Hello,
I have been wandering in this forum for a while to get information about mext scholarship.. Since I have gotten so many useful information, I think I should also share what I know...

So I've been called to join written test for research student in my country last Monday (18 June). For english section, the type is similar with the test in 2007-2009. While the Japanese section is similar with 2007-2008 test, where it was divided into 3 part (A, B, C). I hope it could help for those who are still preparing for the exam...
This year they have some changes in selection mechanism, such as:
- Those who applied with TOEFL are required to do the english exam first, while those who applied with JLPT are required to do the japanese exam
- Time for english exam is 1 hour, while for japanese is 2 hours
- Not all writing exam participant will be called for interview. The result of writing exam will determine whether you're going to the interview or not. This is different with last years (from what I heard), where you are guaranteed to join both writing exam and interview once you passed document screening.
But maybe those changes (especially the last one) only happen in my country, where the applicants is so massive..? I'm not sure.. It would be nice to know the system in other country, then.
Thus, I'm anxiously waiting for the result of writing test which will be announced in two weeks.
The last time I got 84 and they said I needed 95 - it was the 2010 test
95...? That is such a high standard...!