The MEXT scholarship for Indian students pays a fixed monthly stipend, waives three university fees and books your flight to Japan. That much is widely known. The detail sits in the official wording, and the detail decides your budget.
For anyone considering the MEXT scholarship for Indian students, these six facts come from the 2027 MEXT Research Student guidelines and the University of Tokyo’s 2027 university recommendation page.
Table of contents
- The stipend is set by degree level
- Three fees are waived
- The outbound flight has conditions
- The return flight has stricter conditions
- The visa decides whether payment starts
- Payment can stop
- What this means for your budget
1. The stipend is set by degree level
The 2027 Research Student application guidelines set three monthly amounts:
| Student type | Monthly stipend |
|---|---|
| Preparatory education and non-regular students | ¥143,000 |
| Master’s and professional degree courses | ¥144,000 |
| Doctoral courses | ¥145,000 |
For a Master’s student, ¥144,000 is about ₹87,322 a month, at 1 JPY = 0.6064 INR (XE mid-market, 23 September 2026).
The 2027 figure can still move
The guidelines state that the amount “may be subject to change each fiscal year” because of the government budget. The University of Tokyo’s page for the 2027 university recommendation round goes further: AY2027 amounts “have yet to be determined”, and it quotes the AY2026 figures of ¥144,000 for Master’s and ¥145,000 for doctoral students as an example. Plan the MEXT scholarship for Indian students around the published figure, with that caveat attached.
The regional supplement
UTokyo notes an additional ¥2,000 or ¥3,000 a month for students in some designated regions. It is small, and it depends on where your university sits.
How long the stipend runs
UTokyo’s page sets the period as the standard length of the programme: October 2027 to September 2029 for a Master’s, and October 2027 to September 2030 for a doctorate. Moving from the Master’s to a doctorate on the MEXT scholarship for Indian students needs an extension approved by MEXT after a rigorous examination, and extensions are not automatic.
2. Three fees are waived
The guidelines state that “fees for the entrance examination, matriculation, and tuition at universities are waivered.” For the MEXT scholarship for Indian students on a Master’s, these are three charges a self-funded student pays in full.
One exception on the exam fee
The guidelines add that applicants pay the examination fee themselves if they do not proceed to, or gain admission to, the programme. Keep that money aside until placement is confirmed.
Our MEXT Scholarship 2027 guide covers the wider rules of the award.
3. The outbound flight has conditions
MEXT provides an economy ticket from the international airport closest to your residence to the airport in Japan on the normal route to your university. It sets the schedule and the route.
Under the MEXT scholarship for Indian students, you pay for the rest, as UTokyo lists it:
- Domestic travel to the international airport
- Airport taxes and usage fees
- Travel insurance
- Travel within Japan, including connecting flights
- Excess and unaccompanied baggage
Arrive inside the window
Arrival dates matter for the MEXT scholarship for Indian students because travel is booked by MEXT. UTokyo’s page sets arrival within two weeks before or after 1 October for October entry. Travel outside that period for personal reasons is not paid.
4. The return flight has stricter conditions
A return ticket is issued to grantees who graduate and return home within the final month of the scholarship period. Leaving early for personal reasons ends that entitlement.
UTokyo also states that travel expenses are excluded where a student stays on in Japan after the scholarship ends, for further study or work. Students who plan a PhD after the Master’s should read that line, and our PhD in Japan guide sets out the doctoral route.
5. The visa decides whether payment starts
Recipients must, in principle, obtain a new Student visa at the Japanese mission in their country of nationality. UTokyo states that payment is suspended where a recipient arrives without that new Student status.
For the MEXT scholarship for Indian students, that means a visa application through Japan’s missions in India. The Certificate of Eligibility guide explains the step that comes before the visa.
6. Payment can stop
UTokyo lists the grounds for cancelling the scholarship. Among them:
- False or wrongly stated application documents
- Academic performance that means the degree cannot finish in the standard period
- Disciplinary action by the university
- Holding another scholarship funded by the Japanese government or its affiliated bodies
- Moving to a higher programme without MEXT approval
- Leaving the host university or transferring
The stipend is also withheld during a leave of absence or a long absence from the university.
Two awards at once
The MEXT scholarship for Indian students cannot be combined with other Japanese government funding. UTokyo notes that the Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship is a separate programme for privately financed students, and our Monbukagakusho scholarship guide explains how the two names differ. Our JASSO scholarship guide explains how that one works.
What this means for your budget
The stipend is your living budget under the MEXT scholarship for Indian students. Tuition and entry fees fall away. The costs that remain sit around travel, the visa stage and anything outside the stipend.
We build every family’s budget on the published stipend and the listed exclusions. Check the source and the date of any stipend figure before you rely on it.
Which route pays the MEXT scholarship for Indian students
The same stipend reaches you through two routes. The India embassy round for 2027 closed on 15 May 2026. For October 2027 entry, the MEXT scholarship for Indian students runs through university recommendation, and our MEXT University Recommendation guide explains how. Our guide on how to apply for MEXT scholarship sets out the five stages in order. For the intake logic, read our MS in Japan intake 2027 guide.
Questions students ask us
Does the stipend change by city? Only through the small regional supplement UTokyo describes.
Is the MEXT scholarship for Indian students paid at a different rate? The guidelines set the amounts by degree level, with no separate rate by nationality.
How long does the MEXT scholarship for Indian students last on a Master’s? At UTokyo, October 2027 to September 2029, two years.
Sachin Gupta runs our Japan desk himself and takes every student conversation personally. Through WebMob he works inside Japan’s technology sector, and he has been to Japan nine times since 2023. Fifteen years leading counselling at Top Uni Admit. Around 175 students placed a year.
As Sachin puts it: “Worth asking any consultant who runs their Japan desk, and whether that person has ever worked in Japan.”
Book a call to check which MEXT university windows fit your graduation date.
Sachin Gupta founded Top Uni Admit and runs its Japan desk. He handles every student conversation and every institutional contact for Japan personally. Top Uni Admit has advised Indian students on overseas study for fifteen years across Australia, Canada, the UK, the USA, Germany and France.