INPEX Scholarship 2027 in Japan for Indonesian Students: Fully Funded Master’s Guide

The INPEX Scholarship is one of the most generous — and one of the most specific — routes to a master’s degree in Japan. It is offered by the INPEX Scholarship Foundation, a Japanese public interest foundation linked to INPEX Corporation, and for the 2027 recruitment round it supports students coming to Japan from only three countries: Indonesia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. This guide is written for the Indonesian track. If you hold Indonesian nationality, graduated from a STEM faculty of a major Indonesian university with a GPA of 3.0 or above, are under 30 years of age, and want to pursue a master’s degree in a STEM field at a Japanese graduate school, this scholarship can cover your examination, admission and tuition fees in full, pay for your round-trip airfare between Indonesia and Japan, give you a monthly allowance of ¥160,000, add a ¥60,000 settling-in allowance when you arrive, and support Japanese language preparation before you depart. Up to four Indonesian recipients are selected for 2027, according to the Foundation’s official recruitment overview.

Read that last figure again, because it shapes everything about how you should approach this application: up to four places. This is not a mass scholarship with hundreds of awards. It is a small, carefully screened programme, and the Foundation selects overseas residents from the pre-departure stage — before you have enrolled in Japan — so that talented students can prepare for study abroad in a planned way without financial worry. That pre-departure design is the Foundation’s distinctive feature, and it comes with one demanding condition that catches many applicants out: at the time of application, you must already hold a Letter of Acceptance, usually called an LOA, from the Japanese professor who will supervise you. You do not apply first and find a laboratory later. You choose your graduate school and laboratory, contact the professor directly, agree a research direction, obtain the LOA, and only then submit your scholarship application. Applicants who leave professor contact until the last weeks almost always run out of time.

A clear eligibility warning before you invest any time: this programme, in the form described in this guide, is only for Indonesian nationals. The Foundation also recruits small numbers from Australia and the UAE under separate guidelines, and it runs a separate outbound programme for Japanese students, but there is no INPEX track for applicants from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria or other countries. If you are not an Indonesian national, do not build your Japan plan around INPEX — look instead at the government route described in our guide to the MEXT scholarship and at the wider options in our scholarships directory. If you are Indonesian and you meet the STEM, GPA and age conditions, however, this is a genuinely fully funded opportunity that deserves a serious, early and well-organised application.

This guide explains exactly who is eligible, what the scholarship does and does not pay for, which fields of study qualify, how to approach a Japanese professor and secure an LOA, the step-by-step application process, the documents you will need, the 2027 timeline, how selection works and how to improve your chances, and the mistakes that end otherwise strong applications. You can also browse Japanese institutions and other destinations in the universities directory, compare options in the study abroad section, and use the StudyGraduate tools to plan budgets and track deadlines while you prepare.

INPEX Scholarship 2027 at a Glance

The figures in this table are taken from the Foundation’s official 2027 recruitment overview on the INPEX Scholarship Foundation scholarship programme page. That page is the authoritative source: it sets out the Indonesian eligibility wording, the number of recipients, and the coverage in one place. The detailed Application Guidelines for your country go further — they specify the exact application period, the form, the document list and where and how to submit — so treat this guide as your map and the guidelines as the law.

Why This Scholarship Exists — and Why Indonesia

Understanding why a scholarship exists helps you write an application that speaks to its purpose. The INPEX Scholarship Foundation was established to foster goodwill and mutual understanding between Japan and partner countries by supporting young people to study in Japan and by promoting two-way exchange. Its foreign student programme is unusual in Japan: many Japanese scholarship organisations only support students who have already arrived and enrolled, whereas INPEX deliberately recruits residents overseas, before departure, so scholars can prepare in a planned manner. Alongside the inbound programme for Indonesian, Australian and UAE students, the Foundation supports Japanese students going in the opposite direction to Indonesia, Australia and the UAE. It is, in other words, an exchange programme in both directions, built around long-term friendly relations between Japan and a small number of partner countries — not a general international scholarship open to the world.

That purpose matters in your application documents and interview, if you reach one. A research plan that is technically excellent but silent about why Japan, why this laboratory, and what you hope the exchange will mean beyond your own career is missing part of what this Foundation says it funds. You do not need to write grand diplomatic statements. You do need to show, concretely and honestly, that you understand you would be part of a small cohort representing Indonesia in Japan, and that you take that seriously — in your studies, in your conduct, and in what you intend to do with the degree afterwards, whether that is research, industry, teaching or public service in Indonesia, in Japan, or between the two countries.

