The new governmental tuition support system is a system that supports university and other educational institutions by reducing the financial burden for "households exempt from resident tax and similar households" or "households supporting three or more dependent children."
The country's new student support system consists of two components: 1) monthly grants paid by the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) and 2) semesterly tuition fee reductions and exemptions provided by universities (including support for large families).
Please note that there is no need to apply for ① and ② separately; the application procedure for ① JASSO scholarships includes the application procedure for ② university tuition fee reductions.

Support for large families with three or more children, which began in fiscal year 2025, falls under support ②. If you wish to apply, you must apply under ①.

Furthermore, if you are selected for ① the JASSO scholarship, you will receive the monthly JASSO scholarship and also receive tuition reductions and exemptions from Rissho University every semester. In principle, you cannot apply for only one of the two. However, even if you are selected for ① the JASSO scholarship, students in "Category 4 (Science, Engineering, and Agriculture)" and "Families with many children (categories marked with ★ in the table below)" will not receive the monthly JASSO scholarship, and will only receive support in the form of tuition reductions and exemptions.

For details of the system, please refer to the link below.

• JASSO Scholarship Grant (No repayment required)
• New national study support system (scholarship benefits + tuition fee reduction/exemption)

Recruitment period

(1) Current recruitment (regular recruitment) *Available for 1st to 4th year students

After entering university, new applications for "in-school recruitment" are generally made twice a year, in spring (mid-April) and autumn (mid-September). Because recruitment is done periodically, it is also called "regular recruitment."
Please be sure to check the application deadline on our university's website etc. so as not to miss the recruitment period.

(2) Reservation recruitment *Only available to new students who have completed the application process at their high school.

Those who applied at their high school before entering university and are selected as candidates ("reserved hire") must complete the necessary procedures in early April immediately after entering university. Please note that your acceptance will be determined after the procedures are completed after entering university.

• New applications for reserved recruitment cannot be made at the university. Those who wish to apply for the position after entering university should apply through (1) On-campus recruitment (regular recruitment) above.
• If you wish to receive support for large families and fit the following criteria, please apply for regular student recruitment.
  
  • Families with three or more dependent children who reserved only loan scholarships while in high school
  • Families with three or more dependent children who did not apply for a reservation while in high school
• If you are having difficulty paying tuition fees (excluding the admission fee) and would like to postpone the payment deadline at the time of admission procedures to university, you can apply for a payment deferral (excluding some support categories; see the table below). However, admission fees cannot be deferred.

[For those whose household finances have suddenly changed]

If your household finances suddenly change and you find yourself in financial difficulty, please contact the Student Affairs Division as soon as possible (within three months at the latest). You may be able to apply for this system.
Examples: the death of the person who is the breadwinner, long-term difficulty in working due to an accident or illness, loss of employment (involuntary), being affected by an earthquake, fire, storm or flood disaster, or when the person enters a facility to escape violence from their parents etc.

Target audience

Those for whom two years have not yet elapsed between the end of the year following the year in which they first graduated (completed) high school and the date they enrolled in a university or other institution (undergraduate students only; graduate students are not eligible).
For example, if you are graduating in March 2023, you are eligible if you enroll by the end of April 2025. If you enroll in April 2026, you are not eligible.

• *For more details, please check here.

Benefit amount/payment method and reduction/exemption amount/reduction/exemption method

(1) Benefit amount and payment method

The amount of the grant varies depending on the support category (see table below) based on the type of school attendance and household income. Support categories are reviewed every October based on the "Eligibility Certification (Household)" conducted. Even if a student's support category is once deemed "ineligible" due to this review, it may be reinstated in the following year's review. Please note that grant scholarships are not provided to students in the "4th Category (Science, Engineering, and Agriculture)" and "Large Family" categories (categories marked with a ★ in the table below).

◆ Benefit amount (monthly: the amount in the table below is paid monthly depending on the support category)

◆Payment method

The benefit amount will be transferred from JASSO to your designated account every month.

(2) Reduction amount/exemption method

Regarding tuition fee reduction/exemption, the amount of reduction/exemption varies depending on the support category in (1).

◆ Reduction amount (annual amount: half of the amount in the table below, depending on the support category, every six months)

① The number of children supported by the breadwinner is two or less

② The breadwinner supports three or more children

◆Reduction method

This will be implemented after you are accepted and after the results of the "Eligibility Certification (Household Finances)" and "Eligibility Certification (Academic)" are known. In principle, the reduced tuition fee will be deducted from the tuition fee withdrawal account registered with the university. However, the reduction method differs depending on the time of acceptance and the time of account registration (※). The entrance fee reduction amount will be transferred in one lump sum in the first semester at the time of enrollment.

<People whose account will be debited after the exemption>
[1st period] New applications must be submitted by April of the current fiscal year, and the position will be accepted by June.
[2nd period] New applications must be submitted by October of the current fiscal year, and the position will be accepted by December.
<Those who will have the full tuition fee deducted by bank transfer and then have the exemption refunded after being selected>
[1st term] Students hired after July of the current fiscal year
[2nd term] Students hired after January of the current fiscal year

Recruitment criteria

1. Standards related to academic performance, etc.

   Applicants must have academic performance in the top half of their class, and must also have the motivation to study.

2. Standards related to household finances

   The student and their breadwinner must be exempt from resident tax or have an equivalent income, and the total amount of assets must be below a certain standard. (There are some exceptions for the "large family" category.)

For more details, please see below. (Updated annually)

• Standards related to academic performance, etc.
• Standards related to household finances

You can roughly check whether you meet the income criteria by using the education funding simulator. Please see below for details.

• Education Funding Simulator

Schedule after hiring (2025 and onwards)

The "New National Educational Support System" is funded by national funds such as taxes, and is based on the law to ensure that particularly talented people who find it extremely difficult to study due to economic reasons will not be forced to give up on pursuing higher education. By providing scholarships that do not have to be repaid, the program supports students' further education.

Therefore, students receiving support must be aware of their status as scholarship students, work hard on their studies, and be sure to follow the prescribed procedures. If you fail to complete the procedures or have poor grades, your scholarship payment may be stopped or you may be asked to return any scholarships you have already received.

Please be sure to check the schedule below and follow the procedures.
​Details of each procedure will be announced on the portal site. Please check the portal site frequently.

• ◆Regarding enrollment reports

  For grant scholarships, enrollment reports are required once a year in April (not required in the first year of acceptance). Enrollment status and commuting method are reported to JASSO.

  The number of dependents and the amount of assets of the breadwinner entered in the enrollment report will be used in the next eligibility certification (household) review. Please note that if there are any input errors, you may not be able to receive the correct support.

• ◆About qualification certification

  Eligibility certification is conducted twice a year (October and March). In October, eligibility certification is conducted to review the support category based on household financial requirements, and in March, eligibility certification is conducted to determine whether support can be continued in the following year based on academic requirements. An explanation session on academic eligibility certification is held every October.