Virtually all of the Institute's faculty and administrative staff have spent a considerable amount of time studying and working outside their home countries. All faculty members at Yamasa are very conscious that the perceived or relatively high cost of living in Japan can deter many gifted but financially disadvantaged students from taking what would be a vital step towards a fulfilling and successful career. For this reason, the non-profit Yamasa Institute makes every attempt to keep tuition, accommodation and other fees as low as possible. However despite our determined efforts to ensure that Yamasa provides not only high quality but also the most affordable programs available in Japan, we are aware that some students remain unable to find sufficient finance to cover their period of study.

Scholarship Awarding ceremony...

In Japan there are a number of scholarships available from various organizations to assist foreign students. What makes Yamasa unusual is that in addition to providing information regarding these organizations, the Yamasa Institute has also developed its own extensive aid program - please note that we are virtually the only academic institution in this country that self-funds a full range of assistance including Scholarships, Fellowships, Financial Aid and Work Study.

As a result the number of gifted students at Yamasa has continued to increase. Another result is that there has also been a very large increase in the number of high quality applicants for financial assistance compared to the amount of aid available. Both in terms of workload and financial strain, this has created a number of administrative problems as all of the financial aid is funded by the ACJS or the Hattori Foundation. With no taxpayer provided funds available, Yamasa has been required to develop its own screening process and infrastructure. This website is designed to both explain the financial aid system as well as act as the initial screening process.

As a non-profit organization in the public service, every possible step has been taken to ensure that the limited amount of funding available is targetted and distributed effectively. Please note that financial assistance is not viewed as charity - we have two very specific goals in (1) Assisting highly talented students with a demonstrably proven financial need, and (2) Assisting students from partner universities and institutions with agreed long term objectives in the field of Japanese language education.