Glossary

A school designated in a public notice of the Ministry of Justice, administered by the Immigration Services Agency (ISA), as eligible to sponsor international student visas — the government lists the school under the framework that predates the 2024 reform. Being on the ISA list means a school meets government standards and students can apply for student-visa status through that school. This is the main pathway for international students to study Japanese in Japan. Student status is for study: part-time work requires a separate permit and is capped at a fixed number of hours per week.

Post-2024 accreditation under Japan's new law recognizing formal Japanese language education. The MEXT system offers longer-term oversight and a different quality pathway than ISA notification. The two systems overlap during a transition period that ends on March 31, 2029; so far only a minority of ISA-notified schools has also been MEXT-accredited. After March 31, 2029, a notified school needs an active MEXT accreditation to keep sponsoring student visas.

The ISA notification list is divided into annexes ("beppyo"), and every notified institution appears in exactly one of them. Appendix 1 lists standalone Japanese-language schools. Appendix 3 lists vocational and other affiliated institutions that run Japanese-language courses. Appendix 4 lists designated vocational-course institutions. Appendix 2 has been deleted from the notification. The annex records what kind of institution a school is. Institutions in all three annexes are notified under the same student-visa notification, so the annex does not decide whether a school can sponsor student visas.

Two of the values shown under "Accreditation-transition status" on a school page, for schools that hold no MEXT accreditation. "Notified school only" means the school is on the ISA notification list but has not (yet) been MEXT-accredited: it sponsors student visas under the older notified-school system only, which it may keep doing until March 31, 2029. "Not applicable" means the institution is neither ISA-notified nor MEXT-accredited. It was never part of the notified-school population this status describes, so the 2029 transition does not concern it, and this directory has no record of it sponsoring student visas under either system.

A status awarded to schools with low student-visa overstay rates, reflecting reliable student conduct. Tekisei-kō schools often receive preferential visa processing for applicants, making it easier to secure approval. This status is not published as an official registry by the ISA but is typically self-disclosed by schools on their materials.

Voluntary external quality evaluation conducted by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education (Nisshinkyo). Schools that undergo this evaluation receive a verified assessment of their teaching quality, facilities, and operations. This is an optional but respected indicator of a school's commitment to quality.

Capacity is the school's approved maximum student enrollment. Enrollment is the actual number of students currently studying there. Utilization is enrollment as a percentage of capacity — a rough indicator of a school's demand and health. Note that figures may come from different years or sources, so treat comparisons carefully.

MEXT can revoke an accreditation it previously granted. A revoked school has lost its post-2024 accreditation — this is an explicit negative signal and is always shown on this site, never hidden or softened. It is distinct from a school simply closing: a closure ends the institution, while a revocation is an administrative decision about its accreditation status specifically.

The educational training benefit (kyōiku kunren kyūfu) of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) reimburses part of the course fee to enrolled employment-insurance holders resident in Japan who complete a designated course. On this site the designated courses are mostly teacher-training programs, not Japanese courses for learners. It is not available on a student visa and does not reduce tuition for study-abroad students. Eligibility depends on your employment-insurance history — check with Hello Work and the school.