consider Japan for their higher studies and to try to apply for this scholarship.
N.B: New applications for the Masters & Doctoral Course for the period of 2020 are in progress,
so apply for the scholarship in a smarter way. Please check the Embassy link.
Some of the useful links for how to apply for Embassy Recommended MEXT Scholarship. (This
blog below really guides you through the entire MEXT application process!)
http://www.transenzjapan.com/…/living-in-japan-paperwork-o…/

Thank you. :)

Guideline for writing a good Research Proposal:

Introduction: Research question Why? What? How? It acts as a summary.
Literature Review: Find a loophole? Look for debates? Why? And How?
a. Literature on Topic
b. Literature on Method
c. Theoretical Approach
Methodology: How?
d. Research design
e. Research procedures
f. Kind of Data
g. Collection procedures
h. Selection and Access
i. Human Subject Review
j. Ethics statement (if any)
k. Costs and Funding
Preliminary data: What?
a. Evidence of Importance
b. Informs Methodology
c. Preliminary findings
d. Important categories and relationships
Statement of Limitations:
e. Alternatives
f. Weaknesses
g. What your research will do
Conclusion: What? How? Why?
a. Contributions
b. Importance