12 JSPS has concluded agreements with 82 counterpart organizations, including two international agencies, in 43 countries. Under them, about 9,000 researchers are dispatched and received each year. In recent discussions with leading science promotion agencies at meetings of the G8 Heads of Research Councils (G8-HORCs) and Heads of Research Councils in Asia (A-HORCs), views are exchanged on the rapidly changing international environment and the need to support basic research in fields of high future importance and to foster researchers capable of advancing such work. Accordingly, JSPS is shifting the paradigm of its international programs from a heretofore bilateral format to the creation of multilateral networks particularly with advanced nations, while strengthening research partnerships with Asian countries. As another outcome of these discussions, JSPS has established an International Program Committee that works to imbue JSPS’s selection and assessment procedures with international concepts and standards. The ultimate aim is to improve the cost- performance of grants awarded to jointly adopted research projects. These new selection and assessment standards are also being introduced to strengthen the international competitiveness of Japanese university. To help universities plan and implement activities that meet high global standards, a program has been launched to establish international strategy headquarters within them. JSPS’s executives participate in summits attended by representatives of the world’s top science-promotion agencies. In them, free discussions, unfettered by concern for protocol or official titles, are held and views exchanged from a range of perspec- tives on areas of common interest. Heads of Research Councils of G8 Countries (G8-HORCs) Meetings of the G8-HORCs are held once a year to bring together top leaders of principal science- promotion agencies in the G8-member countries (i.e., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK, and the US) for the purpose of holding free discussions on topics of common interest. Based on views exchanged in these discussions, JSPS launched its research hub-building “Core-to-Core Program,” “Japanese-German Graduate Externship Program,” and other cooperative initiatives. Heads of Research Councils in Asia (A-HORCs) A-HORCs gives top executives of principal science-promotion agencies in China, Korea and Japan an opportunity to meet and engage in a candid exchange of views on issues related to S&T policy in their respective countries. Initially proposed by JSPS, these meetings have been held each year from 2003. Discussions in them have yielded various tangible outcomes including the establishment of the “A3 Foresight Program,” jointly implemented by JSPS and partner agencies in China and Korea. 24th G8-HORCs Meeting in Canada, May 2005 3rd A-HORCs Meeting in Korea, November 2005 International Collaborations
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JSPS has concluded agreements with 82 counterpart organizations, including two international agencies, in 43 countries. Under them, about 9,000 researchers are dispatched and received each year.
In recent discussions with leading science promotion agencies at meetings of the G8 Heads of Research Councils (G8-HORCs) and Heads of Research Councils in Asia (A-HORCs), views are exchanged on the rapidly changing international environment and the need to support basic research in fields of high future importance and to foster researchers capable of advancing such work. Accordingly, JSPS is shifting the paradigm of its international programs from a heretofore bilateral format to the creation of multilateral networks particularly with advanced nations, while strengthening research partnerships with Asian countries.
As another outcome of these discussions, JSPS has established an International Program Committee that works to imbue JSPS’s selection and assessment procedures with international concepts and standards. The ultimate aim is to improve the cost-performance of grants awarded to jointly adopted research projects.
These new selection and assessment standards are also being introduced to strengthen the international competitiveness of Japanese university. To help universities plan and implement activities that meet high global standards, a program has been launched to establish international strategy headquarters within them.
JSPS’s executives participate in summits attended by representatives of the world’s top science-promotion agencies. In them, free discussions, unfettered by
concern for protocol or official titles, are held and views exchanged from a range of perspec-tives on areas of common interest.
Heads of Research Councils of G8 Countries (G8-HORCs)
Meetings of the G8-HORCs are held once a year to bring together top leaders of principal science-promotion agencies in the G8-member countries (i.e., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK, and the US) for the purpose of holding free discussions on topics of common interest. Based on views exchanged in these discussions, JSPS launched its research hub-building “Core-to-Core Program,” “Japanese-German Graduate Externship Program,” and other cooperative initiatives.
