Q: I have three children. My eldest child wants to go to university, but I'm worried about tuition fees. I would like to know the details of scholarships.

 

A: Scholarships can be split into two types: scholarship grants and scholarship loans. While scholarship grants do not require repayment, scholarship loans do need to be repaid afterwards.

 

　 For scholarship grants, the ones offered by Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) are commonly used. When your child reaches their third year of high school, the school will provide information on the grants. The grants are paid monthly in amounts of several tens of thousands of yen, and they are not paid as a lump sum. Eligibility for the grants is determined by reviewing academic performance.

JASSO also offers scholarship loans. You can find out more on the website.

https://www.jasso.go.jp/shogakukin/about/index.html (in Japanese only)

 

When your child enters university, you will need a lump sum of several hundred thousand yen. If you are a permanent or long-term resident, you can apply for Government Educational Loans. With this loan program, you can take out a loan to cover an entire year at once.

https://www.jfc.go.jp/n/finance/search/ippan.html (in Japanese only)

https://www.jfc.go.jp/n/english/

 

Families with three or more dependent children are eligible for support for large families. For children attending a private university, there is an annual support amount of 960,000 yen. Information on this support will be provided by your child's high school, but you can also find details on the website below (you can also apply for the support after your child enters university).

　　https://www.shogakukinsupport.jp/ (in Japanese only)