AFS Asia-Kakehashi Project 2026

The Asia-Kakehashi Project + (Plus) 2026 invites students from the UK to study and live in Japan for 4 months. All expenses will be fully covered by the Japanese government, including travel tickets, accommodation, and school tuition. If you’re a UK citizen between 15 and 17 years old, this exciting opportunity is open to you! AFS is looking for students who have some previous experience or interest in the Japanese language, whether that’s through self-study or at school.

AFS Japan will decide your accommodation type and will select host families. Participants will meet their host families after the arrival orientation. There will not be an opportunity to contact host families prior to travelling to Japan. Students can be placed in any area (large cities, suburban areas and rural areas). Especially in large cities and suburban areas, houses are rather small and many people live in an apartment. It is normal that children share a bedroom.

Most families are traditional nuclear families; however, students can be placed in any type of family, including a family without children, a one-parent family with children, or a retired couple.

• Table of Content
• About AFS Intercultural Programs
• AFS College School Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of AFS College School Scholarship
• Requirements for AFS College School Scholarship Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for AFS College School Scholarship
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

AFS College School Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of AFS College School Scholarship

• Travel tickets
• Accommodation, and
• School tuition.

Requirements for AFS College School Scholarship Qualification

1. Aged between 14 years 9 months and 17 years 9 months on arrival, born between 02 Apr 2008 and 01 Apr 2011
2. UK citizen at the time of application
3. Obtained a minimum of 60% (or C grade) in the latest school examinations and has obtained an overall minimum average of 60% (C grade) in all subjects for the past two years
4. Learner of Japanese* (Participants of the Japanese speech contests are encouraged to apply and have priority for the selection.)
5. Demonstrates strong leadership potential to act as a bridge between the UK and Japan during and after the programme
6. Has not participated in the ASIA KAKEHASHI programme before

*Participants should ideally be able to read and write Hiragana and Katakana upon arrival.

Priority will be given to students of families with low incomes if AFS cannot recruit students meeting requirements 1 – 6.

Interview date, Process and Venue for AFS College School Scholarship

• AFS will review applications immediately after 15th March.
• Interviews commence from 23rd March. 
• Following selection, AFS will request a second interview with parents from the week commencing 30th March.

Documents Required for Application

• Complete and submit the pre-application form as soon as possible then, once you have received it, complete and submit the full application form before 15th March 2026. Complete the addendum form, health form (to be completed by your GP) and food restrictions form and email them to [email protected], also before 15th March 2026. Download additional documents here. 
• You will find guides on photos, uniform measurements and food here, to help you complete your application.
• Academic report from your school
  If the school cannot provide the completed template form, you can provide the last 2 years’ end-of-year academic reports from your school and ask your school to complete the template form in September.
• Certificate of Health
  If the potential applicants cannot obtain the completed Certificate of Health from their GP before 15th March, submissions of the certificate will be accepted until 1st April. Please note that many high schools in Japan require new students to have taken x-ray examinations. These are much easier and cheaper to obtain in Japan than in the UK, so you may be asked to go for an examination upon arrival, and cover the costs.
• You will need to provide a copy of your valid passport.

Download the following documents to know find out more about living in Japan:

• Kakehashi Project+ Information (English)

Check also:
Mastercard Foundation Scholars' Program at ALCHE 2027
Global Korea Scholarship 2027

Application Deadline

How to Apply

• Please submit the pre-application form (link above) as soon as possible. You will receive the full application form once AFS have checked your eligibility.
• Please submit the full application form and all required additional documents (link to documents above) by 15th March 2026. Email the additional documents to AFS Wales at [email protected]

For more information, kindly visit AFS webpage.