Heads of Research Councils in Asia (A-HORCs)
A-HORCs gives top executives of principal science-promotion agencies in China, Korea and Japan an opportunity to meet and engage in a candid exchange of views on issues related to S&T policy in their respective countries. Initially proposed by JSPS, these meetings have been held each year from 2003. Discussions in them have yielded various tangible outcomes including the establishment of the “A3 Foresight Program,” jointly implemented by JSPS and partner agencies in China and Korea.
24th G8-HORCs Meeting in Canada, May 2005 3rd A-HORCs Meeting in Korea, November 2005
International Collaborations
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North/South American, European and Oceanian Countries
Integrated Action InitiativesResearch Content Core Institutions in Japan Country Partner Research Institutions
Hokkaido University(Field Science Center for NorthernBiosphere)
Martin Luther UniversityHalle-Wittenberg
The University of Tokyo(Institute of Industrial Science)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Paul Scherrer Institute
University of Pisa
University of Cologne
Stanford UniversityThe Scripps Research Institute
German Cancer Research CenterJuelich Research CenterDaresbury Laboratory
CNRS/ThalesUniversity of AlabamaFree University of Berlin
Tokyo Women's Medical University(Institute of Advancd BiomedicalEngineering and Science)
Harvard Medical School,Brigham&Women's Hospital
Los Alamos National LaboratoryUniversity of Regensburg
Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale
HTWK Leipzig
University of Paris-SouthEuropean Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions LourdsUnivesity of Jyvaskyla
University of Padova
Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung
Nagoya University(Graduate School of Science)
The University of Tokyo(International Center for Elementary Particle Physics)
Kinki University (School of Biology-OrientedScience and Technology)
Osaka University
Hiroshima University (Graduate School of Science)
Osaka University
Hokkaido University
The University of Tokyo(Graduate School of Science)
Symptoms of Enviromental Changes in Permafrost Area of Siberia Taiga
Environmentally Sound Active Metal Process
Lepton Flavor Physics Using World's Most Intense DC Muon Beam
Interstellar Medium in Sub-mm Waves and Gamma Rays
Human Disease-related Functional Glycomics Initiative
Innovative Synthesis of Novel Main-Group Compounds
Protein Structure and Dynamics from Pressure-Axis Experiments
Computational Nano-Materials Design
Advanced Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Knowledge Media Technologies for Advanced Utilization and Distribution of Knowledge Resources
International Research Network for Exotic Femto Systems
Germany
USA
Switzerland
Italy
Germany
USA
USAGermany
GermanyUK
FranceUSA
Germany
USA
USAGermany
EU
France
Italy
Germany
Finland
USA
France
Germany
France
The purpose of these international exchanges is to give Japan a place, as one of the world’s leading centers of excellence, at the vanguard of global scientific research. It is also to develop and strengthen Japan’s relationship as an equal partner with the world’s most advanced research communities.
So as to respond both strategically and flexibly to the increasing complexity and diversification of scientific research over recent years, JSPS is retooling its international programs in the following directions:• From bilateral to multilateral exchanges• From exchanges that cover all disciplines in a targeted
academic area to exchanges that focus on prioritized disciplines and that are cross-disciplinary
• Toward fostering and securing talented young researchers.
1. Networking Research Hubs
Core-to-Core Program
This program works to create and strengthen net-
working for multilateral collaboration among the most advanced research institutions in cutting-edge fields of science.
The program is implemented in two phases: The first is called “Integrated Action Initiatives,” and the second “Strategic Research Networks.” Projects conducted under the first phase can be elevated to the second.
Integrated Action Initiative Projects: The object of these projects is to establish networks between research institutions in Japan and counterpart institutions in North America, Europe and Oceania.
Strategic Research Network Projects: Once effective, sustainable networks have been established, these projects work to advance them further into international research hubs.
