Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship

The programme aims to help such researchers advance their own research while contributing to the progress of research in Japan and the counterpart countries.

The British Academy acts as intermediary to this scheme, which is funded entirely by the JSPS. In its capacity as overseas nominating authority, the British Academy will nominate candidates to JSPS for Fellowships available in 2024. The scheme is intended to support research in all fields of the humanities and social sciences.

Benefits

• JSPS will provide each Fellow with the following support (subject to change):
  • A round-trip air ticket for the Fellow (based on JSPS’s regulations);
  • A monthly maintenance allowance of ¥362,000;
  • A settling-in allowance of ¥200,000 and overseas travel insurance for the Fellow;
  • A research grant (“Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research”) for cooperative research-related expenses, applied for by the Japanese host researcher through their host institution.
• Candidates residing in Japan before the fellowship starts, or who have had residency status in Japan, on or after the awarding of the Fellowship, will not be provided with the following support:
  • A round-trip air ticket for the Fellow
  • A settling-in allowance of ¥200,000.

Duration

• Awards can be held over a period of no less than 12 months and no more than 24 months.
• Successful awards must start on or after 1 April 2024 and no later than 30 November 2024. Please note there will only be one call for applications per year.

Eligibility Criteria

• Each candidate for the Fellowship must:
  • be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands;
  • hold a doctorate degree when the Fellowship goes into effect, which must have been received on or after 2 April 2018, or be scheduled to receive a doctorate degree before the Fellowship goes into effect (regarding researchers who obtained their PhD within six years minus time taken for maternity and /or parental leave: every four weeks of leave is counted as one month, with any remaining weeks also counted as one month. These months are subtracted from the number of years elapsed since the researcher’s PhD was received;
  • have arranged in advance a research plan with a Japanese host researcher employed at a Japanese university/research institution; and
  • submit applications in time for them to be considered before the research is due to begin – awards will not be made retrospectively;
  • Multiple applications for the same program through overseas nominating authorities in the same fiscal year are not allowed.

Ineligible

• The following candidates are not eligible to apply:
  • Those who have previously been awarded a fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan ([Standard(P)] and [Pathway to University positions in Japan (PU)]).
  • Japanese nationals nor those of dual nationality if one is Japanese.
  • Those who have permanent residency in Japan.
  • Medical doctors without a PhD degree.

For more information, visit The British Academy.