The Japanese Language Institutions Accreditation Act took effect in April 2024, moving the vetting of language schools from Ministry of Justice notification to MEXT accreditation. Four rounds have been announced through April 2026 — 96 schools in total, against roughly 850 existing notified schools, of which only 41 have converted. The transition runs to March 31, 2029, and notified schools remain fully legal hosts for student visas until then — so "not yet accredited" does not mean a bad school, while "accredited" is a genuine extra layer of official quality review. School-picking is a three-step lookup: the accreditation portal first, the notification list second, and if a school appears on neither, walk away.
Key facts
- New vetting authority
- MEXT (accreditation system, since April 2024)
- Accredited so far
- 96 schools (through April 2026, four rounds)
- Former notified schools accredited
- 41 of roughly 850 (about 5%)
- Transition deadline
- March 31, 2029
- Authoritative list
- The MEXT accreditation portal
Accreditation rounds at a glance (2024–2026)
| Round | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 (October 2024) | 72 applied → 22 accredited · First batch under the new system | MEXT |
| Round 2 (March 2025) | 48 applied → 19 accredited | MEXT |
| Round 3 (October 2025) | 74 applied → 23 accredited | MEXT |
| Round 4 (April 30, 2026) | 100 applied → 32 accredited, 22 of them former notified schools — the conversion wave has begun | MEXT |
| Cumulative (April 2026) | 96 accredited, including 41 former notified schools | MEXT |
| Transition rule | Notified schools may keep hosting student-visa students until March 31, 2029; after that, accredited schools only | MEXT |
The gatekeeper changed: from Justice Ministry notification to MEXT accreditation
For decades the only test of whether a language school was “legitimate” was a single list: the Ministry of Justice notified schools register — in essence a visa-administration roster that said little about teaching quality. When the Japanese Language Institutions Accreditation Act took effect in April 2024, the gatekeeper became MEXT: accreditation reviews the curriculum, teacher credentials (the new national Registered Japanese Language Teacher qualification) and school governance, and schools that pass become accredited Japanese language institutions. For students, it is the first list where the government has also checked the teaching.
Three things the four rounds tell you
| # | Signal | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The pace is slow | Four rounds have accredited just 96 schools against roughly 850 notified ones — only about 5% have converted |
| 2 | Notified schools are moving | In round 4, 58 of 100 applications and 22 of 32 passes were notified schools — the wait-and-see phase is over |
| 3 | The clock does not add up | With the transition ending March 2029, two rounds a year at twenty-odd passes each cannot process 850 schools |
What this list really is: a preview of which schools will still be at the table in three years.
How to use the list when choosing
We have compiled all 96 accredited schools into a filterable full database — name, location, round, capacity, officially published tuition and intake months on one page, no official PDFs to dig through. The lookup runs in three steps:
| Step | Do this | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Search the school in the 96-school database or the accreditation portal | Found → accredited, the strongest endorsement |
| 2 | If absent, check the Immigration Services Agency notification list | Found → enrolling before March 2029 is legal; ask about the school’s accreditation progress |
| 3 | On neither list | It cannot get you a student visa — change schools immediately |
Run these steps alongside the on-the-ground checks in choosing a language school and the caution list in study agencies — listen to agents if you like, but do the lookups yourself.
Japanese you will use on this page (tap ▶)
| 入学案内をもらえますか。 Nyūgaku annai o moraemasu ka. Could I get the admissions guide? | |
| 授業料の締め切りはいつですか。 Jugyōryō no shimekiri wa itsu desu ka. When is the tuition deadline? | |
| 在学証明書が一通ほしいです。 Zaigaku shōmeisho ga ittsū hoshii desu. I need one enrollment certificate. |
Audio synthesized with VOICEVOX:Meimei Himari at standard pace for shadowing; real conversations run faster and carry accents.
Common mistakes & warnings
- There is exactly one authoritative list — the live register on the MEXT accreditation portal. The batch table on this page is a snapshot; accreditations are announced roughly twice a year (spring and autumn), and once a new round is out, the portal wins.
- When an agency or school claims to be "government accredited", ask for the accreditation details and search the school name on the portal yourself — if it does not come up, it is not accredited, however polished the brochure.
- Do not let the reverse scare you either — until March 31, 2029, schools on the notification list host student-visa students entirely legally, and "not yet accredited" often just means not yet reviewed. But a "school" on neither list cannot get you a student residence status — walk away.
Frequently asked questions
What is the actual difference between accreditation and notification?
Notification is the Ministry of Justice (immigration) list built for visa administration — it governs whether a school may host international students. Accreditation is MEXT's educational-quality review under the 2024 law, covering curriculum, teacher credentials (the new national Registered Japanese Language Teacher qualification) and governance. During the transition both can host student visas; from April 2029, only accredited schools.
The school I want is not on the accredited list — should I give up on it?
Check the notification list first — if it is there, enrolling now is legal and a 1–2 year course mostly fits inside the transition window; then ask whether the school has publicly filed for accreditation (58 notified schools applied in round 4 alone). If it appears on neither list, give up — no exceptions.
If my school does not get accredited while I am enrolled, does my visa suffer?
Under the current framework, enrolled students' residence status during the transition is not affected by whether the school has been accredited yet; follow official announcements for later arrangements. The practical rule — the closer your course end date sits to 2029, the more you should prefer schools already accredited or publicly in the application pipeline.
Official sources
- MEXT — accreditation results for Japanese language institutions (2026-07-18) — Per-round accreditation announcements with school-list PDFs
- Japanese Language Institutions Accreditation Act portal (2026-07-18) — Live register of accredited schools with per-school detail — the authoritative lookup
- jepo — round 4 results analysis (2026-07-18) — Industry analysis (unofficial) — basis for the ~850 notified school count and conversion-pace math
This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules change; always confirm details with the official sources listed above before making decisions.