Japanese and German universities cooperate in fostering future scientists by creating mutual curricula and providing cross-mentoring to doctoral students in each other’s graduate programs. The program is cosponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Each year, six graduate students from each country are exchanged between the universities. The participating students take the initiative in planning and organizing their own joint seminars. Faculty members are also dispatched to provide research guidance at counterpart universities.
Frontiers of Science (FoS) Symposia
Their series of bilateral symposia feature cross-disciplinary discussions aimed at finding new matrices of knowledge, while imbuing future leaders of the higher
education establishment with wider academic perspec-tives. They are implemented together with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the US; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) in Germany; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), Ministère de I'Éducation Nationale, de I'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche (MENESR), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France.
The symposia are attended by 60-80 young researchers (30-40 from each country), who lodge together for a period of three days.
Strategic Research Networks
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyHarvard UniversityInstitute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies
University of CambridgeKatholieke Universteit LeuvenArgonne National Laboratory
Ultrafast Intense Laser Science
Laval UniversityFrench Atomic Energy Commission, SaclayFriedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena
Italy Palermo University
University of StrathclydeUSA Temple University
Harvard UniversityUniversity of TorontoInstitute of Molecular PathologyEuropean Southern Observatory
University of Cambridge
GermanyUSAItaly
UKEU
USACanadaFrance
Germany
UK
USACanada Austria
Germany
UKUSA Space Telescope Science Institute
The University of Tokyo(Graduate School of Science)
National Institute of Natural Sciences(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)
Advanced Molecular Pathophysiology of Bone and Cartilage Diseases
Tokyo Medical and Dental University(Medical Research Institute)
Primate Origins of Human EvolutionKyoto University(Primate Research Institute)
Nano-Science and Engineeringin Superconductivity
University of Tsukuba(Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences)
Establishment of Japanese Virtual Observatory
Research Content Core Institutions in Japan Country Partner Research Institutions
Discussion at the 8th Japanese-American FoS Symposium
University of Melbourne
University of LeedsUniversity of Florida
Duke UniversityUniversity of Padova
Hiroshima University(Graduate School of Science)
University of Rennes I
Kyoto University(Graduate School of Engineering)
Tokyo Institute of Technology(Graduate School of Science and Engineering)
Lund UniversityKeio University(School of Medicine)
Multifunctional Molecular Materials and Device Applications
Advanced Particle Handling Science
Arithmetic Geometry, Motive, Galois Theory, and its Practical Applications
Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine
Australia
UKUSA
USAItaly
University of Paris IIFrance
Sweden
France
Research Content Core Institutions in Japan Country Partner Research Institutions
Bilateral Core Collaboration
Large-scale joint research projects are implemented through the Bilateral Core Program with the Academy of Finland.
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ESF-JSPS Frontier Science Conference Series for Young Researchers
These conferences, carried out in cooperation with the European Science Foundation (ESF), provide young European and Japanese researchers with an opportunity to receive lectures from and engage in discussions with leading international experts in the subject field. They allow the participants to sharpen their perception of future prospects in the field, while building peer networks. The participants lodge together for a period of one week.
SAKURA Program
This program is designed to give newly tenured French and Japanese researchers an advantage in starting up their own laboratories. It facilitates networking and new research initiatives by and between the young researchers.
Traditional Collaboration Format
Joint research projectsDuration: two to three yearsImplementation: research team collaboration
Joint seminarsDuration: up to one weekVenue: either Japan or the counterpart country
Researcher exchangesSupport study visits aimed at finding colleagues with whom to initiate joint research in the counterpart country.
3. New Initiatives
In response to recent S&T global trends, JSPS has estab-lished new bilateral programs with clearly defined objectives.
JSPS-CIHR Joint Health Research Program
Based on an agreement with Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), joint research is supported in fields of health care and medicine with an aim to build-ing sustainable networks and expanding collaboration among Japanese and Canadian research teams.
CHORUS Program
Implemented with French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), this program supports internationally front-running Japanese and French researchers in fields of the humanities and social sciences in an effort to find solutions to problems confronting contemporary society.
