Cost of Studying in Japan for International Students (2027)

Japan runs a mostly Japanese-taught higher education system built around one main April intake, alongside a growing number of English-taught bachelor's and master's programmes that admit international students in September or October instead. National and public universities charge the same tuition to every nationality, commonly JPY 535,800 a year plus a JPY 282,000 admission fee, though this project verified that a few leading universities now charge more. International students need a Certificate of Eligibility before applying for a student visa, and can work up to 28 hours a week alongside their studies.

Last verified 7 September 2026. Sources

National and public universities charge one standard tuition to Japanese and international students alike: commonly JPY 535,800 a year, plus a JPY 282,000 admission fee paid once at enrolment and a non-refundable entrance examination fee, commonly JPY 17,000 for a bachelor's application and JPY 30,000 for a graduate application. This project's own research verified that a small number of leading national universities now charge more than the standard rate for their undergraduate programmes: the University of Tokyo charges JPY 642,960 a year and Institute of Science Tokyo charges JPY 635,400 a year, both above the JPY 535,800 standard, while Kyoto University, Osaka University, Tohoku University, Nagoya University, Kyushu University and Hokkaido University in this project's sample still charge the standard rate. Private universities set their own tuition independently: this project's own sample of three (Sophia University, Waseda University and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University) found English-taught undergraduate tuition from about JPY 1,112,000 to JPY 1,655,000 a year, roughly double to triple the national rate, and medicine, dentistry and some science and engineering programmes at other private universities can run higher still.

Living costs vary by region. A JASSO survey of privately financed international students, published through the official Study in Japan website, gives average monthly living expenses, excluding tuition, from about JPY 104,000 in the least expensive region (Shikoku) to about JPY 158,000 in the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo; average monthly housing alone runs from about JPY 41,000 nationally to about JPY 57,000 in Tokyo. Students should budget for compulsory health insurance on top of these figures.

Funding comes mainly through the Japanese government's own MEXT scholarship, covering tuition, a monthly stipend and travel for a competitive group of students and applied for through an embassy or a university, JASSO scholarships, and individual universities' own tuition waivers, rather than one single national scholarship a student applies to directly.