Japanese Language and Culture Studies Program (JLCSP)

The Japanese Language and Culture Studies Program (JLCSP) is a “junior year abroad” type program for undergraduate students majoring in Japanese language and culture. Each year international students from our partner universities and government-sponsored students come to Japan to take this enriching program. The JLCSP is renowned nationwide and provides classes of varying levels of difficulty (intermediate to advanced) to students of the Japanese language. You can also choose courses from our English curriculum or courses from the standard curriculum taken by Japanese students. If you would like to deepen your understanding of your particular field of independent study, or learn business Japanese, this course can help you achieve your goals. Also, Hokkaido University’s Sapporo campus is commonly thought of as the most beautiful campus in Japan.

Come and make your future in this wonderful environment together with other international and Japanese students!

JLCSP Brochure is available. Check out the Fact Sheet to see the outline of student exchange programs.

  • JLCSP 2026-2027 Courses
    • One Year
      • From October 2026 – Mid-August 2027
    • Half Year (2025 Fall semester)
      • 2026 Fall semester: October 2026 – Mid-February 2027
      • 2027 Spring semester: April 2027 – Mid-August 2027
The application for JLCSP 2026-2027 (Fall) is now open!
Our application goes online platform now!

Overview

The program consists of two types of courses: courses in Japanese language and courses in Japanese linguistics, culture and society.

  • Objectives of the Program
    • This course is designed to cultivate Japanese language proficiency that will be useful for research and studies related to the Japanese language and culture. It also aims to promote a deeper understanding of Japan and its culture, particularly in the fields of Japanese linguistics and Japanese language education.
    • Through the program, students improve their Japanese language skills by taking specialized courses in Japanese language and culture, multicultural studies courses with Japanese students, and Arts and Science Courses in English. This comprehensive curriculum provides students with opportunities to explore Japanese culture and society from multiple perspectives.
  • Program Length
    • One year: October 2026 – Mid-August 2027
    • Half year (2026 Fall semester): October 2026 – Mid-February 2027
    • Half year (2027 Spring semester): April 2027 – Mid-August 2027
  • Number of Students Accepted
    • One year: 40
    • Half year: 20 (for each Fall and Spring semester courses)
    • In principle, only one student is supposed to be accepted from each university; however, in case the number of applicants is lower than the numbers shown above, 2 or more students could be accepted from the same university.
  • Conditions for Completion
    • A certificate of completion will be given to students who satisfactorily earn 20 credits (10 credits for the half year program) or more throughout the period of the program.

Eligibility

  • Eligibility Requirements
    • Applicants must be a Japanese language and/or culture major enrolled in an undergraduate degree course at a university–wide agreement partners of Hokkaido University. First-year students are not eligible to apply.
    • Applicants should have N3 (or higher) on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test or the equivalent or higher proficiency in Japanese at the time of application.
      Applications from students whose proficiency in Japanese does not meet the requirements will not be accepted. Any students who are found to be at the introductory level by the placement test which is conducted by Hokkaido University after arrival may not be able to complete the program.
    • Applicants must possess a good academic record at university level.

Applying

Note:

JLCSP uses the TAO (The Admissions Office) online application system. The access link for TAO will be individually sent to home institution’s exchange coordinator before the application period begins.

【IMPORTANT】
Applicants from countries subject to the Pre-Entry Tuberculosis (TB) Screening requirement
(Philippines, Vietnam and Nepal) must submit a TB Clearance Certificate by email in
addition to the necessary documents listed below. For more details, please refer to the
following link.

Notice on Japan Pre-Entry Tuberculosis Screening (JPETS)

  • Application Deadline
    • JLCSP 2026-2027 (Fall) Course: October 23, 2026 (JST)
      • Please note late application will not be accepted and our online application deadline cannot be extended.
      • To complete applications, all the application steps need to be completed by the deadline above.
  • Application Guidelines

Application Steps

Follow the steps below for the JLCSP application:

Step 1.

Applicants who have obtained approval to apply for JLCSP from their home university will submit the required documents listed below via TAO.

Documents need to be uploaded by applicants (students):

  1. Application form for Japanese Language and Culture Studies Program students
  2. Consent to Transfer and Process Personal Data (template in Japanese/English)
    • The personal information provided in this form will be collected and handled as described in “8. Privacy Policy ” in “Japanese Language and Culture Studies Program Application Guidelines” and “How We handle Your Personal Data“.
  3. Certificate of passing at least N3 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
    • Applicants who have not taken the JLPT must submit a Certificate of Japanese Language Proficiency issued by their supervisor. (template)
  4. Digital photo data
  5. Study Plan in Hokkaido University (template for One Year Course / Half Year Course )
Step 2.

The home university’s exchange coordinator must submit the documents listed below via TAO.

Documents to be submitted by home university:

  1. Certificate of enrollment (template)
  2. Recommendation Letter to the President of Hokkaido University
  3. Official transcript of academic record
Step 3.

The applicant completes the application process by pressing “Complete my application” button on TAO.

Scholarship

For Half-Year course students:JASSO Scholarship

The JASSO scholarship is available only for the Half-Year course applicants who meet the JASSO requirements. If you wish to apply for this scholarship, please apply through TAO during the application period.

Please note that the scholarship is highly competitive so that you cannot always be chosen as a grantee of the scholarship.

  • Term of scholarship: October 2026 – February 2027, April 2027 – August 2027
  • Monthly stipend: ￥80,000 (expected amount)

For One-Year course students:Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship

The MEXT scholarship is available only for the One-Year course applicants who will be 18 years old to 29 years old on April 1, 2026, and have a Certificate of passing N2 or above of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and equivalent.

If you wish to apply for this scholarship, please apply through TAO. Applicants who have been selected as candidates for the scholarship based on the results of the internal screening will receive the scholarship application form via email separately.

Please note that the scholarship is highly competitive so that you cannot always be chosen as a grantee of the scholarship. The result will be announced in the middle of July.

MEXT scholarship application form (TBA)

  • Term of scholarship: from October 2026 to August 2027
  • Monthly stipend: ￥117,000 (expected amount)