Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship for International Students

Applications are currently being received for the Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship program. The scholarship is opened for overseas students scheduled to enroll in a Japanese university / graduate school. The scholarship can be used for all academic fields and used for undergraduate, master and PhD studies. Applicants are expected to understand basic Japanese (JLPT N4 level). Applicants have to find out and apply for Japanese universities / graduate schools by themselves before applying for this scholarship and are requested to submit a copy of the application for admission for the university / graduated school.

The Rotary Yoneyama Memorial Scholarship Program (also called “Yoneyama Scholarship Program”) was established in commemoration of the achievements of Sir Umekichi Yoneyama, a businessman who contributed to the founding of Japan’s first Rotary club. This project, which started at the Rotary Club of Tokyo in 1952, eventually developed into a joint project of all clubs in Japan, and in 1967, with the approval from the Ministry of Education, became the Rotary Yoneyama Memorial scholarship Foundation. The program is supported by donations from the Japanese Rotarians.

Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary is a global network of people who are dedicated to contribute to social development and world peace through their various professions. Today, there are Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and regions of the world. Japan’s first Rotary club was established in Tokyo in 1920. There are 2,216 clubs with 84,523 members in Japan as of the end of May 2023.

Program Details

• Host Institution: Universities in Japan.
• Field of study: Available programs at host universities.
• Number of awards: Not specified.
• Duration: April 2024 enrollment Two years (April 2024 – March 2026), September / October 2024 enrollment Two years (September 2024 –August 2026 OR October 2024 –September 2026).
• Target group: Open to all nationalities.

Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship Benefits

This scholarship is a benefit type scholarship. The period is as stated below and there is no subsidy such as entrance fee and/or tuition. The scholarships amount are as follow:

• Undergraduates: ¥100,000 per month
• Master’s students: ¥140,000 per month
• Doctoral students: ¥140,000 per month

Supplemental payment for airfare : For successful applicants, up to 250,000 Japanese yen will be subsidized for actual expenses. After arrival in Japan, successful applicants must promptly submit all receipts, etc. that show the cost incurred to the Yoneyama Foundation secretariat. Travel expenses to Japan will be provided by the sewa club. Scholarship covers: Economy class airfare (one-way).

• Travel expenses in home country and Japan
• Visa fees
• Accommodation on the first day in Japan (up to 10,000 yen)

Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship Eligibility

To qualify for this Asia scholarship, Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Citizenship, visa status and place of residence
  1. Those who hold citizenship of countries other than Japan at the point of entry. Dual nationality holders not including the Japanese citizenship, and/or stateless persons will be considered as non-Japanese citizens.
  2. Those who enter Japan for study purposes and hold a “Student” visa status.
  3. Those who reside outside of Japan until entering Japan to enroll into the institution.
  4. In case you do not meet the requirements ① and ② at the time of application, you may apply for the scholarship on condition that the requirements will be met by the time you arrive in Japan.
• History of residency in Japan : The program is opened for those who do not have a history of staying in Japan before. However, if any of the following applies, the application qualification will be acknowledged.
  1. If your previous stay in Japan has not exceeded 31 days in total before the month the scholarship commences.
  2. If your stay in Japan was due to family reasons. (This applies only up to the completion of compulsory education.)
  3. If you resided in Japan under the Rotary Youth Exchange program during high school.
• Academic institution and admission. The scholarship is opened for those who plan to enter or transfer into the Japanese universities or graduate schools under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in April, September or October 2024 with the intention to pursue a degree by attending the regular courses. Those who have been issued an acceptance letter or an admission permit, or are planning to take the examination to enter the intended institution. Those who plan to enter or transfer to the institution of higher education other than universities are not eligible. Such institutions include junior colleges, vocational schools, technical colleges, preparatory courses, and so on.
• Scholastic and health requirements : applicants should be in good physical and mental health
• Field of study : All fields are eligible.
• Japanese language proficiency : The ability to understand basic Japanese is expected. After arriving in Japan, scholars are required to make efforts to communicate in Japanese in order to enhance interaction with others as a Yoneyama Scholar. (JPLT N4 level or above is desirable)
• Age limit : Applicant must be born after April 2, 1979. (Under 45 years of age as of April 1 of the year the scholarship is awarded)
• Prohibition of dual scholarships : It is prohibited to receive scholarships or grants of the same nature that are offered to individuals by other institutions. If you wish to receive other scholarships after having been awarded the Yoneyama Memorial scholarship, you must decline the Yoneyama Memorial Scholarship by the following deadline:
  • If the expected enrollment is April 2024, the deadline is March 1, 2024
  • If the expected enrollment is September/October 2024, the deadline is August 1, 2024
• Ineligibility of previous Yoneyama Scholars Those who have received the Yoneyama Scholarship in the past are not eligible to apply again.
• Obligations of Yoneyama Scholars : Yoneyama Scholars are required to fulfill the following obligations:
  • Attend the sewa club regular meetings in the sponsor district at least once a month.
  • Submit a scholar’s report twice a year in Japanese.
  • Give speeches at the sewa club regular meetings. Also, enhance mutual understanding with Rotarians by actively engaging in the club and district activities.
  • Abide by the requirements specified in the “Pledge”.

