Call for Applications: ASEAN-Japan Young Experts Fellowship Program

Deadline: 15 June 2025

The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) is pleased to launch the inaugural ASEAN-Japan Young Experts Fellowship Program to support young and emerging researchers from ASEAN Member States and Japan through small-scale research grants and a platform for cross-border, interdisciplinary exchange.

This initiative encourages interdisciplinary research, regional cooperation, and innovative approaches to shared challenges by awarding research grants and facilitating public dissemination of findings.

Objectives

Promote ASEAN-Japan economic cooperation through policy-relevant research

Strengthen institutional linkages and dialogue among researchers

Drive innovation in addressing regional socio-economic and environmental challenges

Topics

Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)/Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Utilization between Japan and ASEAN member state/s

Decarbonization

AI Governance

AI and Workforce Development

Green Supply Chain

Circular Economy

Sustainable Tourism

Renewable Energy

Carbon Trading

Digital Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs

Funding Information

Grant Amount: ¥150,000 per research project

Number of Awards: 4 grants available

Duration: June 2025 – March 2026

Uses of the Fund

Only for direct project-related expenses (e.g., data collection, tools, publication materials).

Ineligible Costs

Salaries/honoraria for you or your collaborators

University/institution overhead/administration

Equipment for general use (e.g., laptops, cameras, etc.)

Travel and visa costs to Japan (AJC does not provide research sponsorship in Japan)

Expected Outputs

Webinar Presentation

Each grantee will present their findings in a public webinar organized by AJC or co-hosted with the researcher’s institution.

AJC will cover all webinar-related costs.

Webinar schedules will be coordinated but must be completed by March 30, 2026.

Working Research Paper or Policy Brief

Language: English

Length: 3,000 to 5,000 words

Published on the AJC website (open access)

AJC will hold no copyright; full attribution to authors

Eligibility Criteria

Be a national of an ASEAN Member State or Japan.

Be a researcher (academic within 5 years from PhD acquisition, early-career professionals with significant experience in the ASEAN-Japan region of 5-10 years, policy-focused, or applied) currently affiliated with a university, think tank or other organization and capable of completing the project by March 31, 2026.

Submit a research proposal that contributes to ASEAN-Japan cooperation in one or more of the approved topics.

Commit to the required outputs (see “Deliverables”).

Ensure that your research is non-commercial and not commissioned by a third party.

Both new and ongoing research projects (if fit for publication by March 2026) are eligible.

If applying with co-authors, one main researcher should apply as the main correspondent.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on:

Eligibility

Relevance and originality of the research proposal

Feasibility within the grant period and budget

Contribution to ASEAN-Japan cooperation or regional development

Application Requirements