Japan Study Cost Calculator: Tuition and Living Costs in Yen and Rupees

How much does it cost to study in Japan from India?

A master's degree at a national university in Tokyo costs about ¥4,473,600 (₹26,88,186) for two years: ¥535,800 tuition a year, a ¥282,000 entrance fee and about ¥130,000 a month to live. The first year alone is about ¥2,377,800 (₹14,28,820). The same course in the Kyushu region costs about ¥3,321,600 (₹19,95,949), because living costs there average ¥82,000 a month.

A four-year bachelor's degree at a private university in Tokyo comes to about ¥11,042,841 (₹66,35,643), using MEXT's average private university fees with the facilities fee counted every year. At Keio University's Faculty of Economics, from Keio's own fee table, it is about ¥11,673,100 (₹70,14,366). Rupee figures on this page use the RBI reference rate for 3 November 2026, ₹60.09 per 100 yen.

Cost of living in Japan per month, by region

The average international student in Japan spends ¥105,000 a month (₹63,095) on living costs, not counting tuition. Tokyo is the most expensive at ¥130,000 (₹78,117), mostly because rent averages ¥57,000 there against ¥41,000 nationally. These are JASSO's figures from its survey of privately financed international students.

JASSO's Kanto figure includes Tokyo. "Insurance and medical" is where National Health Insurance sits: every foreign resident staying three months or more must join it, and the premium depends on your previous year's income, so there is no single national figure to quote.

University fees in Japan: national, public and private

National universities charge a standard ¥535,800 a year in tuition and a ¥282,000 entrance fee, set by MEXT for both bachelor's and graduate courses. A national university may charge up to 120% of the standard (¥642,960 a year), and the same rules let it set separate fees for international students, so check your university's own fee page. Private universities charge more: an average of ¥968,069 a year for a bachelor's degree.

Local public and private figures are MEXT averages for students who entered in 2025. The public entrance fee is the average for students from outside the university's own area, which is what an international student pays. MEXT publishes public university averages for undergraduates only, so the calculator uses them for graduate courses too. Private averages cover all subjects; medicine and dentistry cost far more. For Japanese language schools the calculator uses JASSO's average tuition actually paid, ¥56,000 a month; JASSO puts first-year language school fees at about ¥610,000 to ¥1,900,000 depending on the course.

Private university fees in Japan, university by university

MEXT's private figures are averages of what students paid in their first year. Each private university sets its own fees, and the calculator can use a university's own fee table instead of the average: pick "Private university" and then the university. It follows each table as printed. A fee the table lists every year, such as a facilities fee, is counted every year; a fee charged once, such as an admission or registration fee, is counted once. None of these universities lists its facilities fee as a one-off charge. For the MEXT average, the facilities fee is counted every year, because most private universities charge it yearly.

Every fee table was read on the university's own site on 5 November 2026. Keio and Sophia have published fees for students entering in 2026; Waseda, ICU and APU for 2027. Keio says its fees can rise each year on a sliding scale, and Waseda and Sophia add an alumni association fee in the final year, which the calculator counts once.

How the numbers are built

• Tuition and fees: your annual tuition × course years, plus the entrance fee once and, at private universities, the facilities fee every year. For a named private university, every line of its own fee table, each yearly fee for each year and each one-time fee once. If you enter your own university's tuition, it replaces the tuition line.
• Living costs: JASSO's monthly average for your region × 12 × course years. Choosing your own rent swaps JASSO's average rent for yours and keeps the other items.
• Scholarships: MEXT removes tuition and subtracts its monthly allowance for every month of the course (¥117,000 for undergraduates; ¥143,000, the lowest of the ¥143,000 to ¥145,000 range, for master's and PhD students). The JASSO Honors scholarship subtracts ¥48,000 a month (¥30,000 at language schools) for one year.
• Rupees: yen × your rate ÷ 100. The rate starts at the RBI reference rate for 3 November 2026, ₹60.09 per 100 yen; your bank's rate will differ.

Not included: flights, the visa fee, exam fees, deposits and furniture when you first rent a room, and textbooks. JASSO lists these as costs to plan for, but there is no official figure to put in a calculator.

Sources, all read on 3 November 2026: MEXT ordinance on national university fees (国立大学等の授業料その他の費用に関する省令, e-Gov); MEXT, survey of fees paid by 2025 entrants to private universities, with its table of national, public and private fees; JASSO, Living Costs and Expenses and the 2023 Lifestyle Survey of Privately-Financed International Students; JASSO, Academic Fees; MEXT scholarship and JASSO scholarship pages; Reserve Bank of India, Reference Rate Archive.

Ways to cut the cost of studying in Japan

• Choose a national or public university. A national bachelor's degree costs ¥535,800 a year in tuition against a private average of ¥968,069.
• Look beyond Tokyo. Living costs average ¥130,000 a month in Tokyo and ¥82,000 in the Kyushu region, a difference of ¥48,000 every month.
• Ask for university housing. In JASSO's survey the most common rent for university housing for international students was ¥20,000 to ¥30,000 a month, against ¥30,000 to ¥40,000 for a private apartment.
• Apply for scholarships early. The MEXT scholarship exempts tuition and pays a monthly allowance. You can reserve the JASSO Honors scholarship by ticking the box on your EJU application form. See all scholarships for Japan.
• Ask about tuition reduction. JASSO notes that many Japanese schools offer tuition exemption or reduction for international students.
• Work part-time within the rules. With permission from immigration, students may work up to 28 hours a week, and up to eight hours a day in long school holidays.

For courses, intakes and the application route, start with our study in Japan guide.