Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation in Japan, 2020
1) Amount of scholarship
Annual sum of ¥2.0 million, ¥1.5 million or ¥1.0 million, determined on the basis of evaluations by our selection committee.
Annual sum of ¥500,000 for applicants receiving scholarships or benefits from other sources
Note: A scholarship recipient’s failure to make satisfactory academic progress or any unethical or immoral behavior or illegal act by the recipient may result in a reduction or withdrawal of his/her scholarship.
2) Period covered by scholarship
One year: From April 2020 to March 2021
*Recipients must be enrolled in their university for the entire period covered by the scholarship. Recipients may apply for a renewal of their scholarship for up to two times, for a total scholarship period of three years.
3) Applicant categories
1. New applicants: Applicants who have not previously received a scholarship from the Foundation
2. Renewing applicants: Applicants who have previously received a scholarship from the Foundation
*For renewing applicants, we accept only those who had enough achievements and advancements over the past one year.
*Copying of the past application materials will cause you to be disqualified.
4) Grounds for withdrawal of scholarship support
(1) The scholarship recipient withdraws from school.
(2) The recipient takes a leave of absence from school or does not attend classes for an extended period.
(3) The recipient fails to advance toward his or her degree or is at risk of failing to meet graduation requirements.
(4) The recipient is not expected to graduate due to injury or illness.
(5) The recipient fails to make satisfactory academic progress or engages in unethical behavior.
(6) Circumstances render the scholarship unnecessary.
(7) Circumstances other than the above arise that disqualify the recipient.
(8) The recipient is expelled from school for disciplinary reasons.
(9) The recipient otherwise ceases to meet scholarship criteria.
Eligibility <CURRENT RESIDENTS in JAPAN ONLY>
(1) Applicants must be self-supporting international students residing in Japan with “college student” status and must be 38 years old or younger as of April 1, 2020.
(2) Applicants must be enrolled in an official degree program at a university or graduate school in Japan and pursuing studies in a field directly relating to human health (such as medicine, pharmacology, biology, nutrition, physical education, or engineering {*applicants will be disqualified unless the relationship with medicine/pharmacology is clearly stated in the Scholarship Application Form}) or business administration (for students from developing countries where business administration is not an established discipline, “international relations” is also acceptable). (Students in the first and second years of undergraduate degree programs are not eligible to apply. Third- and higher-year undergraduate students are neither eligible to apply, except for those with particularly excellent academic records, such as those with straight A’s.)
(3) Applicants must be highly motivated, possess an outstanding academic record, and demonstrate personal integrity.
(4) Applicants must be involved in creative or innovative research.
(5) Applicants must be able to have their supervising professor or other person provide appropriate guidance and pre-checking of the documents they submit to the Foundation (including application documents).
(6) Applicants are not permitted to leave Japan for 40 or more days in total during the period covered by the scholarship.
(7) Applicants must have an international perspective and demonstrate the ability to lead and serve as a bridge between Japan and other countries.
(8) Applicants must demonstrate a need for financial aid.
(9) Applicants must give full support and cooperations to events held by the Foundation and must contribute to building network between scholarship recipients.
(10) Applicants must be motivated to study the Japanese language.
*The Scholarship Application Form may be completed in English, but selection points will be deducted if applicants fail to show any motivation to study Japanese in the Scholarship Application Form and interview .
(11) Applicants must meet the requirements specified in (1) to (10) above and other requirements stipulated by the Foundation.
*Those who are unlikely to complete their studies within the standard period for completion are ineligible.
Applications
1) How to apply
We have introduced an Application Support System. Applicants must complete online submission then mail the original documents to the Foundation.
DOWNLOADS (Japanese versions only)
Download the Scholarship Application Form and the Letter of Recommendation (Include the Ranking and the Statement of Reasons if applicable) from below.
*When preparing a typewritten recommendation letter, either the PDF or Excel format may be used. However, the signature must be handwritten by the recommender.
*There are different application forms for applicants from the medical fields and for applicants from the business fields, as well as for new applicants and for renewing applicants. Your application will be ineligible if you do not use the correct form.
[Medicine, Pharmacology, Biology, Nutrition, Physical Education, or Engineering majors]
2020 Application Form for New applicants <Medical fields>: PDF format (approx. 328kb)
2020 Application Form for Renewing applicants <Medical fields>: PDF format (approx. 340kb)
[Business related majors]
2020 Application Form for New applicants <Business fields>: PDF format (approx. 323kb)
2020 Application Form for Renewing applicants <Business fields>: PDF format (approx. 333kb)
[Letter of Recommendation]
For New applicants: Excel format (approx. 28kb)
For Renewing applicants: Excel format (approx. 30kb)
1. From the top page of the Foundation’s website, choose “Apply Now” to enter the Application Support System. Follow the instructions under “Application Process” to enter your basic information and submit your Scholarship Application Form (excluding letter of recommendation), Academic Transcript, and Japanese translation (only if you completed the application form in English) as PDF files. (Do not upload papers or other undesignated documents.)
*Lack of pages or necessary documents will cause you to be disqualified. (The page with photograph should be scanned in colors.)
*Be sure to attach a photograph to the Scholarship Application Form you submit online.
*Be sure to use a scanner to digitize your form as a PDF file. (We do not accept PDFs created from photographs using smartphone applications and the like. Do not scan using horizontal [landscape] orientation.)
*You will be disqualified if there are any differences between the content of the Scholarship Application Form and the basic information you entered. (Special attention should be paid to your name and research subject.)
You cannot cancel your online submission, so please be cautious when making online submission.
2. Write the reference number issued after online submission in the required five spaces on your application documents, and mail the documents to the Foundation.