The Foundation’s published recruitment record also shows the scale and destinations of past Indonesian cohorts. In recent years Indonesian recipients have numbered three students per year in the published record, studying at universities including Hokkaido University, Keio University, Kagoshima University, Tohoku University, Osaka University, Hiroshima University, Kyoto University, Hirosaki University, Yamagata University and Chiba University. Two lessons follow. First, host universities are spread across Japan — this is not a Tokyo-only programme, and strong national universities in regional cities appear repeatedly. Second, the cohort is consistently small, which confirms that every document, every grade and the LOA itself will be read closely.

Eligibility: The Indonesian Track, Point by Point

The Foundation’s official wording for Indonesian recipients in the 2027 recruitment is precise, and every element of it is a hard condition. Applicants must be under 30 years of age, hold Indonesian nationality, have graduated with excellent academic performance — defined as a GPA of 3.0 or above — from a STEM fields faculty of a major university in Indonesia, including science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, architecture and related fields, and wish to pursue a master’s degree programme in STEM fields at a Japanese graduate school. Let us unpack each condition, because applicants most often lose this scholarship at the eligibility stage, not at the interview stage.

Nationality: Indonesian only

You must hold Indonesian nationality. Dual situations and permanent residents of Indonesia who hold another nationality should not assume eligibility — check the official guidelines and, if your situation is unusual, ask the Foundation directly before spending months on an application. There is no discretionary route around the nationality rule, and a brilliant research plan cannot cure ineligibility. Equally, Indonesian nationals should note that the broader INPEX programme is sometimes misreported online as being open to many countries. It is not. For the foreign student programme the Foundation recruits from Indonesia, Australia and the UAE only, each under its own guidelines.

Age: under 30

Applicants must be under 30 years of age. The guidelines define the precise reference point for calculating age, so read that definition carefully and check it against your date of birth before you begin. If you will cross the age boundary during the application period, the exact wording matters — do not guess, and do not rely on a blog summary. Age limits in Japanese scholarship programmes are applied strictly, and an application from someone over the limit will not be rescued by strong grades.

Degree and university: a STEM bachelor’s from a major Indonesian university

You must have graduated — or, where the guidelines allow, be on course to graduate in time for the intake — from a STEM faculty of a major university in Indonesia. In Indonesian terms this means your Sarjana degree should come from a recognised, prominent Indonesian university and from a faculty in science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, architecture or a closely related field. If your degree title is interdisciplinary — for example environmental science, food technology, geophysics, biomedical engineering, information systems or urban planning — the question is whether both your bachelor’s faculty and your proposed Japanese master’s fall within the STEM framing in the guidelines. Where the fit is not obvious, prepare to explain it clearly in your application, and consider confirming with the Foundation before you finalise your professor search, because your field in Japan must also be STEM.

GPA: 3.0 or above

The stated academic threshold is a GPA of 3.0 or above, described by the Foundation as excellent academic performance. Treat 3.0 as a minimum, not a target. With up to four awards, selection is competitive, and a transcript comfortably above the threshold, with strong grades in the subjects closest to your proposed research, will help you. If your overall GPA sits just above 3.0 but your final-year and subject-specific grades are much stronger, make sure your application draws attention — factually, without exaggeration — to that pattern, to any thesis or final project distinction, and to research experience. Never alter, round up or misrepresent a grade: transcripts are official documents and inconsistencies are a common reason for rejection.

Field in Japan: a STEM master’s

Your proposed master’s programme in Japan must be in a STEM field. This is the point where Indonesian applicants differ from the Australian and UAE tracks, whose recipients may pursue any field of study under their guidelines. Indonesian applicants cannot use INPEX for a master’s in, for example, pure humanities, law or general business if it falls outside the STEM framing. Choose your Japanese graduate school and laboratory accordingly, and make sure the research plan you discuss with your prospective professor is recognisably within science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, architecture or a related discipline.

The LOA: mandatory, not optional

Finally, the condition that organises the whole timeline: submission of an LOA from the accepting professor is mandatory at the time of application. The Foundation states this explicitly — applicants select the Japanese graduate school or laboratory of their choice and directly contact the professor who will become their future academic supervisor. An application without an LOA is incomplete by definition. This is discussed in detail below, because succeeding here is the single most important practical task in the entire process.

