Funding

Fully Funded

Program dates

Apr 1, 2027

Fellowship•Japan

JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan (Standard)

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

Application Deadline

August 28, 2026

Official Page

The Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan (Standard) are run by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan’s national research funding agency. The program places early-career researchers from abroad at a Japanese university or research institute for 12 to 24 months of joint research under a host researcher there. Two recruitment rounds run for each fiscal year, and each round awards 120 fellowships across all academic fields. JSPS pays a monthly allowance, international airfare, a settling-in allowance and travel insurance, and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research is available for the cost of the research itself. The application is filed by the head of the Japanese host institution rather than by the candidate, so securing a host researcher is the first step. Researchers in twenty countries can instead be nominated by a national research council or academy.

Benefits & funding

  • Maintenance allowance of JPY 362,000 per month
  • Settling-in allowance of JPY 200,000
  • A round-trip air ticket, issued under JSPS regulations
  • Overseas travel insurance
  • A Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, available to cover the expenses of the joint research
  • Fellowship tenure of 12 to 24 months
  • 120 fellowships in each of the two FY2027 rounds

Eligibility

  • Citizen of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan
  • Holds a doctoral degree obtained within six years of the date the fellowship takes effect — on or after 2 April of the sixth year before that fiscal year — or expects to receive the doctorate by the fellowship start date
  • The six-year window is extended for maternity or parental leave, counted as one month for every four weeks taken
  • Japanese citizens, and foreign nationals holding permanent residence in Japan, cannot apply
  • Anyone who has already been awarded and started a fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Research in Japan — the Standard track or the Pathway to University Positions in Japan track — cannot apply again
  • A host researcher must agree to receive the candidate, at a university, college of technology or designated research facility recognised under Japan’s MEXT rules
  • The host is a full-time researcher at that institution, and is eligible to apply for KAKENHI research grants; institutions may approve limited exceptions for researchers who are not full time
  • Each host researcher may submit at most three applications per round
  • Open to all fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences; no age limit is set

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Application process

  1. 1
    Find a host researcher at an eligible Japanese university or research institute and agree a joint research plan with them.
  2. 2
    Check whether your country has a JSPS overseas nominating authority. Twenty countries are covered — Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States — along with the United Nations University. Candidates there apply through that body under its own procedure and deadline.
  3. 3
    Everyone else uses the open call: the host researcher completes FORM1 in the JSPS Electronic Application System, the candidate completes FORM2, and a recommender adds a letter of one page, in English or Japanese.
  4. 4
    The head of the host institution submits the application to JSPS by the published deadline. Institutions commonly set an internal deadline more than a month earlier, so ask the host about it early.
  5. 5
    Six examiners score each application in a document review, on a scale of 1 to 5 running from poor to superlative, weighing research achievements, the research plan, research capacity, the future potential of the work and the new research networks it would build.
  6. 6
    Applications that clear the document review go to a panel review, which selects a set number of candidates in each review section.
  7. 7
    Results are published, and successful candidates travel to Japan within the arrival window for their round.

Program timeline

  1. First-round application deadline, 5 p.m. JST, submitted by the host institution

    Aug 28, 2026

  2. 2026-12

    First-round selection results published, late December

  3. Arrival window for first-round fellows opens

    Apr 1, 2027

  4. Second-round application deadline, 5 p.m. JST

    Apr 23, 2027

  5. 2027-08

    Second-round selection results published, early August

  6. Arrival window for second-round fellows opens

    Sep 1, 2027

  7. Arrival window for first-round fellows closes

    Sep 30, 2027

  8. Arrival window for second-round fellows closes

    Nov 30, 2027