AYAME Program
Implemented with the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA), this program provides follow-up funding to excellent projects in the computer science field that demonstrated successful Japanese-French collaboration.
Frontiers of Science Symposia http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fos/index.html
ESF-JSPS Frontier Science Conference Series for Young Researchershttp://www.jsps.go.jp/j-bilat/esf-jsps/index.html
Signing agreement with New Zealand Ministry of Research, Science and Technology(MoRST)
Project operation
3rd seminar on “Climate Change” held in Sweden, June 2006
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The purpose of these programs is to develop Asia into a world-class research hub on par with those of the US and Europe. Their primary objective is over the long term to create equal partnerships between Japan and its counterpart countries in Asia.
Sharply focused programs, tailored to contemporary conditions or research priorities in the counterpart countries, are carried out to advance cooperative research and foster young researchers.
1. Creating Research Hubs
Core University Program
This program provides a framework for international cooperative research in specifically designated fields and topics, conducted around universities designated as "core universities" in Japan and the counterpart Asian countries.
Under the program, universities and collaborating individual researchers conduct joint research with clear-cut objectives on sharply focused topics. Such joint research takes the form of both bilateral and multilateral collaborations.
A3 Foresight Program
JSPS, the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) work as a consortium in supporting trilateral research projects with an aim to establishing a top-level research hub in Asia. The research theme for each fiscal year is decided via consultation among the three agencies. Each agency provides the equivalent of up to ¥30 million over a 3-year period.
Asian CORE Program
Based on a principle of equal partnership among the participating countries, this program works to build Asian research hubs that conduct world-class research while fostering new generations of talented young scientists. Focus is placed on research themes considered to be leading edge in Japan or that have strong international importance.
JSPS invests up to ¥60 million (¥12 million per year) per project over a 5-year period.
Asia-Africa Science Platform Program
Under this program, Japanese research institutions take the lead in building research hubs and fostering young researchers in the counterpart countries. Research themes are those specific to Asia or Africa and of special importance to those regions.
JSPS allocates up to ¥15 million (¥5 million per year) in support of projects over a 3-year period.
Multilateral core university project on coastal marine science led by the University of Tokyo
Core university project on microbial resources between Yamaguchi University and Kasetsart University
Asian and African Countries
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2. Human Resource Development
RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Program
This program supports Asian scholars who wish to obtain a doctorate from a Japanese university through the submission of a dissertation, without going through a doctoral course.
Asian Science Seminars
With an aim at elevating the standard of research and fostering able researchers in counterpart countries, this program provides opportunities for young Asian researchers to receive training in fields on the cutting edge of scientific endeavor.
3. Strategic Program for Building Asian S&T Community
This is a 5-year program, launched in the current fiscal year. It builds upon the networks cultivated by JSPS with Asian partner countires over long years. This program seeks to give Japan a leading role in building science and technology community in the Asian region.
4. Bilateral Exchanges
Joint research projects, seminars and researcher exchanges are carried out by way of agreements with counterpart countries in Asia. (See operational chart for project implementation on page 15.)
Research on Great Earthquake Occurrence Process in Plate Subduction Zones in Asia
Recent Developments in Control of Infectious Diseases: from Fundamental Understanding to Application
Subaru Asia Youth School on Synergic Observation with Large to Small Telescopes at Frontier of Progress in Astronomy
26 September-5 October 2005 (10 days)
20-23 December 2005 (4 days)
12-18 March 2006 (7 days)
Nagoya, Japan
Tianjin, China
Hawaii, USA (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)
JSPSNagoya University
JSPSChinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)University of TokyoInstitute of Biophysics, CASInstitute of Microbiolgy, CAS
JSPSNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan
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This scheme gives opportunities for excellent researchers from around the world to come to Japan to conduct scientific collaboration with their Japanese colleagues.
