Scholarships for Japanese Students at Universities Abroad: Yanai, Grew Bancroft, JASSO, Recruit

A leading US college costs more than $95,000 a year for tuition, housing and food. Japanese families who make it work usually combine the college's own aid with one of a small number of large Japanese scholarships that do not have to be repaid.

This page compares the four best known, from each one's 2026 guidelines. The rules change every year, so read the guidelines for the year you apply. Most of these scholarships are for Japanese nationals.

Goodsell Observatory at Carleton College in snow

Carleton College in Minnesota, one of the colleges Grew Bancroft scholars have attended.

The four compared

All four windows above were for students starting in 2027. Each takes a limited number: about 20 a year in each of Yanai's two rounds, 10 at Grew Bancroft, 140 at JASSO in 2026, and about 5 at Recruit.

Yanai Tadashi Foundation

The largest of the four, for students going to US or UK universities.

• Universities: about 48 in the US (30 universities and 18 liberal arts colleges, including Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Williams) and 7 in the UK: Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, LSE, King's College London and Edinburgh. Canada is eligible only in the admission-based round.
• Amount: in the US, up to $115,000 a year for four years: up to $100,000 for tuition, housing and insurance, plus $15,000 for study and living costs. In the UK, up to £70,000 a year, generally for three years. One return flight is also covered.
• Main conditions: Japanese nationality throughout the degree; graduating from high school between September 2026 and August 2027 and starting in September 2027; generally 20 or under; at least TOEFL iBT 90, IELTS 6.5, SAT 1400, ACT 31 or an IB prediction of 38 (exceptions possible with a school nomination); the main earner's income ¥27 million or less in both 2024 and 2025.
• Two rounds: the school-nominated round, before you apply to universities, and the admission-based round, after you have an offer, with no school nomination needed.

For 2027 entry, the admission-based round is still to come. The foundation says it expects to open it around December 2026. The previous one ran from 18 December to 20 January.

Grew Bancroft Foundation

Founded in 1928, the foundation has sent more than 300 scholars to small residential liberal arts colleges in the US. For fall 2027 entry it offered four types of award:

• Awards 2 to 4 generally require an Early Decision application, which is binding: if admitted, you must attend.
• Main conditions: Japanese nationality throughout; household earners' income ¥20 million or less combined; in the final year of high school and graduating by June 2027, or graduated since March 2026. Students at international schools and schools abroad can apply.
• Parents pay a contribution of ¥10,000 a month.

The 2026 round ran from 1 July to 7 September, with interviews on 11 October. If the pattern holds, the next one opens in summer 2027.

JASSO degree-seeking scholarship

From the Japan Student Services Organization, with no restriction on country or university.

• Amount: a monthly stipend of ¥352,000 for the US, Canada, the UK and Singapore, and ¥297,000 for Australia and New Zealand (2026 rates), plus ¥10,000 towards travel at the start.
• Length: up to four years.
• Main conditions: you must get your own offer of admission; household earners' 2025 income ¥20 million or less combined. Students up to three years out of high school can apply.
• Combining: you can hold it alongside other scholarships, though the other scholarship may not allow it.

The 2027 round ran from 1 September to 1 October 2026, with interviews on 30 or 31 January 2027 and results in early March. It covers students starting between April 2027 and March 2028.

Recruit Scholarship, academic track

From the Ezoe Memorial Recruit Foundation, for students going abroad to study science, at undergraduate or graduate level.

• Amount: university fees (tuition and other fees the university bills directly, not housing or food) plus living costs, up to $95,000 a year in the US (living costs up to $26,400), £68,000 in the UK, C$118,000 in Canada and A$121,000 in Australia.
• Conditions: 24 or under on 1 April 2027. Psychology and architecture are excluded.
• Length: April 2027 to March 2029, renewable each year up to age 27.

The 2027 round ran from 30 June to 8 September 2026, with final interviews in November.

Don't forget the colleges' own aid

Separately from these scholarships, some US private colleges give international students need-based grants. Amherst and Bowdoin are need-blind for international applicants and meet full need without loans. See what is a liberal arts college.

College aid and a Japanese scholarship can often be combined, but check each one's rules.

For students in year 2 of high school now

Students starting in 2028 apply in the summer and autumn of 2027.

• English scores: Yanai looks for TOEFL iBT 90 or equivalent. Take a test in year 2.
• School nomination: Yanai's school-nominated round needs your school's support, and it accepted nomination documents from May. Talk to your teachers early.
• Overlapping windows: in 2026, Recruit opened on 30 June, Grew Bancroft on 1 July, Yanai's school-nominated round on 16 July and JASSO on 1 September, all before US college applications in November and January.

For US college deadlines, see US college application deadlines for fall 2027. For other countries, see US, UK, Canadian or Australian university?.

FAQ

Is there still a scholarship I can apply for to start in 2027? Yes: the Yanai Tadashi Foundation's admission-based round, for students who already hold an offer, expected to open around December 2026.

Which scholarship pays the most? The Yanai Tadashi Foundation, up to $115,000 a year for four years at a US university.

Are there income limits? Yes. Yanai requires the main earner's income to be ¥27 million or less; Grew Bancroft and JASSO require household earners' combined income of ¥20 million or less.

Can international school students apply? Yes, for Yanai and Grew Bancroft, provided they are Japanese nationals.

Can I combine scholarships? JASSO allows it. Yanai generally does not allow another Japanese grant. The rules differ, so check each one's guidelines.