How to Afford Studying in Japan: Funding Sources Ranked

The short answer
What you have to show before you leave: 経費支弁
1. Is there an official minimum amount?
2. Don’t borrow a balance
Funding sources, in order of reliability
What not to rely on
Japanese terms you’ll see on the paperwork
Checklist before you leave
FAQ
Related reading

The short answer

Students at Japanese language schools usually pay for their time in Japan from more than one source. In JASSO’s fiscal 2023 survey of privately financed international students, 67.6% of respondents at Japanese language institutions received money from home, 71.5% had income from part-time work and 13.2% had a scholarship. Those shares add up to more than 100%, so many students were using more than one source. A scholarship helped only a minority.

The order you rely on them matters more than the list itself. Japan’s Immigration Services Agency (ISA) looks at whether your costs can be paid before you arrive, and it says that part-time work can’t be the only source of money. This guide ranks the sources by how much you can count on them, then lists what to confirm before you leave. I checked every official page cited here on October 6, 2026, and I couldn’t confirm any change to these rules scheduled for later in 2026.

A notebook, calculator, envelope and cup of green tea on a wooden desk by a window

What you have to show before you leave: 経費支弁

The key term is 経費支弁 (keihi shiben), which means paying the expenses of your stay. When your school applies for your Certificate of Eligibility, the application has to show who will pay your tuition and living costs and that they are able to. ISA’s notes for applicants put it this way:

出入国在留管理庁では、入国後に生活困難となるケース等を防止するため、経費支弁能力の確認を重視しています。

(To prevent cases such as students falling into hardship after arrival, the Immigration Services Agency places weight on confirming the ability to pay expenses.)

The person who pays is the 経費支弁者 (keihi shibensha), the financial sponsor. ISA publishes a reference form called the 経費支弁書 (keihi shibensho), a written statement of financial support. On it, the sponsor explains how they came to take on your costs and their relationship to you, then writes the tuition they will pay, the living costs per month and the method of payment, such as overseas remittance. The form also includes a promise: when you apply to extend your stay, the sponsor will submit documents showing that the living costs and other expenses were actually paid, such as remittance certificates or copies of a bankbook. So the plan you describe before departure is one you may be asked to show evidence for later.

The same ISA notes describe the supporting documents:

A balance certificate. It has to come from an account at a bank recognized by the country’s government or central bank.
Documents showing how the money was built up. ISA lists deposit and withdrawal statements, copies of bankbooks and annual income certificates issued by public bodies.
An explanation of how you’ll move the money, if you come from a country where sending money abroad is difficult.

Your school tells you exactly which documents it needs, and requirements differ by applicant. The full process is in our guide to the student visa for Japanese language school.

Is there an official minimum amount?

I couldn’t find one. As of October 2026, ISA’s notes for applicants don’t state a fixed yen amount that you must hold. For living costs, they point to a survey instead: 「日本で住むのに必要な生活費については、日本学生支援機構が実施している『私費外国人留学生生活実態調査』を参照してください。」 (For the living costs needed to live in Japan, refer to the Lifestyle Survey of Privately Financed International Students conducted by JASSO.)

The most recent edition I could find covers fiscal 2023. It ran from November 2023 to March 2024 and received 7,867 valid responses. Among the students who answered the money questions, the average monthly total was ¥170,000, with a median of ¥150,000. For students at Japanese language institutions the average was ¥169,000, and for students at Japanese language institutions living in Tokyo it was ¥196,000. These totals include tuition: the survey asks students to divide a year’s tuition by 12, and it leaves out one-off costs such as the admission fee. They also include money left unspent at the end of the month, about ¥13,000 on average across all respondents. They are averages of what students reported, not a requirement, and a school may still ask you to show more or less.

They are also a different kind of number from the ranges in our breakdown of what it costs to study Japanese in Japan. Those are planning estimates by housing type, and that article is the place to build your own budget.

Don’t borrow a balance

The notes include a warning that is easy to miss. ISA says that forging certificates, or temporarily transferring a large sum into an account (一時的に口座に高額を振り込んだりすること), may lead it to treat the applicant as someone whose proper stay is in doubt in later applications too. A balance that appears shortly before the certificate is issued and disappears afterwards is exactly what this warning is about.

Funding sources, in order of reliability

1. Family support and your own savings

This is the base of the plan, because it is the only source that exists before you leave and the one the immigration paperwork is written around. Regular money from home is called 仕送り (shiokuri). In the JASSO survey it was one of the two main income sources, alongside part-time work.

