Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation in Japan

Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation is awarding approx 95 scholarships for international students in fiscal 2026. Applicants must be enrolled in an official degree program at a university or graduate school in Japan and pursuing studies in business administration or a field relating to human health (such as medicine, pharmacology, biology, nutrition, or physical education). 

Eligibility   <CURRENT RESIDENTS in JAPAN ONLY>

1. Applicants must be self-supporting international students residing in Japan with "college student" status and must be 38 years old or younger as of April 1, 2026.
2. Applicants must be enrolled in an official degree program at a university or graduate school in Japan and pursuing studies in a field directly relating to human health (such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacology, biology, nutrition, physical education, or engineering {for engineering, must also be a field directly relating to medicine/pharmacology}) or business administration (for students from developing countries where business administration is not an established discipline, "international relations with a focus on economic areas" is also acceptable). 
• *For engineering, applicants will be disqualified unless the relationship with medicine/ pharmacology is clearly stated (including achievements such as the presentations at academic conferences and research papers) in the Scholarship Application Form.
• *Students in the first and second years of undergraduate degree programs are not eligible to apply. Third- and higher-year undergraduate students are neither eligible to apply, except for those with particularly excellent academic records, such as those with straight A's.
3. Applicants must be highly motivated, possess an outstanding academic record, and demonstrate personal integrity.
4. Applicants must be involved in creative or innovative research.
5. Applicants must be able to have their supervising professor or other person provide appropriate guidance and pre-checking of the documents they submit to the Foundation (including application documents). 
6. Applicants are not permitted to leave Japan for 40 or more days in total (including the departing date) during the period covered by the scholarship. 
7. Applicants must have an international perspective and demonstrate the ability to lead and serve as a bridge between Japan and other countries.
8. Applicants must demonstrate a need for financial aid.
9. Applicants must give full support and cooperations to events held by the Foundation and must contribute to building network between scholarship recipients.
10. Applicants must be motivated to study the Japanese language.
• *The Scholarship Application Form may be completed in English, but selection points will be deducted if applicants fail to show any motivation to study Japanese in the Scholarship Application Form and interview.
11. Applicants must be committed to contributing to society through their research.
12. Applicants must meet the requirements specified in (1) to (11) above and other requirements stipulated by the Foundation.
• *Those who are unlikely to complete their studies within the standard period for completion are ineligible. 
• *Those whoes classes are at night or over weekends, or who are enrolled in a correspondence education program are ineligible.

Amount of scholarship

• Annual sum of ¥2.0 million, ¥1.5 million or ¥1.0 million
• Annual sum of ¥500,000 for applicants receiving scholarships or benefits from other sources (the sum total of scholarships or benefits from other sources received during the scholarship period must be less than 1.7 million yen) 

* Determined on the basis of evaluations by our selection committee. 
* An annual sum of ¥2.5 million may be awarded to a small number of renewing applicants demonstrating excellent research performance and personal integrity.

Note: A scholarship recipient's failure to make satisfactory academic progress or any unethical or immoral behavior or illegal act by the recipient may result in a reduction or withdrawal of his/her scholarship.