Similar opportunities

1. Heinrich Böll Foundation scholarships in Germany;
2. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships;
3. Mohamed Bin Zayed University Scholarship in Artificial Intelligence.

How to Apply for the Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship

To apply for this foundation scholarship, Overseas Candidates are required to register in order to submit their applications. Please enter information to the dedicated forms and upload the application documentation.

Application Documents

1. Application form: University/graduate school name, major/field course, faculty advisor or admission office you are applying to must be clearly mentioned. Please click here to download the application form.
2. Copy of the submitted admission application form for the intended university / graduate school.
   • Applicants who have not submitted the forms to the university/graduate school will not be accepted.
   • If unable to apply to the intended university/graduate school due to the institution’s application schedules, a copy of the submitted application form for admission must be presented promptly after applying to the intended university/institution. If a copy of application is not presented, the applicant will be disqualified.
3. Research plan (click here to download the form): Must be submitted by both undergraduate and graduate students.
   • Undergraduate students : “What I want to study at the university or my study plan”
   • Graduate students : “Research plan at the graduate school or the current status of my research”
4. Essay “Why I chose to study in Japan. My future plan after studying in Japan.” Please click here to download the form.
5. Recommendation letter (click here to download the form) : Recommendation letter from applicant or family members will not be accepted. Letters without a hand-written signature of the recommender will not be accepted.
   • Graduate : A recommendation letter from a prospective supervisor of your intended graduate school must be submitted. If a recommendation letter from a supervisor cannot be obtained because the supervisor will be appointed after you enter graduate school, you may submit a recommendation letter from (i)~(iii) as shown above for the undergraduate students. If you submit other form of recommendation letter, it will be disqualified.
   • Undergraduate : At least one recommendation letter from (i)~(iii) below must be submitted.
     • The school you were enrolled in most recently in your country
     • Most recent workplace in your country
     • Teacher/staff member of your intended university in Japan
6. Copy of the acceptance letter by the prospective Japanese institution. If the acceptance letter has not been issued at the time of application, it will be accepted by the following deadline. For April 2024 enrollment: March 25, 2024. For September/October 2024 enrollment: August 25, 2024.
7. Copy of the Japanese language proficiency certificate Those who have undertaken the Japanese Language Proficiency Test or similar Japanese language proficiency tests must submit a copy of the results.
   • It is not necessary for those who have not undertaken the test to provide the above documents.
   • A copy of the results on the English proficiency test is not required.

Important Notes

Applicant of the Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship program must pays attention to the following points:

• Applicants short of required documents will not be accepted.
• Application documents must be written in either Japanese or English. Write in Japanese if the applicant can do so.
• If applying for more than one university/graduate school, a full set of documents from (1) to (7) is required per university/graduate school.
• After the application deadline, the school, course, faculty, graduate school, and admission month stated in the application form cannot be changed.
• If the application documents are found to be false or fraudulent, the application will be disqualified, and the selection result will also be rescinded. If the documents are found to be false or fraudulent after the scholar starts to receive the scholarship, the payment of the scholarship will be cancelled and reimbursement of partial or full scholarship up to that point may be required.

The deadline to submit applications to this scholarship program is 13:00 JST on Monday, October 31, 2023. For more detail on the Rotary Yoneyama Scholarship, please visit the official page.