EJU

Overview

The Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) is a Japan-wide test that checks whether a non-Japanese student is ready for undergraduate study at a Japanese university, junior college or college of technology. The Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) sets and runs it twice a year, in Japan and at several centres abroad. Most national universities, and many public and private ones, use EJU scores as part of their admission process, alongside the university's own entrance exam, interview or document screening.

Who can apply

The EJU is open to foreign nationals who plan to enter a Japanese undergraduate-level programme and who have completed, or are due to complete, 12 years of school education (or an equivalent recognised as such). There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of times a person can sit the test. Each university sets its own entry requirements on top of this, including which EJU subjects and which minimum scores it expects, so applicants should check the target university's own admission guidelines before registering.

Exam pattern

Candidates choose a test language, Japanese or English, at the time of application for every subject except Japanese as a Foreign Language, which is only offered in Japanese. For 2026, the subjects and timing are:

Science and Japan and the World sit in the same time slot in a session, so a candidate can take only one of the two per sitting. Mathematics is scheduled separately and can be combined with either. A candidate who needs both Science and Japan and the World for different university applications has to sit them in different sessions (one in June, the other in November).

Syllabus

• Japanese as a Foreign Language: academic Japanese needed for university study - reading, listening and listening-reading comprehension of study-related material, plus a written essay responding to a given topic.

• Science: candidates pick 2 of Physics, Chemistry and Biology; questions test the standard upper-secondary science curriculum in the chosen pair.

• Japan and the World: a single paper drawing on politics and economy/society, geography, and history, built around Japan's government and constitution, international relations and global issues, and the geographic and historical background needed to follow them.

• Mathematics Course 1: a shorter syllabus aimed at liberal-arts or science-adjacent departments with limited mathematics use.

• Mathematics Course 2: covers everything in Course 1 plus calculus, sequences, complex numbers, differential equations and 3-D vectors, aimed at science, engineering and medicine departments. The receiving university decides which course it wants, so applicants confirm this with each university rather than assuming.

Marking and results

Each subject is scored on its own scale (shown above); there is no single combined EJU score, since universities weigh subjects differently. Scores from the EJU stay usable for 2 years, so results from up to 4 past sessions can be submitted to a university at once, and a candidate who has sat the test more than once can send whichever session's result each university asks to see. EJU results feed into a university's own selection process - most schools pair the EJU score with their own entrance exam, an interview, a written statement, or school transcripts, rather than admitting on the EJU score alone.

Important dates

For 2026, the EJU runs in two sessions:

Fees

For 2026, the fee charged inside Japan is JPY 12,000 for one subject (Japanese as a Foreign Language only) and JPY 23,000 for two or three subjects. Fees at centres outside Japan are set per country and differ from the Japan fee - for example, the fee in India is about INR 1,300-1,350. Applicants outside Japan should check the fee and accepted payment method for their own test centre before applying.

How to apply

Applications go through "EJU Online", JASSO's application portal, either as an individual applicant or through a school's group/batch registration. An applicant uploads a recent, front-facing photo with a plain background (taken within the last 6 months), fills in personal and subject-choice details, and pays the fee online. Depending on the test centre's country, the examination voucher is either issued immediately or made available for download from "My Page" on EJU Online closer to the exam date. Only candidates who applied online can check and download their results from My Page afterwards - from end of August for the 1st session and end of January for the 2nd session, for 2026.

After the exam

Universities that accept the EJU list, in their own admission guidelines, which subjects, which language and which minimum score they expect, and whether they take the latest sitting only or any sitting within the 2-year validity window. Applicants send their EJU result alongside the university's own application, and most universities then run their own exam, interview or screening before making an offer - the EJU itself does not guarantee admission.

Preparation tips

• Decide on target universities and their required subjects, language and Mathematics course before registering, since this decides which 2 Science subjects, which Mathematics course, and whether Science or Japan and the World to sit.

• Practise under real timing: Japanese as a Foreign Language runs over 2 hours with distinct writing, reading and listening-reading sections back to back.

• If sitting the test in Japanese, build academic vocabulary across science and social-studies topics, not just conversational Japanese.

• Candidates needing both Science and Japan and the World for different applications should plan to use both the June and November sessions, since the two subjects cannot be taken in the same sitting.

FAQs