AIG高校生外交官プログラム実行委員会 (AIG High School Diplomats Executive Committee) – 協賛: AIG損害保険株式会社・フリーマン財団
A free residential exchange in Japan where about 16 Japanese high school students live and learn together with American high school diplomats for about ten days in summer. The 2027 call has not been published yet.
Grades 11–12
No fee
Fully fundedApplications not open yetNomination required
A nationwide business plan contest run by Japan Finance Corporation for high school and kosen (years 1-3) students, who submit a business plan sheet online; ten finalists pitch in Tokyo.
法務省・全国人権擁護委員連合会 (Ministry of Justice and National Federation of Civil Liberties Commissioners)
A nationwide Japanese essay contest run since 1981 by the Ministry of Justice and the civil liberties commissioners, in which junior high students write about human rights based on their own experiences. Entries go through regional contests run by each Legal Affairs Bureau.
東京都 子供政策連携室（こどもスマイルムーブメント） (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Office for Children's Policy Coordination)
Tokyo Metropolitan Government's matching site that places junior high and high school students in short real-world work-experience programmes at companies, public agencies and NPOs during the summer holidays, with a separate selective 'student reporter' track.
一般社団法人全国高等専門学校連合会 (Japan Association of National Colleges of Technology)
A national design competition for kosen students in space (architecture), structural, creative (community) and additive-manufacturing design, plus a Pre-Design-Con division for students up to year 3.
Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), Stanford University / 特定非営利活動法人 e-Entrepreneurship in Japan
A free, competitive online course in English in which about 20 students in and from Japan learn social entrepreneurship and design thinking with Stanford scholars and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Applications for the spring 2027 session open on 25 January 2027.
東京大学先端科学技術研究センター LEARN（個別最適な学び寄付研究部門） (RCAST, The University of Tokyo - LEARN)
A small, grade-blind scholarship from the University of Tokyo RCAST's LEARN lab that gives young people under 18 who keep pursuing something up to 100,000 yen of in-kind support (equipment, services, fees or travel) for a year.
The Yanai Tadashi Foundation's school-recommended 'advance' track awards full scholarships before students apply to US and UK universities. The 12th call (for 2028 entry) has not been announced; in 2026 the 11th call accepted applications 16 July - 10 August.
Grade 12
No fee
Fully fundedApplications not open yetNomination required
A business-creation contest where kosen teams combine hardware and deep learning into products that solve real problems, judged by venture capitalists with startup funding as prizes.
大学共同利用機関法人 高エネルギー加速器研究機構 素粒子原子核研究所 (KEK Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies)
A free four-day residential particle physics camp at KEK in Tsukuba where high school students do hands-on research with scientists from the Belle II experiment. The 2027 edition has not been announced yet.
A free poster session held at the Botanical Society of Japan's annual meeting where high school students present research on plants, fungi or microorganisms to researchers and receive awards for outstanding work. The 2027 (91st meeting) call has not been published yet.
A free, year-long Tohoku University program in which about 100 high school students attend university-level science lectures, labs and English salons, with selected students moving on to lab research.