Asian students will receive free medical education in Japan

The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare intends to pay for the tuition and living costs of a limited number of Asian international students signed up for Japanese medical schools. 

This work, which the ministry is launching interestingly, expects to expand the use of Japanese pharmaceuticals and medical equipment all through Asia while also committing to the global community. 

The ministry expects to admit around 20 students, and the program is expected to start as soon as fiscal 2026. To test its efficacy, the program will be run on a trial basis. The Economic Research Institute for Asian and East Asian, a global association with its headquarters in Indonesia and funding from Japan, will be used to enroll applicants. 

After getting Japanese language guidance in their local nations, the picked people will go to Japan. To procure a medical license, they will endure six years of learning at university medical schools. Their living bills and tuition will be all paid for by the government. In fiscal 2024, the service has set aside Yen290 million for significant expenditures in a supplemental budget. 

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According to the ministry, tuitions for medical schools range from a few hundred thousand yen to a few million yen a year, and international students frequently face a language barrier. While certain colleges have grants and general help programs for international students, the number of international medical students coming to Japan has been flat. 

Starting around May last year, there were 217 international students, including short-stay students, learning at the medical schools of public and private universities across the country, representing under 1% of all medical school students in Japan, as per the Japan Student Services Organization and others. 

“We would like international students to concentrate on medication in Japan as well as find out about the high quality of Japanese medical equipment and pharmaceuticals,” said an official at the service. “If they present these things in their nations after getting back, it will assist with developing the Japanese economy.”