In order to support students financially affected by covid-19, the Japanese government announced on May 19, 2020 a ¥53 billion relief fund for struggling students. This comes on top of the ¥100,000 relief fund available for every resident.

Students are suffering financial consequences due to Covid-19

Measures put in place by the Japanese government to slow down the propagation of Covid-19 are having dramatic consequences for many businesses.

Among them, cafés, restaurants, bars, which usually provide student jobs, are suffering the most. Consequently, numerous students lost their baito and revenues, which allows them to finance part of or all their tuition. According to a recent study, this crisis could result in up to 20% of students in Japan to give up on their studies.

What are the criteria to receive the Japanese government’s relief fund for students?

In order to allow students to pursue their studies in good conditions, the Japanese government, through the Ministry of Education, decided to set up an emergency financial aid.

Students in Japan: ¥100,000 to ¥200,000 aid

This cash handout is aimed at students who lost their part time job and all or part of their revenue. It was designed for some of the 430,000 students in the nation. This aid will amount up to ¥200,000 for those from low-income households that are exempt from residence tax and ¥100,000 for others. The budget allocated for this measure should rise up to ¥53 billion. Foreign students are also entitled to this program as well. This aid will come on top of the ¥100,000 relief fund already offered by the Japanese government.

Criteria for applying for the relief fund offered by the Japanese government for students

Regarding the eligibility for this program, students studying at a Japanese university, public or private, at a vocational school or at a Japanese language school are eligible. Foreign students are included as well.

Criteria to meet are constantly evolving. Therefore, keep in mind that the list of criteria below might not be complete.

The aid will be available for students not living with their parents’ and relying on part time jobs to finance themselves. They will need to prove that their revenue has been impacted by Covid19 and has gone down by at least 50%. If they are receiving an allowance from their family, this will need to be under ¥1.5 million a year. On top of this, students will need to have attained a 2.3 GPA, at least and have attended at least 80% of classes per month. They will also need to have a monthly allowance under ¥90,000 and not to be dependent of a resident of Japan earning more than ¥5 million a year.

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What are the necessary steps to obtain the cash handouts for students from the Japanese government?

The entire conditions to benefit from the aid have not been revealed yet. However, it was decided that the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO), an independent administrative agency supporting students, will be in charge of the transfers. Schools and university will be in charge of appointing the eligible students.

SNG is a Japanese language school located in the center of Tokyo. We are aware that many foreign students located in Japan at the moment are on the lookout for more details about how to benefit from this aid from the Japanese government. Our school, as well as all other schools in the country, are currently waiting for further details.

We will update this article as the Ministry of Education (MEXT) discloses more details and criteria. If you are one of our students, note that we will share any new information we have as soon as possible.