Benefits and Coverage: What INPEX Pays For

For Indonesian recipients, the Foundation’s official overview lists four core elements of coverage: round-trip airfare between Indonesia and Japan; full tuition and fees, including examination fees, admission fees and tuition; a monthly allowance of ¥160,000; and a settling-in allowance of ¥60,000 upon arrival. The Foundation also describes support for pre-departure Japanese language learning costs as part of its scholarship benefits. Taken together, this is genuine full funding for the core costs of a master’s degree — the fees are paid, the flight is paid, and the monthly allowance is intended to let you concentrate on your studies rather than patching together part-time work to survive.

Now the honest limits, because a responsible guide must state them. The official overview summarises coverage with an “etc.” — the full detail, including the scholarship period, payment schedule, conditions for continuation, and any items that are not covered, lives in the Application Guidelines. Do not assume that every possible cost is included. Personal expenses beyond the allowance, costs for dependants if you have a family, conference travel, equipment you choose to buy, and expenses before departure other than the specified language support should all be treated as your responsibility unless the guidelines say otherwise. The monthly allowance of ¥160,000 is a fixed amount, not a cost-of-living guarantee for every city and lifestyle: living in central Tokyo on ¥160,000 a month requires budgeting, while the same allowance goes noticeably further in many regional university cities — another practical reason the Foundation’s scholars are spread across Japan. Build a simple monthly budget for your target city — rent, utilities, food, transport, phone, health insurance contributions and study costs — before you accept any offer, using the calculators in our tools section as a starting framework and Japanese university international student guides for local figures.

You should also confirm the duration of support in the current guidelines. A Japanese master’s degree is normally a two-year programme, sometimes preceded by a period as a research student depending on the university and professor. The exact scholarship period for the 2027 intake, and what happens if your programme structure differs, must be read from the official guidelines rather than assumed from older cycles or other scholarships. If your professor proposes a research-student period before formal master’s enrolment, raise the funding question early and in writing, so there are no surprises for either side.

Programs and Fields of Study

INPEX does not publish a closed list of approved master’s courses, because the model is different: you choose the graduate school and laboratory. Any Japanese graduate school where a professor agrees to accept you for a STEM master’s, and which fits the guidelines, can in principle be your destination. In practice, your field choices for the Indonesian track cluster into the faculty areas named by the Foundation. In science, that includes fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, earth and environmental sciences, mathematics and materials science. In engineering, it spans civil, mechanical, electrical and electronic, chemical, information and communications, energy and environmental engineering, among others. Agriculture includes agronomy, agricultural engineering, food science, forestry and fisheries-related research. Medicine and pharmacy include pharmaceutical sciences and health-related laboratory research, subject to the structure and licensing realities of clinical fields in Japan — laboratory and research master’s programmes are the natural fit for this scholarship model. Architecture includes architectural design, structural engineering, urban and environmental design where the programme sits within a STEM faculty.

Choosing well matters more than choosing famously. The best laboratory for your application is the one whose published research genuinely matches your bachelor’s training and your proposed project, where your skills — laboratory techniques, programming, fieldwork methods, data analysis, instruments you can actually use — add something real. Professors can tell instantly whether an applicant has read their papers or is sending the same email to fifty laboratories. Read recent publications from the laboratory, note the methods and questions, and be able to say in two or three specific sentences why your background fits this group and what you would like to investigate within its direction. That specificity is also what makes an LOA meaningful: a professor who has discussed a concrete research fit with you is far more likely to support your scholarship application seriously.

Language of instruction deserves early attention. Many Japanese graduate programmes, especially in STEM fields, operate substantially in English in the laboratory and offer English-taught coursework, while daily life, administration and some lectures may involve Japanese. The Foundation’s support for pre-departure Japanese learning reflects that reality. You do not need to arrive fluent, but you should arrive prepared: basic Japanese for daily life, a plan to continue learning, and a clear understanding of your own programme’s language requirements, which you should confirm with the professor and the graduate school office — not assume from a general guide.

How to Apply, Step by Step

Step 1 — Confirm your eligibility honestly. Check nationality, age, degree, faculty, GPA and field against the official guidelines. If one element fails, stop and redirect your effort to a scholarship you can actually win, such as MEXT. If every element fits, proceed — and keep the guidelines open beside you for the rest of the process.

Step 2 — Define your research direction. Write a one-page outline of what you want to study: the problem, why it matters, what you have done so far that prepares you for it, and what methods you expect to use. This document will evolve, but you need it before contacting professors, because serious laboratories will ask what you want to research.

