Organization

Who are we?

Founded in April 2016, the MEXT Scholars Association is a non-profit community organization that works directly with the Japanese Government in representing and supporting the alumni and current recipients of the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho / MEXT) Scholarship.

Since its inception in 1954, there have been more than 100,000 scholarship recipients, representing over 160 nations. We seek to establish an independent global network of these alumni and scholars that strives to engage key personnel, organizations, and government institutions in contributing back to Japanese society and the international community.

Organization Missions

• ENCOURAGE alumni and scholars to share personal and professional experiences in building a supportive and inspiring membership community.
• ENGAGE alumni, scholars, businesses, and political stakeholders in promoting international understanding through professional dialogue and social opportunities.
• ELEVATE the profile of the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho / MEXT) Scholarship and Japanese tertiary education worldwide.

President’s Message

Through its more than 50 years of history, the MEXT scholarship has provided the brightest in the world a chance to receive an education in some of the top educational institutions in the world. Some of the alumni include government ministers, top business leaders and top academics in the world.

MEXT Scholars Association was founded in 2016 with the goal of ensuring that the scholarship reached its full potential, not just for recipients but also for Japanese society as a whole. More concretely, our goals were to empower our members, provide opportunities to engage with Japanese society and by doing so elevate the presence of the MEXT scholarship.

Through our years of activities, we have seen concrete examples of how our efforts have paid off. From scholars being finding to find jobs, to actual business being formed through MSA’s efforts to connect members and even our activities being featured in Japanese media. We have subsequently grown to one of the largest MEXT scholar and alumni associations in the world – with more than to 14,000 followers, members and subscribers across all our platforms.

That being said, the past few years have been tough due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen multiple border closures and significant numbers of MEXT scholars giving up the scholarship due to this lack of clarity. Those who managed to enter Japan on the other hand faced quarantine fees, a lack of information and isolation.

We have had to shift our focus to preventing, in much as possible, people from becoming victims of the pandemic. This has included us setting up a translation hotline, conducting an average of more than one webinar a month and providing financial aid for offset incoming scholars’ quarantine fees.

Once the acute phase of the pandemic is over though, MSA is both committed to and needs to be part of the rebuilding. The challenges that MEXT scholars and Japanese society face will continue and both cannot be resolved without each other.

It is with this understanding and cautious hope that we continue into our sixth year of operations and beyond. If you yourself are a MEXT scholar or alumni, please join us on our main platform, MSA Junction. Otherwise, please contact us if you have any queries or ideas on how to collaborate.