Applying to Japanese Universities

Japanese higher education has several entry points. For undergraduate applicants, the important question is not only ranking, but school type, admission method, language of instruction, cost, and outcomes.

Foreign nationality does not automatically mean “international special selection only.” First separate the three routes, then decide the exam mix; the real axis is whether you can complete the application and lock in admission before arriving in Japan.

EJU itself contains no English; many schools take English via separately submitted TOEFL/IELTS/TOEIC, and the score-arrival timing is the most common failure point. Variation by school and year is huge; the target school's latest admission guide is the final authority you must check yourself. Full cross-cutting guide (English score-sending timing / AAO eligibility screening / three uses of EJU scores / common misconceptions): the Admission System Guide at /tools/admission-system.

EJU is often just 'one of the entry tickets,' not a master switch that issues an offer automatically. MEXT has schools reflect 'who they want to admit' (the admission policy / AP) into the selection itself — the school exam is where applicants are actually separated. First figure out which mix of types your target school uses, then decide how to prepare.

[目安] This varies by school, faculty, and year; verify against the target school's latest admission guide + AP yourself. This table does not reproduce any school's exact past papers / score weights / passing bars. Two hidden traps: (1) architecture is not naturally one prep type — the engineering route ≈ math-science + interview / oral exam, the design/art route ≈ practical + portfolio + interview; (2) 'interview' is not necessarily a one-on-one — some schools run group discussion or group interviews with oral questioning. Official check entry points: JASSO 'Universities that use the EJU' / 'Exams for entering Japanese universities'; MEXT three-policies / AP materials; each school's international-student admission guide, admission info, and AP pages. For the system framework see /tools/admission-system; for school-by-school exact dates see /tools/admission-schedule.