EJU exam 2026-2027: The exam that gets you into a Japanese university
皆さん、こんにちは！(Hello everyone!)
If you want to do your bachelor’s degree in Japan, sooner or later somebody will tell you about the EJU. It’s the exam almost every Japanese university asks international applicants to sit, and if you’re applying from India, it’s probably the single most important thing on your timeline this year.
Akash, who runs Indori in Japan, gets the same question constantly: “Do I really need this if I already have JLPT?” For most degree programs, yes. The full name is the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students, or 日本留学試験 in Japanese. It’s run by the Japan Student Services Organisation (JASSO) under MEXT, and more than 850 universities, junior colleges and technology colleges accept the scores.
This guide walks through what’s on the exam, who can sit it, what it costs, when to register, and how the pre-arrival admission route works so you can get an offer without buying a plane ticket first.
Critical Statistics: The EJU Program Matrix
The table below summarizes the key operational metrics, examination structures, and administrative statistics of the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students:
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) / 日本留学試験 |
| Who runs it | JASSO, under MEXT, Tokyo |
| What it measures | Academic ability and Japanese language ability, for undergraduate applicants |
| How often | Twice a year: June (1st session) and November (2nd session) |
| Subjects | Japanese as a Foreign Language, Science (physics, chemistry, biology), Japan and the World, Mathematics |
| Test language | Japanese or English. The Japanese module is Japanese only; the other subjects let you pick |
| Score validity | Two academic years, which works out to four consecutive sessions |
| Test centres in Japan | 17 regions including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Sendai |
| Test centres abroad | 17 countries and regions across Asia, including New Delhi, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta and Seoul |
| Registration windows | June session: 16 Feb to 12 Mar. November session: 6 Jul to 30 Jul |
| Fee in Japan | JPY 12,000 for one subject, JPY 23,000 for two or three |
| Fee in India | Roughly INR 1,350 to 1,380, handled by MOSAI in New Delhi |
| Universities accepting it | 850+ |
| Linked scholarship | Monbukagakusho Honours Scholarship reservation, JPY 48,000 a month |
What the EJU actually is
JASSO launched the EJU in 2002. Before that, international applicants had to sit the General Examination for Foreign Students and the JLPT separately. The EJU merged both tests into one test: it tells an admissions committee whether you can handle first-year coursework, in Japanese at their university.
EJU or JLPT?
The two exams look similar from the outside and test very different things.
The JLPT is about everyday Japanese. Grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, pass or fail, N5 up to N1, and no writing section at all. The EJU’s Japanese module is about classroom Japanese. Can you take notes while a lecturer talks? Can you read an academic passage quickly enough to answer questions about it? Can you read a graph and write a structured opinion essay with a clock running? That’s what it’s checking.
Some English-track programs and private colleges will accept N2 or N1 instead. Most national and public universities, and the well-known private ones, want EJU scores.
Can you sit it?
The eligibility rules are refreshingly light. JASSO doesn’t impose an age limit and doesn’t restrict it by nationality.
You’ll need 12 years of formal schooling, which for Indian students means Class 12, either completed or on track to be completed before you enrol in Japan. The exam is open to non-Japanese citizens; Japanese nationals who finished high school abroad are usually assessed under separate university rules.
You don’t need a JLPT certificate or a minimum GPA to register. That said, your target universities will each set their own cut-off scores, so the real bar comes from them, not from JASSO.
The four subjects
You pick your subjects at registration based on what your target universities and intended major require. Here’s what each one involves.
- Japanese as a Foreign Language. 125 minutes, 450 points maximum. Split into writing (50), reading (200), and listening plus listening-reading (200).
- Mathematics. 80 minutes, 200 points. Course 1 is the basic track, Course 2 the advanced one.
- Science. 80 minutes, 200 points. Choose two subjects from physics, chemistry and biology.
- Japan and the World. 80 minutes, 200 points. Economics, politics, history, geography and society.
