We list 7 fully Funded Masters Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Japan, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 2 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
Written from the 7 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 7 fully funded masters scholarships in Japan that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is tagged fully funded, and every one of the 7 is a masters-level award. The list is narrow on purpose: one country, one funding category, one degree level.
Japan is not the first destination most Nigerian students think of, but the funding structure is unusually complete. Of the 7 awards on this page, 6 state that they cover tuition, 6 state that they cover living costs, and 6 state that they cover travel. Four name accommodation, 3 name health insurance, and 2 name research or training costs. Those are the benefits the awards write down themselves, not a promise about what you will receive.
Four subject areas appear on the page: Business & Management, Economics & Finance, Law, and Public Policy & Development. Each of those is attached to one award. The remaining awards are not tied to a single field in the way this page records them.
Two of the 7 awards are recorded as open to Nigerian applicants. Both of those are open because they carry no nationality restriction at all. Neither of them names Nigeria or the West African region in its eligibility text. For the other 5 awards, eligibility is not stated on the award itself, which means you have to check the provider's own page before you spend money on a transcript or a courier.
Read that carefully. Two confirmed routes is not the same as two awards in total. It means two awards say in writing that nationality is not a barrier. The rest are silent, and silence is not a rejection.
These are taught and research masters programmes. The entry qualification is a first degree or an HND, and the awards recognise B.Sc, B.A, B.Eng, LLB, MBBS and HND.
One award on this page states a minimum degree class. Where an award asks for an "upper second", that corresponds to Second Class Upper (2:1) on a Nigerian transcript. Whether a particular university accepts an HND is decided by that university, not by this page and not by the scholarship body.
If you are applying with an HND, treat the university's admission office as the first authority and the scholarship office as the second. Get the admission question answered before you pay for anything.
The requirements recorded across these 7 awards are practical rather than exotic. Five awards ask for letters of recommendation. Three ask for an English test score, either IELTS or TOEFL. Two ask for a research proposal. One states a minimum degree class. One asks for work experience. One asks for a commitment to return home afterwards.
For a Nigerian applicant paying for transcripts and courier fees out of pocket, the recommendation letters are the item that costs the most in time rather than money. Five of the 7 awards want them, and referees at Nigerian universities are often slow during result-processing periods. Start those requests early, and ask for more referees than you need.
The English test requirement is worth checking award by award. Three awards state it. Where an award does not state it, the university's own English requirement still applies, and some Japanese universities accept a medium-of-instruction letter from a Nigerian institution in place of IELTS or TOEFL. That decision sits with the university.
The research proposal matters for the two awards that ask for it. A proposal for a Japanese masters programme should name the department and, where possible, the supervisor you want to work with.
One award on this page carries a fixed date. One is still open. Six are undated in the listing, and one recurs. The busiest month recorded here is November, with one deadline falling in it.
The award closing soonest is the MEXT University Recommendation Scholarship 2026-2027, which closes on 13 November. This is a university recommendation route, which means the application goes through the university rather than directly from you to the funder, and the university's internal screening deadline will fall earlier than the date shown.
Other awards on the page include the MEXT Scholarship 2027, the JICA Scholarships Japan 2026-2027, the ADB–Japan Scholarship Program 2027, the University of Tokyo Fellowships 2026-2027, and the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation 2026-2027. Where a listing says the deadline varies, the variation is real: the ADB–Japan programme, for instance, sets its deadline by university, and the University of Tokyo fellowships are set by graduate school.
Programme lengths recorded across these awards run from 1 to 5 years. One award states undergraduate 4–5 years, masters 2–3 years, and PhD 3–4 years. Another states a masters of 1.5–2 years and a doctorate of 3–4 years. Plan your funding around the longer end, not the shorter one.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 198 Nigerian students were studying in Japan in 2023. That places Nigeria 44th among the countries sending students there. The number is small, and it is worth understanding what that means in practice.
It means you are unlikely to find a large Nigerian student network on campus, and it means the administrative staff at some universities will have handled few Nigerian transcripts. Budget extra time for document verification. It also means the competition for these particular awards is not dominated by applicants from your own country.
The awards on this page come from a mix of funders. Japanese Universities appear as a provider, as does the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), and participating academic institutions. Some awards are run by universities directly, some by foundations, and some through international partnerships.
That mix matters for how you apply. A university-run award usually requires you to be admitted first, or to be recommended by the university. A foundation-run award may accept a direct application. Read the application route before you read the eligibility criteria, because the route often determines whether you are eligible at all.
Seven awards, one country, one degree level. The list is short enough to work through properly rather than skim.
Are you a Nigerian student aspiring to study in Japan without worrying about tuition or living expenses? The Fully Funded Scholarships in Japan for Nigerian students in 2026–2027 present a golden opportunity to pursue world-class education in a technologically advanced and culturally vibrant country. From the prestigious MEXT (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships to specialized programs offered by Japanese universities and government agencies, there are numerous funding options available for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees.
These Japanese scholarships for international students typically include complete tuition coverage, monthly stipends, round-trip airfare, accommodation, and health insurance — enabling students to focus entirely on academics and research. Whether you're interested in engineering, business, humanities, agriculture, or language and cultural studies, Japan offers fully funded programs that align with your academic and career goals.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ve listed the top fully funded scholarships in Japan for international students in 2026–2027, including application requirements, benefits, deadlines, and official links — making it easier for you to begin your study journey in one of Asia’s most respected education systems.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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