Step 3 — Shortlist graduate schools and laboratories. Build a focused list — quality over quantity — of professors whose work matches your direction. Use university and laboratory websites and recent publications. Note each professor’s research themes, recent papers, laboratory size and any stated instructions for prospective students; some laboratories publish a specific contact procedure, and following it exactly is your first test.

Step 4 — Contact professors directly and professionally. Write a concise, individual email for each professor: who you are, your university and GPA, your research interest in relation to their work, what you are asking (consideration as a prospective master’s student and, if they agree, an LOA for the INPEX application), and your CV and transcript as attachments if the laboratory’s guidance permits. Be polite, be specific, and be patient — professors are busy, and a single courteous follow-up after a reasonable interval is acceptable, while repeated chasing is not. Keep a record of every contact, reply and deadline.

Step 5 — Discuss and refine the research plan. If a professor responds positively, expect questions, possibly an online meeting, and requests for more detail. Treat this as the academic conversation it is. Refine your plan based on the laboratory’s real projects and equipment. A plan that fits the laboratory will always be stronger than a grand plan the laboratory cannot host.

Step 6 — Obtain the LOA. When the professor agrees to accept you, obtain the Letter of Acceptance in the form the Foundation’s guidelines require. Confirm names, dates, programme and signatures are exactly right. Thank the professor, and keep them informed about your scholarship submission — they have invested in you already.

Step 7 — Download the official 2027 guidelines and application form. Get them from the INPEX Scholarship Foundation website, using the Indonesian guidelines, not another country’s. Read every line, including the small print about document formats, translations and submission method.

Step 8 — Complete the application form and gather every document. Work through the document checklist below, request transcripts and recommendations early, and make sure English-language requirements for documents are met exactly as the guidelines state.

Step 9 — Submit within the application window, before the deadline. Applications typically open around August and close at the end of October. Submit early enough that a missing page or a technical problem cannot end your application. Keep copies of everything and any submission confirmation.

Step 10 — Prepare for selection and for Japan. Selection is made by the Foundation — past descriptions of the process describe screening by the Foundation’s committee with final decisions at board level, so expect your documents and research plan to be judged as a whole. If you are selected, follow the Foundation’s and your university’s instructions for admission procedures, visa documentation and pre-departure Japanese learning promptly and exactly. Selection for the scholarship is not, by itself, a visa decision or a guarantee of university admission procedures being waived — complete each formal step you are given.

Required Documents

The definitive list is in the Indonesian Application Guidelines for 2027, and you must follow that list word for word. Based on the structure of this programme and its published application requirements, prepare to provide the following, in the format the guidelines specify:

• The completed 2027 scholarship application form for Indonesian applicants.
• Official academic transcript from your Indonesian university.
• Graduation certificate, or an expected-graduation certificate if you are completing your degree in time for the intake, as the guidelines allow.
• The Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from your accepting professor at a Japanese graduate school — mandatory.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) setting out your education, research experience, thesis or final project, skills, publications or presentations if any, and relevant work experience.
• A letter of recommendation, typically from an undergraduate supervisor or, where the guidelines permit, a current employer who can speak to your academic ability.
• English proficiency evidence where required by the guidelines — recent cycles have asked Indonesian applicants for a TOEFL iBT or IELTS score report issued by the testing organisation; check the current guidelines for the accepted tests and any validity window, and book a test early if you need one.
• A Japanese language certificate, such as JLPT, if you hold one — generally optional, but include it if you have it.
• An ID photograph in the specified format, and identification documents as instructed.

Documents should be in English, or accompanied by the translation the guidelines require if they were issued in another language. Names must match across every document — transcript, certificate, passport, LOA and form. If your name is spelled differently in different records, resolve or explain that before submission, not after a query arrives. Keep original documents safe; submit exactly what is asked, in the order and format asked.

Deadlines and Timeline

A note on dates and honesty: the Foundation publishes its recruitment schedule on its official site, and the application period for recent cycles, including the pattern for 2027, runs from around August to the end of October. Because the official schedule is presented as part of the guidelines and schedule documents, and because a missed closing time in Tokyo time can disqualify an otherwise complete application, you must confirm the exact 2027 closing date and time in the official guidelines as soon as they are in your hands and plan backwards from that date — with your LOA finished well before it. Track it alongside your other applications using the planning approach in our guides section.

