MEXT designates a university as an "ISGI" — subject to guidance for improvement — when more than 5% of its international students withdrew, were expelled or went missing in one year for reasons the school is responsible for. The list is published to warn applicants. It exists in Japanese and English only, which is the wrong two languages for most of the people it is meant to protect.
Key facts
- Who publishes it
- MEXT (文部科学省), the education ministry
- Current list
- FY2025 designations, published 19 February 2026
- Schools designated
- 2
- The threshold
- Over 5% of international students lost in one year, school-attributable
- What it covers
- Universities and KOSEN only (School Education Act, Article 1)
- What it does not cover
- Language schools and senmon gakkou — outside the scheme entirely
Universities designated ISGI for FY2025 (2026)
| Institution | International students · school-attributable losses · rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo University of Social Welfare (東京福祉大学) | 2,470 students · 152 lost · 6.2% | MEXT |
| Nagoya Management Junior College (名古屋経営短期大学) | 94 students · 7 lost · 7.4% | MEXT |
| Reference date for enrolment | 1 May 2024 | MEXT |
| Measurement period | April 2024 – March 2025 | MEXT |
Japan publishes a list. Almost nobody it protects can read it.
Every year the education ministry names universities that lost too many international students. Not students who left for their own reasons — students whose departure MEXT judged to be the school’s fault.
The scheme was created by ministerial decision on 26 April 2024 and the current list was published on 19 February 2026. A university is designated an ISGI (改善指導対象校, “institution subject to guidance for improvement”) when, over one year, the number of international students who withdrew, were expelled or went missing for school-attributable reasons exceeds 5% of its international enrolment.
The list is published for one stated purpose: to inform prospective international students. It exists in Japanese and English. The three largest source countries of students in Japan are China, Nepal and Vietnam.
The FY2025 list
Two institutions were designated. Enrolment is measured as of 1 May 2024; losses are counted from April 2024 to March 2025.
Tokyo University of Social Welfare lost 152 of 2,470 international students in ways MEXT attributed to the university — 6.2%. Nagoya Management Junior College lost 7 of 94 — 7.4%.
The percentage matters more than the raw count. A junior college with 94 international students is not a small problem because the number is small; 7.4% is the highest rate on the list.
The five criteria — the part you should actually use
A student’s departure only counts against the school if it meets at least one of five tests. Deaths and sudden family financial collapse are explicitly excluded. These five are what MEXT considers a school’s own failure:
1. Japanese ability. The school admitted the student without properly verifying the required language level — for programmes taught in Japanese, roughly JLPT N2 or above — and then failed to provide language support after enrolment.
2. Ability to pay. The school did not properly verify that the student could cover costs, and the student was later expelled for unpaid tuition.
3. Post-enrolment support. The school clearly failed to provide academic, daily-life, or physical and mental health support.
4. Admissions scoring. The school built its selection so that an applicant’s ability to pay, prior education, or age carried points — and without those points the applicant would not have scored high enough to be admitted.
5. Other. Anything else MEXT judges to be the school’s responsibility.
Read criterion 1 and criterion 4 together and you can see the failure mode the ministry is describing: a school that admits people it knows cannot follow the classes, because they can pay.
How to use this if you are applying anywhere
The list has two names on it. The criteria apply to every school in the country. Turn them into questions and ask them before you accept an offer — of the school, and of any agent representing it:
- What Japanese level do you require for this programme, and how is it verified? If the answer is that no level is required for a Japanese-taught course, criterion 1 is live.
- What language support exists after I enrol, and how many hours a week?
- What happens if I fall behind on tuition? You want to hear about consultation and instalments, not expulsion.
- What proportion of your international students complete the programme? Any school confident of its answer will give you one.
If a recruiter discourages these questions, that tells you what the recruiter is paid for. Our page on study agencies covers how that business actually works.
What the list does not tell you
Three limits, stated plainly, because the danger of a government list is that people read it as more than it is.
It is not a safety certificate. The threshold is 5%. A university that lost 4.9% of its international students in a year — one in twenty — is not designated and is not named.
It does not cover language schools or senmon gakkou. The scheme applies to universities and technical colleges under Article 1 of the School Education Act. If you are heading to a Japanese language school, this list is silent, and you should be reading the accredited-school list instead.
Designation is a starting point, not a verdict. A designated school stays open and comes under continuing ministry supervision. Some will improve and leave the list. The designation tells you a real thing about the past year; it does not predict your own experience.
We will keep this current
MEXT updates the designation annually. This page carries whatever the latest published list says, with the publication date shown, so you can tell at a glance whether you are reading current information. If the date above is more than a year old, check the MEXT source directly.
Common mistakes & warnings
- Designation is not a finding of fraud and does not close a school. It means MEXT calculated a school-attributable loss rate above 5% and will now supervise the school's improvement. Schools can be designated one year and not the next.
- Not being on the list does not mean a school is safe. The bar is 5% — a university that lost 1 in every 21 of its international students is below the line and is not named.
- If you are applying to a language school or a senmon gakkou, this list is silent about you. It only covers Article 1 universities and technical colleges. Do not read an absence as clearance.
Frequently asked questions
Is my language school on this list?
It cannot be. The scheme covers only universities and KOSEN under Article 1 of the School Education Act. Language schools are supervised separately, as 法務省告示機関 — see our [accredited school list](/en/study/accredited-japanese-language-schools/) for how that vetting works instead.
I already have an offer from a school on the list. What now?
It is not a reason to panic and not a reason to ignore. Take the five criteria below and ask the school directly: what Japanese level did you require of me, and what support exists after I arrive? A school under active MEXT guidance has a strong incentive to answer well. If the answers are vague, that is your signal.
Why does the list matter if it only has two names?
Because of what the criteria reveal. The number one reason a dropout counts against a school is that it admitted a student without properly checking Japanese ability — and then did not support them. That failure mode is common far below the 5% line. The criteria are a checklist you can use at any school.
Where is the official list?
MEXT publishes it in Japanese and English, and JASSO mirrors it on Study in Japan. Both are linked in the sources. We translate it because the students most exposed to this — the largest source countries are China, Nepal and Vietnam — cannot read either version.
Official sources
- MEXT — ISGI designation (Japanese, primary source) (2026-07-24)
- MEXT — ISGI designation (English) (2026-07-24)
- MEXT — Guideline on administrative guidance, 26 April 2024 (2026-07-24)
- Study in Japan (JASSO) — ISGI page (2026-07-24)
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.