1. Japanese as a Foreign Language
Required for almost every Japanese-taught program. Three sections inside those 125 minutes:
Writing (記述, kijutsu) gives you 30 minutes to produce a 400 to 500 word essay arguing a position on a prompt or a social issue. Worth 50 points.
Reading (読解, dokkai) is 40 minutes and 25 passages, ranging from university noticeboard announcements to argumentative essays and academic articles. Worth 200 points.
Listening and listening-reading (聴解・聴読解) runs 55 minutes. Lectures, seminar discussions, and audio paired with charts you have to interpret on the spot. Worth 200 points.
So the objective sections total 400 points, and the essay adds 50 on top, reported separately.
2. Science
This is the track for natural sciences, engineering, pharmacy, agriculture and medicine. You choose two of three:
Physics covers mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, electricity, magnetism and atomic physics. Chemistry covers inorganic, organic and physical chemistry plus chemical equilibria. Biology covers cell structure, genetics, evolution, ecology and physiology.
Both of your chosen subjects share the same 80-minute slot, and you each get 100 points.
3. Japan and the World
Also called Sogo Kamoku, or liberal arts. This is the one for humanities, social sciences, business, law and international relations.
It’s less about memorised facts than about whether you can think about the modern world: global history, economic principles, political systems, international relations, physical and human geography, and current social issues, with Japan at the centre of the frame. 80 minutes, 200 points.
4. Mathematics
Two tracks, and you pick one.
Course 1 suits humanities, social sciences and any major that needs solid but not heavy maths: Algebra, quadratic equations, probability, geometry, basic trigonometry.
Course 2 is for science, engineering, technology and architecture. Calculus, complex numbers, vectors, matrices, differential equations, harder probability.
Either way, it’s 80 minutes for 200 points.
One rule that trips people up: you can’t take Science and Japan and the World in the same session. Pick the track that matches your intended major.
Which language do you answer in?
The Japanese module is in Japanese, obviously. For Science, Mathematics, and Japan and the World, you choose Japanese or English when you register.
Objective sections are answered on an optical mark sheet with an HB pencil. The Japanese essay is handwritten on a dedicated answer sheet, also in HB pencil. Bring more than one pencil.
Getting admitted (and funded) before you fly
This is the part that surprises people, and it’s genuinely the best feature of the whole system.
Pre-arrival admission
It used to be that you’d fly to Japan on a tourist visa, sit campus entrance exams, do interviews, fly home, and wait. Expensive, and rough if you got rejected.
Under the Pre-Arrival Admission System (Shussekimae Nyugaku Kyoka), you sit the EJU at home, say at the New Delhi centre. You send your academic records and EJU registration number to participating universities online. They assess you on those documents and issue an offer. No trip required until you actually move.
The Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship reservation
If you score well and you’re applying from outside Japan through the pre-arrival route, you can reserve the Monbukagakusho Honors Scholarship for Privately-Financed International Students before you arrive.
It pays JPY 48,000 a month for somewhere between 6 and 12 months once you enrol. Selection is automatic from the top-ranking overseas examinees, but only if you tick the scholarship consideration box during online registration. It’s easy to miss. Don’t miss it.
The application timeline, step by step:
- Check your target universities’ admission guidelines
- Create an EJU online account, or contact your local overseas representative
- Pick your session, test centre and subjects
- Pay the fee
- Examination voucher arrives (May or October)
- Sit the exam (June or November)
- Score report online (July or December), then send your EJU number to universities
Step 1: check subject requirements (January or June). Before you register for anything, read the admissions pages of the universities you want. They’ll tell you which subjects you need, which language they want you to answer in, and whether they accept June or November scores for the intake you’re targeting. Getting this wrong costs you a full session.
Step 2: register online (February or July). Inside Japan, use the JASSO EJU portal. Outside Japan, go through your country’s designated representative office. In India that’s MOSAI in New Delhi.
