Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, usually called APU, sits in Beppu, Oita, in southern Japan. It was set up in 2000 to push international education and cross-cultural exchange, and its student body comes from across the globe. For a Pakistani student who wants to study in Japan without first learning Japanese, it is one of the more practical options: all graduate courses and selected undergraduate tracks are taught entirely in English.
This guide is about the funding side. The name points to MEXT, but most of what APU publishes about money concerns its own internal awards, which you apply for after you enroll. If you are counting on a full government scholarship to make the move possible, read carefully and confirm the current MEXT arrangements directly with APU before you plan anything around them. You can see the full scholarship details on our listing as well.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Provider | Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University / MEXT |
| Funding | Full or partial, depending on the award |
| Study levels | Undergraduate, Master's, PhD |
| Deadline | Varies, confirm on the official site |
| Country | Japan (Beppu, Oita) |
| Official site | APU admissions portal |
What APU teaches and where scholarship holders end up
Undergraduate study is split across three colleges: the College of Asia Pacific Studies, the College of International Management, and the College of Sustainability and Tourism. The coursework is multidisciplinary and aimed at global social and economic problems. If you want pure engineering or medicine, this is the wrong university. If you are interested in business, development, tourism or regional policy, it fits well.
At graduate level there is the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies and the Graduate School of Management. The listed fields include International Cooperation Policy and Development Economics. These programs run in English and already host international scholarship holders, including participants in the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) run by JICA. That tells you the graduate schools are used to sponsored students arriving from outside Japan.
The internal awards and what each one actually pays
Here is the honest picture. The amounts APU publishes are for specific awards, most of them earned after you are already a student. They help, but none of them on its own reads like a full ride.
| Award | Amount | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| ANDO Momofuku Award | Up to 500,000 JPY | 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates |
| ANDO Momofuku Honor Prize | Up to 1,000,000 JPY | Qualifying undergraduates, upon graduation |
| Academic Merit Scholarship | 100,000 JPY per applicable semester | Students with top-ranking GPAs |
| Incentive Scholarship for Self-motivated Students | Up to 50,000 JPY (individuals), up to 100,000 JPY (organizations) | Students with extracurricular and independent activity records |
| Resident Assistant Scholarship | 20,000 JPY every month | Appointed Resident Assistants at AP House |
| JASSO Disaster Relief Benefit | One-time 100,000 JPY | Eligible students affected by natural disasters |
A few things stand out. The ANDO Momofuku Honor Prize is paid upon graduation, so it rewards you at the end rather than funding you along the way. The Academic Merit Scholarship depends on your GPA ranking each semester, which means your first-year grades matter a lot more than many students assume. The Resident Assistant role is the steadiest of the lot: a monthly payment plus housing support, in exchange for responsibility in the dorm.
APU also has relief measures for students hit by a sudden change in household finances, such as bankruptcy or loss of income, or by natural disasters. Treat these as a safety net, not a funding plan.
International or domestic: the category question comes first
APU sorts applicants into two groups, and everything else follows from that. You are an international applicant if you do not hold Japanese nationality and your residence status is not permanent, long-term resident, or dependent visa at the time of application. Domestic applicants have Japanese citizenship, dual citizenship, or permanent residence in Japan.
A Pakistani student applying from Pakistan will normally fall in the international category. Where it gets tricky is for Pakistani families already living in Japan. If you hold a dependent visa or long-term resident status, you are not an international applicant under these rules, and the funding routes open to you may be different. Check this before you fill in a single form.
Beyond the category, each award has its own conditions:
- Merit awards such as the Academic Merit Scholarship and the ANDO Momofuku Award require scholastic achievement.
- Incentive grants look at extracurricular involvement and independent activity records.
- Emergency support needs proof of a sudden change in household finances, bankruptcy, loss of income, or natural disaster impact.
- The Resident Assistant scholarship depends on being appointed to the role at AP House.
Paperwork for admission and for the awards
The document list is short because the details live in APU's own admission guidelines. Expect to provide:
- Application forms as specified in the official admission guidelines.
- Academic transcripts and records.
- Financial documents or certificates showing a sudden change in household income, where applicable.
- Documentation of disaster damage issued by the relevant authorities, for disaster relief applications.
For Pakistani applicants, the transcripts are where delays usually happen. Get your degrees and mark sheets attested early. Our IBCC and MOFA attestation guide covers the process, and the documents checklist for international scholarships is useful for anything APU's guidelines ask for beyond this list.
Applying: admission first, internal awards later
The order of steps matters here, because the internal awards sit on the far side of enrollment.
- Work out whether you are an international or domestic applicant, based on your nationality and visa status.
- Read the program guidelines for undergraduate or graduate admissions, whichever applies to you.
- Submit your admission and scholarship application forms through the official APU portal.
- Once enrolled, apply for internal awards or emergency aid through the Student Office.
On timing, APU does not give a fixed date that applies to everyone. The application period varies by intake cycle, so check the APU admissions portal for the current undergraduate and graduate cycles and work backwards from there. Leave yourself enough time for attestation and any visa paperwork after an offer.
Where applicants go wrong with APU funding
The biggest mistake is assuming the word MEXT in the title means a fully funded government scholarship is waiting for every admitted student. The awards APU spells out are mostly partial and mostly post-enrollment. If you cannot afford to start without full funding, ask APU directly what scholarship you would hold at the point of admission, and get it in writing in your offer before you resign from a job or pay any fees.
The second mistake is neglecting the first year. The Academic Merit Scholarship rewards top-ranking GPAs semester by semester, and the ANDO Momofuku Award targets 2nd and 3rd year students. A weak start closes those doors.
Third, students forget the non-academic routes. The incentive scholarship pays for independent activity, and organizations can receive up to 100,000 JPY, so joining or running a student group has a financial upside. The Resident Assistant post is worth looking at if you are comfortable with dorm responsibilities, and you should check its specific eligibility criteria early.
Finally, if anything is unclear about fee reductions or emergency aid, email the APU Student Office directly. Guessing is slower than asking. If you will also need to show funds for your visa, read our guide to bank statements and proof of funds before you apply.
Who should apply? Pakistani students interested in international management, Asia Pacific studies, sustainability and tourism, development economics or international cooperation policy, who want English-taught study in Japan and can cover at least part of their costs. Who should think twice? Anyone needing guaranteed full funding from day one without confirming it first. For other options in the country, see all Japan scholarships.
Frequently asked questions
Am I an international applicant at APU as a Pakistani citizen?
Usually yes. International applicants are those who do not hold Japanese nationality and whose residence status is not permanent, long-term resident, or dependent visa at the time of application. If you already live in Japan on one of those visa types, you would not fall in the international category.
Is this scholarship fully funded?
Funding is listed as full or partial. The specific awards APU describes, such as the Academic Merit Scholarship and the ANDO Momofuku Award, are partial amounts. Confirm with APU what funding, MEXT or otherwise, would come with your offer of admission.
Can I get scholarships after I enroll?
Yes. APU has internal scholarships after enrollment, including the Academic Merit Scholarship, the ANDO Momofuku Award, and incentive grants for extracurricular achievements. You apply for these through the Student Office.
How much do Resident Assistants receive?
Students appointed as Resident Assistants at AP House receive 20,000 JPY every month, along with housing support.
Are the programs taught in English?
All graduate courses and selected undergraduate tracks are offered entirely in English. Check that your chosen undergraduate track is one of them.
When is the deadline?
It varies by intake cycle. Confirm the current dates on the official admissions portal before planning your application.
Check intake dates and current guidelines on the APU admissions portal, and keep the full scholarship page handy while you prepare.