How many applicants fail in the MEXT scholarship varies a lot by country, level, and year, so there is no single global failure number. What is easier to say is that the scholarship is competitive, and in many local application cycles only a small number of candidates are selected; for example, one 2026 report said Japan awarded 11 Pakistani students the MEXT research scholarship that year.

What that means

  • Most applicants do not get selected in a typical MEXT round, especially for research scholarships and embassy-recommended routes.
  • The exact failure rate depends on the embassy or university track, because each country and program has different quotas and screening steps.
  • Some applicants succeed only after multiple tries, which shows the process is difficult but not impossible.

Quick estimate

A precise worldwide failure percentage is not publicly standardized in the sources available here. Based on the small number of awards reported in a country-specific cycle, the selection pool is usually much smaller than the number of applicants, so the failure count is generally most applicants in competitive years.

Practical takeaway

If you are asking whether MEXT is hard, the answer is yes: it is highly selective, and rejection is common. If you want, I can also help estimate the chances for your specific track: undergraduate, research, or embassy recommendation.