Selection Criteria and How to Improve Your Chances

The Foundation does not publish a points formula, so be sceptical of anyone who claims to know one. What can be said, from the programme’s own structure, is that selection will weigh: your academic record, with a GPA at or above 3.0 from a STEM faculty and strength in relevant subjects; the quality and feasibility of your research plan, and its fit with the laboratory that has accepted you; the LOA itself, which signals that a Japanese professor has already judged your potential seriously; your readiness for study and life in Japan, including language preparation; and your alignment with the Foundation’s purpose of exchange and goodwill between Indonesia and Japan. With up to four awards, small differences matter — a precise, well-evidenced application beats a longer, vaguer one.

To improve your chances: start the professor search early enough to have real conversations, not last-minute requests; write a research plan that a specialist would recognise as feasible in two years in that laboratory; keep your grades and evidence consistent across every document; ask a recommender who genuinely knows your academic work and give them time and information to write specifically about you; take the Japanese language element seriously even if your laboratory works in English; and present your motivation for Japan and for the exchange purpose of the Foundation honestly, in your own words. Avoid generic statements that could be pasted into any scholarship application — selectors read hundreds of those, and this cohort is too small for generic to survive.

Common Mistakes

The most common mistake is also the most fatal: applying without an LOA, or starting the professor search so late that no LOA can be obtained in time. The second is ignoring the field rule — proposing a non-STEM master’s on the Indonesian track. The third is treating the GPA, age or nationality rules as flexible; they are not. Other frequent errors include contacting professors with mass-produced emails that name the wrong laboratory or research theme; submitting documents in the wrong language or format; name mismatches across documents; missing the closing date or misjudging Tokyo time; assuming the scholarship covers every possible cost including dependants; and copying research-plan text from templates or other applicants, which professors and selectors recognise immediately. Finally, some applicants neglect the university’s own admission procedures after selection — scholarship selection and graduate school admission are connected but distinct processes, and both must be completed properly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the INPEX Scholarship only for Indonesian students?

This guide covers the Indonesian track, which is only for Indonesian nationals. The Foundation’s foreign student programme also recruits small numbers from Australia and the UAE under separate guidelines, and it is not open to other nationalities. If you are not Indonesian, Australian or a UAE national, look at MEXT and other Japanese government routes instead.

How much is the monthly allowance for 2027?

The Foundation’s official 2027 overview states a monthly allowance of ¥160,000 for Indonesian recipients, plus a ¥60,000 settling-in allowance upon arrival, full tuition and fees, and round-trip airfare between Indonesia and Japan.

What GPA do I need?

A GPA of 3.0 or above from a STEM faculty of a major university in Indonesia, in the Foundation’s official wording. That is the minimum threshold; selection for up to four places is competitive, so a stronger record helps.

Is there an age limit?

Yes. Indonesian applicants must be under 30 years of age, with the exact calculation defined in the official guidelines.

Do I need a professor’s acceptance before applying?

Yes. An LOA from the accepting professor at your chosen Japanese graduate school is mandatory at the time of application. You choose the laboratory and contact the professor directly — this step takes months, so start early.

Can I study any subject in Japan with INPEX?

On the Indonesian track, no. Both your bachelor’s faculty and your proposed master’s must be in STEM fields, including science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy and architecture. The any-field rule you may see mentioned online applies to the Australian and UAE tracks, not to Indonesian applicants.

Does INPEX cover my family’s costs or guarantee my visa?

No such promise is made. The published coverage is for the scholar: fees, airfare for the scholar, monthly allowance and settling-in allowance. Scholarship selection does not guarantee a visa — you must complete the official visa process — and no scholarship can promise admission outcomes beyond its own selection and the university’s procedures.

How many Indonesian students are chosen?

Up to four recipients for 2027, according to the Foundation’s official recruitment overview. Past published cohorts of Indonesian recipients numbered three students per year, which shows how small and competitive this programme is.

Sources and Verification

This guide was prepared from the official source: the INPEX Scholarship Foundation’s scholarship programme page (inpex-s.com), including its 2027 recruitment overview for Indonesian recipients — eligibility, up to four recipients, ¥160,000 monthly allowance, ¥60,000 settling-in allowance, full tuition and fees and round-trip airfare — its description of the mandatory LOA and pre-departure selection model, its Japanese language preparation support, and its published recruitment record of past Indonesian cohorts and host universities. Application window timing is described as the programme’s established pattern (opening around August, closing at the end of October) and must be confirmed against the exact dates in the official 2027 Application Guidelines and schedule, which are the authoritative documents for forms, document lists and submission.

Disclaimer: Scholarship details change yearly — always confirm deadlines, amounts, eligibility and document requirements on the official INPEX Scholarship Foundation website before applying. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency, and cannot promise selection, admission or visa approval.