Culture & Education

Application for MEXT (Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology) Scholarships

Research Students Scholarships

[2026 applications are now open]

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan offers Scholarships to Iraqi nationals with a minimum of a bachelor's degree who wish to study in graduate courses at Japanese universities as Research Students (either regular students or non-regular students) under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program.
Applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 1991.

For the application form and all other forms, and for further information, click here.
If you do not submit all the required documents, your application will not be considered.
Placement Preference Application Form can be modified as appropriate after passing the exam and interview.
The Embassy will not return any of the submitted documents.

Please carefully read the application guidelines here and prepare all required documents.
Age limits set by the MEXT Guidelines are definite. No exceptions can be made for anyone under any circumstances.

The application deadline is Monday, 16 June 2025.
Submit all required materials (as specified in the guidelines) by email to embjp.info.iraq@bd.mofa.go.jp writing your full name in the subject line
Ensure that the total size of the attachments is less than 10 MB.
If you absolutely cannot compress your files to the designated size, send an email, writing "Large Files" in the subject line and your full name in the email body. The deadline to receive the large files email is 12 June 2025.

Check Frequently Asked Questions here before sending any questions.
All questions sent via email which have already been answered in the FAQ or through the available information on this page and the guideline will be disregarded.

Written examination and interview will be held. Those who passed the screening of the application documents will be contacted by the Embassy viaemail in due course. You are kindly requested to write your email address clearly on your application form.
The Embassy reserves the right to refuse any application without assigning any reason.
All documents, examinations (except the Japanese language examination) and procedures are written and conducted in English.

Previous Qualifying Examinations for MEXT Scholarships are available here.

Undergraduate Students Scholarships

[Applications canceled] - MEXT has decided since 2020 to currently suspend offering Iraqi nationals its scholarships other than research students scholarship program. We will update this page if the decision changes in the future.

Further information on study in Japan is available at Study in Japan.

College of Technology Students Scholarships

[Applications canceled] - MEXT has decided since 2020 to suspend offering Iraqi nationals its scholarships other than research students scholarship program. We will update this page if the decision changes in the future.

Further information on study in Japan is available at Study in Japan.

Specialized Training College Students Scholarships

[Applications canceled] - MEXT has decided since 2020 to suspend offering Iraqi nationals its scholarships other than research students scholarship program. We will update this page if the decision changes in the future.

Further information on study in Japan is available at Study in Japan.

Teacher Training Students Scholarships

[Applications canceled] - MEXT has decided since 2020 to suspend offering Iraqi nationals its scholarships other than research students scholarship program. We will update this page if the decision changes in the future.

Further information on study in Japan is available at Study in Japan.

Outline of Schedules for the scholarship programs (Subject to Change)

	Application opens	Deadline of Application	Screening by the Embassy				Screening by MEXT	Final Announcement	Orientation	Departure
			Screening	Exams	Interviews	Result Announcement
Research Student	Apr. - May	May-June	June	June	June	July	Sep.-Feb.	February	March	April