防衛大学校National Defense Academy

Education of Foreign Cadets and Foreign Graduate Students

Qualifications of Admission

Foreign Cadets

  1. Must be a cadet of a military academy or an officer candidate who will be sponsored by the dispatching government when admitted to the Academy.
  2. Evidence of a high school or secondary school diploma completing 12 years of education.
  3. Must be under the age of 22 at the time of entrance.
  4. An entrance examination is not required but must have basic scholastic ability to pass the Japanese university entrance qualification examination administered by the Ministry of Education.
  5. In order to enroll in science and engineering courses, the student must also demonstrate high school scholastic ability in science and mathematics.
  6. Those who do not have sufficient Japanese language capability can enroll in the Japanese language course offered by the Academy for one year. Then they can be the first year cadets.The treatment of these pre-first year cadets is the same as the ordinary foreign cadets. (see 4)

Foreign Graduate Students

  1. Must be an officer or an officer candidate who will be sponsored by the dispatching government when admitted to the Academy.
  2. Must qualify one of the followings:
    ・Academy graduate
    ・Bachelor’s degree holder
    ・One who can demonstrate scholastic ability equivalent to or above a university graduate
  3. One who is not an Academy graduate must have sufficient Japanese language capability to study at the graduate course.

Date of Entrance

April of the year scheduled for entering.

Procedure for Admission

All documents necessary such as that stating the purpose of receiving education and training at the Academy must be submitted to the Minister of Defense of Japan through diplomatic channels.

The deadline for submittance and clearance of these documents is the last day of February for the next academic year.

Treatment of the Foreign Cadets and Foreign Graduate Students

  1. Cadets and graduate students can not take academic and training courses that deal with classified information.
  2. Cadets and graduate students are subject to the same disciplinary system as the Japanese students.
  3. Tuition is exempted.
  4. Costs for room and maintenance for cadets are free. Graduate students are requested to pay.
  5. Meals for the cadets are the same as those for the Japanese cadets. (Special consideration will be given in general to the religion of the cadets.)The meals for cadets are free. Graduate students can take the meals for cadets. However, they are required to pay for their meals at an appropriate price.
  6. No charge for the uniforms of the cadets.(No uniform is required for the graduate students.)
  7. Medical treatment for cadets and graduate students at the Academy or other medical institutions of the Japan Self Defense Forces is free of charge. However, the cost for medical treatment outside of these facilities will be borne by the user.
  8. When any problem with regard to indemnity arise, the relevant expenses must be borne by the dispatching governments of the cadets and graduate students.
  9. Any other expenses necessary for education and training and those for dwelling in Japan must be borne by the dispatching governments of the cadets and graduate students.