The Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO, 公益財団法人東芝国際交流財団) funds international graduate students conducting research on Japanese society, technology, and East Asian regional issues at Japanese universities. Founded in 1989 by Toshiba Corporation, the foundation has remained one of Japan's most thematically focused private scholarships — a deliberately narrow scope that filters out generic STEM applicants and concentrates funding on candidates whose work bridges technology and Japan-society themes. For the 2027 cycle TIFO continues its existing structure with applications opening in autumn 2026.
Stipend, structure, and what is covered
TIFO pays a monthly stipend of ¥120,000 deposited into a Japanese bank account. The award does not include tuition reimbursement, airfare, or research grants — it is structured as living-cost support for one international graduate student already enrolled at a Japanese university. Most TIFO recipients combine the stipend with a Japanese university tuition waiver, producing an effectively fully-funded package. Our breakdown of the cheapest universities in Japan for international graduates shows which institutions offer the strongest tuition reductions to stack with TIFO.
Who TIFO is for
TIFO is the right scholarship for applicants whose research engages directly with Japan as a subject — Japanese energy policy, Japanese aging-society technology, Japan-Asia regional cooperation, Japanese business strategy, Japan-related international relations. Pure technical research without a Japan-society dimension is outside scope. The foundation attracts a roughly equal mix of social-science and applied-science applicants. Country distribution skews toward Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand) but the foundation accepts all nationalities. Applicants from English-medium programs at UTokyo, Kyoto, Waseda, and Keio tend to convert at higher rates.
How TIFO fits with other 2027 funding
TIFO is not compatible with MEXT, JDS, or other full-funding government scholarships. It is fully compatible with university tuition waivers, JASSO Honors top-ups, and research-assistant stipends from the supervising lab. For applicants comparing TIFO against the embassy MEXT track, our MEXT scholarship 2027 complete guide walks through how to position TIFO as a fallback if the MEXT slot does not come through. Browse the full scholarship database to identify other Japan-society-focused options that pair well with TIFO.