SATREPS is a Japanese government program jointly run by JST and JICA for international research partnerships between Japan and developing countries. The FY2027 call covers environment and energy, bioresources, and disaster prevention and mitigation.
Japanese and partner-country researchers conduct joint work in Japan and the partner country to address global issues while strengthening local research capacity. Selection combines scientific review with an assessment of the proposed project as ODA technical cooperation.
Benefits & funding
- Projects run for 3, 4, or 5 years after the provisional period.
- JST provides approximately JPY 35 million per project per year, including indirect costs, capped at JPY 175 million over five years.
- When a JICA project coordinator is dispatched, JICA project-expense caps are JPY 180 million for three years, JPY 240 million for four years, and JPY 300 million for five years.
- JST supports project activity in Japan and outside the counterpart country; JICA covers eligible ODA technical-cooperation costs in the counterpart country, including equipment and researcher travel.
- FY2027 amounts remain subject to approval of the Japanese government budget and may change.
Eligibility
- The principal investigator must be affiliated with a research institution in Japan, be able to lead the project from start to finish, and write the application personally.
- A non-Japanese principal investigator may apply if affiliated with a research institution in Japan; no nationality requirement is stated.
- Principal investigators of ongoing SATREPS projects are generally ineligible when the new provisional period would overlap an existing SATREPS contract or joint-research period.
- The proposal must establish joint research with an eligible ODA-recipient partner country and name principal investigators and implementation structures on both sides.
- The partner-country institution must route an official ODA request through its responsible ministry or agency and the local Japanese embassy; the Japanese proposal and ODA request are both mandatory.
- Projects must fit the FY2027 environment and energy, bioresources, or disaster prevention and mitigation fields; technology transfer alone, simple surveys, or outcomes benefiting only one country are ineligible.
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
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Application process
- 1Agree the project title, objectives, research plan, roles, budget, and duration with the partner-country research institution.
- 2Have the partner-country institution start its government’s ODA-request process early enough for MOFA to receive it by October 13, 2026.
- 3Confirm the Japanese institution and principal investigator are registered in e-Rad, then download and complete Forms 1–9 and the Target Outcomes Sheet.
- 4Combine the required proposal forms into one PDF and submit it through e-Rad by 12:00 noon Japan time on October 19, 2026.
Program timeline
Applications open.
August 18, 2026
Japanese-language information session.
August 25, 2026
MOFA deadline for the partner government’s ODA request.
October 13, 2026
Japanese research-proposal deadline.
October 19, 2026, 12:00 noon Japan time
Document screening.
Early November 2026 to January 2027
Interview invitations.
Mid to late January 2027
Selection interviews.
Mid to late February 2027
Provisional selection notifications after budget approval.
Mid-April 2027 onward
Provisional period begins.
May to June 2027
Deadline to sign the R/D and CRA; research starts on the date stated in those agreements.
End of February 2028