Step 3: pay and submit documents. Credit card, bank transfer or net banking, before the deadline. JASSO is strict about photograph formatting, so check the spec rather than uploading whatever’s on your phone.
Step 4: voucher arrives (May or October). When your examination voucher shows up, read every line: your personal details, your subject codes, and the address of your assigned test centre. Fix errors immediately, not the week before.
Step 5: exam day, then results. Digital score reports appear on the EJU portal about five to six weeks later, so late July for the June session and mid-December for the November one. A physical score notification follows.
Four things that actually move your score
- Learn academic vocabulary early. Conversational Japanese won’t carry you through a physics passage. Start building subject-specific word lists now: scientific terms, mathematical functions, historical and economic vocabulary. This is the gap that catches JLPT-strong students off guard.
- Use JASSO’s official past papers. JASSO publishes them every year, and there’s no better preparation. Time yourself. The reading section punishes anyone who hasn’t practised reading fast, and the mark sheet layout is worth getting familiar with before it’s in front of you for real.
- Practise against the clock in science and maths. 80 minutes for two science subjects is not generous. Learn to sweep the paper, bank the questions you can answer quickly, and come back to the multi-step problems with whatever’s left.
- Have an essay structure ready. 30 minutes is not enough time to invent a shape. Go in with one: an introduction that states your position, two paragraphs supporting it, a short conclusion. Write in plain form (dearu/da), and keep the argument obvious rather than clever.
JAXA Internship FAQs: Your Questions Answered
Q1. Can I take the EJU in English, and will that hurt my chances?
You can take Science, Mathematics, and Japan and the World in English if you choose English as your test language at registration.
Whether it hurts depends entirely on where you’re applying. For English-medium programs like Global 30 or English-track undergraduate majors, it makes no difference at all. For a traditional Japanese-taught degree, you’ll need the Japanese module regardless, and many of those universities also want your academic subjects answered in Japanese.
Q2. How does EJU Japanese compare to JLPT N1 or N2?
They test different skills, so the comparison is rough. The EJU has no standalone grammar or kanji section. Instead, it’s fast academic reading, lecture comprehension, graph analysis and essay writing.
As a rule of thumb, universities often treat an EJU Japanese score of 220 to 250 as roughly N2-level reading ability, and anything above 300 as N1-level academic proficiency. Treat that as orientation, not a conversion table.
Q3. How long are my scores valid, and can I mix sessions?
Two academic years, which covers up to four consecutive sessions. Sit the exam in June 2026 and you can use those scores for 2026 and 2027 applications.
If you take it more than once in that window, you choose which session to submit. What you can’t do is cherry-pick: all your subject scores must come from a single session. No combining your best maths score from one sitting with your best Japanese from another.
Q4. Can I get admitted and funded without going to Japan first?
Yes. Sit the EJU at an overseas centre such as New Delhi, submit your scores and documents online, and receive your offer and visa documentation at home through the Pre-Arrival Admission System.
High scorers on the overseas EJU can also reserve the Monbukagakusho Honours Scholarship, JPY 48,000 a month, before arriving.
Q5. What if I lose my voucher or score report?
Lost your voucher before the exam? Contact your overseas representative or log into the EJU portal straight away and ask for a reissue or a temporary pass. Do this the day you notice, not the night before.
Lost the physical score report after results? You can request an official Certificate of Result Evaluation through the JASSO website for a small processing fee.
Conclusion: Where to start this week
The EJU replaced a genuinely messy application process with one exam and a clear calendar. That’s the good news. The catch is that the calendar doesn’t wait for you.
Three things to do now:
- Pick three to five universities and write down, for each, which EJU subjects they need, which test language they want, and their score submission deadline. Everything else follows from that list.
- Decide which session you’re targeting. June, November, or both if you want a second shot inside the same validity window.
- Order JASSO’s past paper workbooks and start a subject vocabulary list. Then put the registration windows in your calendar with a reminder: February for the June exam, July for the November one.
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