What makes this source reliable is that it can be documented. If a parent or relative is sponsoring you, agree in advance on how much they will send, how often and by what method, because those are the items the 経費支弁書 asks for. If you are paying from your own savings, expect to show where the savings came from.

2. Part-time work

Part-time work is common and legal with permission, but it belongs in second place. The permission is called 資格外活動許可 (shikakugai katsudō kyoka), permission to engage in an activity outside your status of residence. ISA’s page for people considering a Japanese language school explains the limit:

１週につき２８時間以内（長期休業期間（夏休み等）については１日８時間以内）のアルバイトが認められます（風俗営業店舗等を除く。）。

(Part-time work of up to 28 hours a week, or up to 8 hours a day during long school holidays such as summer vacation, is permitted, excluding adult-entertainment businesses and the like.)

JASSO’s Study in Japan site adds a condition about purpose: the work is meant to supplement your school fees and necessary expenses, and is not for saving or for sending money home. It also warns that every year some students neglect their studies because of part-time work, for example by falling short on attendance, and have to go home because they can’t extend their stay.

That’s why I’m not giving an expected monthly income here. What you earn depends on the job you find, the hours you can work without missing class, and the months you spend looking. Treat it as money that reduces what your family or savings have to cover, and plan so that a month without work doesn’t leave your rent unpaid. The rules, the application and the kinds of work that are off-limits are in our guide to part-time work on a student visa.

3. Scholarships

Scholarships exist for language school students, but they are the least predictable source. The word is 奨学金 (shōgakukin). JASSO describes them like this:

奨学金には留学に必要な全費用を支給するものは少なく、多くは生活費や授業料の一部に充てるためのものです。

(Few scholarships pay all the costs needed to study abroad. Most are meant to cover part of living costs or tuition.)

JASSO’s scholarship pamphlet for 2026-2027 adds two points that matter for timing. Most scholarships are applied for after you come to Japan, and most are aimed at undergraduate and graduate students.

JASSO’s Honors Scholarship. The main public scheme open to language school students is the 学習奨励費 (gakushū shōreihi), officially the Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately Financed International Students. As of October 2026, JASSO lists the amount as ¥30,000 a month for students at Japanese language institutions and ¥48,000 a month for students at universities and similar schools, a group that runs from graduate students to students in university preparatory courses. Payment runs, in principle, for one year from April to March or for six months from October to March.

The conditions are narrow. Language school students qualify if they are enrolled with the aim of going on to a Japanese university, graduate school, junior college, college of technology or specialized training college. You need “Student” status of residence and a grade coefficient of 2.30 or above for the previous year, and your average monthly remittance, not counting admission and tuition fees, has to be ¥90,000 or less. You apply through your school, which recommends students to JASSO, and JASSO notes that some schools can’t take applications at all. The pamphlet gives 6,611 recruitment places for fiscal 2025. That number is for the whole scheme, covering every type of school together, and isn’t a quota for language schools.

The Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship. This is the well-known one, with monthly stipends and no tuition charged, but it doesn’t fit most language school plans. It has seven types: research students, teacher training students, undergraduate students, Japanese studies students, college of technology students, specialized training college students and the Young Leaders Program (YLP). Among the seven types I checked, I didn’t find one that is only for study at a Japanese language school. The one that sounds closest, Japanese studies students (日本語・日本文化研修留学生), is for students enrolled in undergraduate programs at universities outside Japan who major in Japanese language or culture. Applications go through a Japanese embassy or through a Japanese university, and each type has its own age limits and requirements, so read the current application guidelines.

Private foundations. Some private foundation scholarships also require a recommendation from your school. One past example is the LSH Asia Scholarship. Its 2026 guidelines were for students of Asian nationality with “Student” status, recommended by a Japanese language institution that is designated by Ministry of Justice notification or accredited by MEXT. They offered ¥100,000 per student, covering August to December 2026. Applications were open from July 1 to July 31, 2026, so that round has closed, and I couldn’t confirm when the next one will open. A group of schools under one owner could put forward only one student, and applicants needed an attendance rate of 90% or higher. Conditions like these are why a scholarship is a bonus if it comes and not a line in your budget.

4. School scholarships and tuition reductions

Some schools run their own scholarships or reduce tuition, which is called 授業料減免 (jugyōryō genmen). JASSO says many schools offer international students scholarships or reductions of tuition and other fees. The search tool it links to is described as scholarship data provided by universities, and its pamphlet doesn’t list school-run schemes. I couldn’t find an official list for Japanese language schools. If a school mentions a discount or an attendance award, ask who qualifies, how many students received it last year and when it is paid, and get the answer in writing.

