I just thought that I should write a note on how to find financial aid or scholarships in Japan while I am here, so that if anyone who is searching for such information can refer to this. Here I will write about the names of important scholarship foundations, time to apply, scholarship rate etc.
So there is a good number of scholarships given to international students in Japan, while the range of scholarship rate varies from bachelor students to graduate students, it also depend on the scholarship foundation. Of course the bigger scholarships are harder to get, the percentage is often 1~2%. But if here is the tricky part, in case of private scholarships, if you get a small one, like less than 50000 yen/month (app. 500USD) then you can apply for another small scholarship. But if you receive the big ones like 100000 yen/month (app. 1000USD) then you have to be satisfied with that.
There are two types of scholarships, Government one and private scholarships.
1. MEXT Scholarship provided by Japan Government which is the best option to study in Japan and you get paid the most. Though the rate is decreasing every year, I have received around 1200USD per month on average for 5 years for my total bachelor course, including one year in language school. And that amount is paid mainly for living expense. Government pays your tuition fee, so you would not have to worry about school fees. Of course graduate students receive higher amount, increasing from Masters to Post Doc. You can apply for extension when you finish your course and want to continue studying. If you have a really good grade, recommendation and your research plan is outstanding then you might receive extension.
For MEXT, usually people have to apply when they are in their home country. Here's the page:
http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/ryugaku/boshu/1319066.htm
2. Honjo Scholarship is one of the biggest private scholarships given to graduate students, mainly to PhD students. It is extremely hard to receive this scholarship unless your research is extraordinary and contributing greatly to society. The amount is around 2000USD (1 USD = 100yen) per month.
http://hisf.or.jp/english/
3. Ito Scholarship is also pretty big. The monthly allowance is 1800USD (1USD = 100yen) and is given to 10 students only.
http://www2.itofound.or.jp/schoalarship-program/scholarship-fs-d/about-program
4. Sato Yo International Scholarship pays the similar amount as Io foundation. They recruit scholarship students twice a year. For each time they recruit around 6~8 students, totaling to around 15 students per year. The scholarship is open to both bachelor and graduate students, though the amount is higher for graduate students. Here's the link:
http://www.sisf.or.jp/
5. Tokyu Scholarship is the next big one after Sato and Ito. They pay around 1600USD per month for 2 years and recruit around 15 students per year.
http://www.tokyu-f.jp/
Other than these there are other smaller scholarships like,
6. Nitori Scholarship which pays around 1100USD per month. And they recruit a lot of students but their total recruitment procedure is less inclined to research work and more towards office job. Students receiving scholarship also has to do part time for certain number of hours as a condition of receiving scholarship. It is open for both undergraduate and graduate students.
http://www.nitori-shougakuzaidan.com/
There are many other scholarships, sometimes only recommended from university, like Rotary scholarship or Kyoritsu International Scholarship and the amounts vary. More information about scholarship can be received from international students office at each university. For example, University of Tsukuba's International Student Office's website regularly update about scholarship news. Application time varies depending on scholarship foundation but the earliest one is around late October to receive scholarship from next year April. The total procedure consists of 2~4 steps including document check and couple of interviews.
Hope this information was helpful. Best of luck! :)