【Address】
Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation Office
Otsuka Group Osaka Headquarters Building
3-2-27 Otedori, Chuo-ku, Osaka
540-0021, Japan
Notes:
*You will be disqualified if there are any differences between the content of the Scholarship Application Form you submitted online and the one sent to the Foundation by mail.
*Documents submitted will not be used for any purpose other than the business of the Foundation.
*The documents will not be returned to applicants.
2) Application materials
- Scholarship Application Form for your application category (Use the form designated by the Foundation, printed on a single side on A4 size paper. Please leave pages unstapled. You will be disqualified if the application form lacks any of the pages.)
*All documents other than the letter of recommendation must be handwritten in Japanese or English by the applicant (do not use erasable pen). Applications completed in English must be accompanied by a Japanese translation (those submitted without complete and accurate Japanese translation will be disqualified. You will also be disqualified if the Japanese translation fails to indicate the character counts of the sections that have predetermined character limits). If you are to submit the applications in English, make sure to read parts explaining about Japanese translation in our Application FAQs.
*Please note that application forms are different for new and renewing applicants, as well as for the medical fields and the business fields applicants. Your application will be ineligible if you do not use the correct form.
*Renewing applicants must not copy from a Scholarship Application Form submitted for a previous application. You will be disqualified if you copy any material from a previous application. Even if there has been no change in your future aspirations and research subjects, you should rewrite your application in new words.
*Applicants submitting application documents (including the contents of the Scholarship Application Form and Japanese translations) that appear not to have been checked appropriately by their supervising professor shall be disqualified. - Letter of recommendation duly signed by the recommender and placed in a sealed envelope for submission (letters written in English must be accompanied by a Japanese translation).
*If a professor is to recommend two or more applicants, please rank the applicants and state the reasons behind, then enclose the statement of reasons (推薦順位とその理由書) in the same envelope with the letter of recommendation. (This does not apply when only one applicant is recommended.) - Color photograph: 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm photo showing the applicant facing forward from the waist up, taken no longer than six months ago (Paste the photo to the application form.)
- Academic transcript: Most recent transcript, with course titles, credits earned, grades or other evaluations of student performance, and explanations of what the evaluations mean. (Pass/fail records alone are not acceptable.) Send a transcript current as of the most recent year for which level evaluations or grade evaluations were made. (Student grade reports are not acceptable. A statement of reasons for not having grades in the institution currently attended is not acceptable.)
*At least one year’s worth of academic transcripts are required. If your most recent transcript only covers half a year, submit the one from the previous year as well. - Student registration certificate (in Japanese) issued on or after April 1, 2020. Photocopies are not acceptable.
- Certificate of residence: Official copy of full record issued on or after the call for applications is made. Photocopies, records that do not show “Nationality/Region” and “Status of Residence, etc.,” and records that include an Individual Number (nicknamed “My Number”) are not acceptable.
- [When applicable] Documents showing information on other scholarships and research grants: If the applicant is receiving a scholarship or research grant from another source between April 2020 and March 2021, include a copy of a document showing the name of the granting organization, the scholarship/grant amount and period, and other relevant information.
3) Application deadline
*Please note that different application deadlines are set for new applicants and renewing applicants.
1. New applicants: Applicants who have not previously received a scholarship from the Foundation
Online submissions: Thursday, March 19, 2020, 9:00 a.m. – Tuesday, April 21, 2020, 5:00 p.m.
Submissions by mail: Must arrive at the office no later than Thursday, April 23, 2020, 3:00 p.m.
2. Renewing applicants: Applicants who have previously received a scholarship from the Foundation
Online submissions: Thursday, March 19, 2020, 9:00 a.m. – Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 5:00 p.m.
Submissions by mail: Must arrive at the office no later than Thursday, April 16, 2020, 3:00 p.m.
Screening Process, Selection, and Scholarship Payments
1) Screening process
The screening process involves reviewing the application documents and interviewing candidates who pass the documents review. Scholarship recipients will be chosen by the Foundation’s selection committee, with decisions finalized by the Board of Directors.
Applicants who do not pass the documents review will not be notified. Scholarship recipients will be chosen by the Foundation’s selection committee, with decisions finalized by the Foundation’s Representative Director. The interview portion of the process is generally carried out in early to mid July in Osaka or Tokyo.
2) Selection
Scholarship recipients will be selected and notified in early August. Attendance at the certification ceremony planned on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29, and submission of a Letter of Agreement are compulsory for official certification as a scholarship recipient.
3) Scholarship payments
Scholarship payments are generally made twice annually on predetermined dates in September (after the certification ceremony) and December. Payments will be deposited directly into the recipient’s designated bank account.
*In the 2020 academic year, the first of the two payments will be made around the middle of September.
4) Planned number of recipients
Approx. 90 in fiscal 2020 (91 students received scholarships in fiscal 2019, 85 in fiscal 2018)
Scholarship type
1. The Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship is awarded with no obligation of repayment.
2. The Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship is free of any conditions related to post-graduation activities, including employment.
Obligations of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are expected to fulfill the following obligations:
(1) Comply with all rules stated in the Scholarship Guide and inform the Foundation promptly if they cease to satisfy any of the conditions for granting the scholarship.
(2) Promptly notify the Representative Director of the Foundation if any of the following occurs:
i. Leave of absence, reinstatement, transfer or withdrawal from school
ii. Suspension or other disciplinary action
iii. Change in name, address or other important personal information
iv. Likelihood of repeating a year of study or not being able to graduate within the standard period for completion
(3) Submit the following documents to the Representative Director of the Foundation:
i. Student registration certificate and a report on living condition
ii. Academic transcript
(4) Participate in events held by the Foundation.
(5) Even after graduating, participate actively as an alumni and keep the Foundation updated of your current status.