A quiet residential street in Japan with a bicycle parked beside an apartment building

What not to rely on

Part-time income for everything. ISA states: 「学費・生活費の全額をアルバイトで賄うということは認められません。」 (Covering the full amount of tuition and living costs through part-time work is not permitted.) JASSO says the same thing in softer words and advises a financial plan that doesn’t depend on part-time work.
Anyone who promises you high earnings. ISA warns about brokers who claim that you can earn ¥300,000 or more a month from part-time work, that you won’t need money from home and that you can even send money back. It calls this information that differs from the facts. JASSO lists a similar claim, earning ¥200,000 to ¥300,000 a month, among the false information spread by some agents. Our guide to choosing a Japanese language school covers other warning signs.
A scholarship you haven’t been awarded. Most are applied for after arrival, selection is through your school, and the amounts cover part of your costs.
A loan with strings attached. ISA has published guidance on loan-type scholarships, 貸与型奨学金 (taiyo-gata shōgakukin), other than loan schemes run by prefectures and similar bodies. It says that, in principle, a lender should not require repayment while you are still enrolled and may not force early repayment, and that a lender may not make the loan end because you quit a part-time job it designated. An offer that ties money to a particular workplace deserves a hard look.
A budget with no room for fixed costs. JASSO states that foreign nationals staying in Japan for three months or more must join National Health Insurance, 国民健康保険 (kokumin kenkō hoken). You complete the procedure after registering as a resident at your municipal office. The premium is calculated from your income in the previous year, and with the insurance you pay 30% of your medical costs.

Japanese terms you’ll see on the paperwork

As a native Japanese speaker, I’d suggest learning to recognize these words by sight. They appear on forms and school websites, usually without a translation.

経費支弁 (keihi shiben): paying the expenses of your stay. 経費支弁者 (keihi shibensha) is the person who pays.
経費支弁書 (keihi shibensho): the sponsor’s written statement of financial support.
残高証明書 (zandaka shōmeisho): a bank balance certificate.
送金証明書 (sōkin shōmeisho): a certificate showing that money was remitted.
仕送り (shiokuri): money sent regularly from home.
私費外国人留学生 (shihi gaikokujin ryūgakusei): a privately financed international student, as opposed to one on a government scholarship.
資格外活動許可 (shikakugai katsudō kyoka): the permission you need before doing any part-time work.
奨学金 (shōgakukin): a scholarship. The word covers both grants and loans, so check which one is meant.
学習奨励費 (gakushū shōreihi): JASSO’s Honors Scholarship for privately financed students.
授業料減免 (jugyōryō genmen): a reduction of, or exemption from, tuition.
国民健康保険 (kokumin kenkō hoken): National Health Insurance, often shortened to 国保 (kokuho).

Checklist before you leave

Decide who your financial sponsor is and confirm they can show both a bank balance and how the money was built up.
Ask your school for its exact list of financial documents and its deadlines.
Agree with your sponsor on the amount, frequency and method of support, and keep the remittance records from the first transfer onward.
Build your budget from the school’s fee schedule and your housing choice, then compare it with the JASSO survey averages as a rough check.
Plan the first months with no part-time income at all.
Ask the school whether it recommends students for the JASSO Honors Scholarship, and whether it has its own scholarship or tuition reduction.
Include National Health Insurance and the costs of moving in.
If an agent is involved, check every claim about earnings against the ISA and JASSO pages linked below.

FAQ

How much money do I need in the bank for a student visa?

I couldn’t find an official fixed amount. As of October 2026, ISA’s notes for applicants give no yen figure and refer to JASSO’s survey for living costs. In practice, your school tells you what it needs to see, so ask it directly and early.

Can I pay for everything with a part-time job?

No. ISA says that covering all tuition and living costs through part-time work is not permitted, and the work itself is limited to 28 hours a week during term. Part-time income can lower what you need from other sources, but it can’t replace them.

Can I get a scholarship before I arrive?

Sometimes, but not often. JASSO’s pamphlet says most scholarships are applied for after coming to Japan, although some local governments and private foundations accept applications from abroad. The MEXT scholarship is applied for before arrival through an embassy or a university, and I didn’t find a type that is only for a language school course. JASSO’s Honors Scholarship for language school students is applied for through your school once you are enrolled.

Do I have to join National Health Insurance?

If you’ll stay three months or more, yes, according to JASSO. You complete the procedure after registering as a resident at your municipal office. Premiums are based on your previous year’s income and you need to declare that income, even if it was zero, to qualify for a reduction.