The Sato Yo International Scholarship Foundation (公益財団法人佐藤陽国際奨学財団, SISF) is a Tokyo-based private foundation funding international PhD students from Asian countries at Japanese universities with one of the highest single-source private stipends available: ¥180,000 per month. Founded in 1989 by Sato Yo, the foundation has built a reputation as the destination award for Asian doctoral candidates whose research has clear development relevance for their home countries. For the 2027 cycle SISF continues its existing structure with the application window opening in spring 2026.
Why SISF stands out
At ¥180,000 per month, SISF pays roughly 25% more than Honjo and roughly 50% more than MEXT in monthly stipend terms. The foundation is also unusually rigorous: applicants undergo a multi-stage selection including document review, in-person interview in Tokyo, and a final committee deliberation. Recipients gain access to a strong alumni network and frequent foundation-organized events bringing together SISF scholars across universities. This combination of stipend and network makes SISF one of the most sought-after private scholarships for Asian PhD candidates in Japan.
Who SISF is for
SISF is restricted to PhD students from designated Asian countries (China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and selected others). Master's students are not eligible. The foundation prioritizes applicants whose research has direct applied relevance for home-country development — energy, public health, agriculture, social policy, education systems, and engineering with clear national-development application. Pure-theory applicants without a development angle are less competitive. Country guides for our most-represented SISF nationalities include studying in Japan from India and MEXT for Vietnamese students, which compare SISF against alternative funding routes.
Application timing and stack
SISF is one of the earliest cycles in the Japanese scholarship calendar. Applications open April–May, close June–July, with interviews in October–November. PhD applicants planning to start in April 2027 should target the spring 2026 cycle. SISF is fully compatible with university tuition waivers and is the standard pairing partner for tuition-waived doctoral programs at the imperial universities. Our overview of PhD in Japan funding, duration, and English-track options walks through several SISF + tuition-waiver funding stacks. Browse all scholarships to identify additional Asian-country-targeted options that complement SISF.