Features
JSPS offers fellowship programs geared to each stage in a researcher’s career. These programs are
• Open to applicants around the world• Tailored to a full spectrum of researchers from
young researchers to eminent scientists• Given flexible durations from short to long terms • Mostly given multiple application periods during
the year• Applied to all fields of research including the
humanities, social sciences and natural sciences• Made available to all universities and research
institutions in Japan
1. JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Foreign Researchers(1) Postdoctoral Fellowships for Foreign Researchers
This program allows researchers affiliated with Japanese universities or research institutes to invite promising young researchers from overseas to Japan to participate in collaborative research activities at their institutions for 1-2 years. The fellowship includes a travel grant and monthly stipend of ¥392,000.
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship(Short-term) for North Americanand European ResearchersPre/Postdocs 15 days-11 months
JSPS Summer Program Pre/Postdocs
2 months
Career Stages of Researchers
(Enrollment in doctoral course)Acquisition of doctoral degree
6 years after obtainingdoctoral degree Mid-career Professor Nobel Prize level
JSPS Invitation Fellowshipfor Research in Japan (Long-term)
Mid-career to professor level 2-10 months
JSPS Invitation Fellowship forResearch in Japan (Short-term)Professor, assistant professor
Up to 2 months
JSPS Award forEminent Scientists
Nobel Prize level
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign ResearchersPostdocs1-2 years
Fellowships for Overseas Researchers
Dr. El-Qady with host researcher Prof. Ushijima at Kyushu University
Fellow-Support ServicesPostdoc fellows receive new-arrival orientations and Japanese language study support from JSPS Fellows Plaza. JSPS’s newsletter “JSPS Quarterly” and the book Life in Japan for Foreign Researchers are also provided free-of-charge to the fellows.
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(2) Postdoctoral Fellowship (Short-term) for North American and European Researchers
Young pre- and postdoctoral researchers come to Japan for relatively short tenures (from 15 days through 11 months) to conduct joint research at a Japanese institution. Researchers from the following countries are eligible: the US, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Italy, Finland, the other European Union countries, Switzerland and Norway. The fellowship includes a travel grant and monthly stipend of ¥392,000.
JSPS Summer Program
Young pre- and postdoctoral researchers from the US, Canada, France, Germany and the UK are invited to Japan for 2 months during the summer to participate in joint research at a Japanese institution. The fellowship includes a travel grant and stipend of ¥534,000.
Under this program, JSPS fellows volunteer to give presentation in English at Japanese high schools on their research activities, the culture of their home countries, and other topics of student interest. This program gives fellows a good opportunity to interact with the local community, while exposing the students to international communication, fostering in them scientific curiosity at an early stage.
Dr. Pavel Baroch (Nagoya University) giving a presentation at Iwata Minami High School in Shizuoka
FY2005 Overseas FellowshipDistribution by Region
FY2005 Overseas FellowshipDistribution by Research FieldBiological, agriculturaland medical sciences 519 fellows30.5%
2. JSPS Invitation Fellowships for Research in Japan
This program invites researchers at mid-career or above to Japan for 14-60 days to hold discussions and give lectures, and for 2-10 months to conduct joint research on specific themes.
The fellowship includes a travel grant and monthly stipend of ¥369,000 for long-term (¥18,000 per day for short-term).
Eligibility:
• Be a citizen of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan
• Hold a doctoral degree for at least 6 years, or have equivalent professional experience (desirable for long-term visits)
• Be a professor, assistant professor, or have substantial professional experience (desirable for short-term visits)
WebsitesJSPS Fellows Plaza http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-plaza/index.html
Postdoctoral Fellowships for Foreign Researchers (Standard; Short-term for North American and European Researchers) http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/postdoctoral.html
Summer Program http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-summer/index.html
Invitation Fellowships for Research in Japanhttp://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-inv/main.htm
Award for Eminent Scientistshttp://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-awards/index.html
How to apply:Japanese host researchers apply to JSPS
or Overseas researchers apply to a nominating authority in their home country. (See list on pages 28-29.)
Dr. Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov (third from left)(2003 Nobel Prize for Physics) invited by Tsukuba University
Dr. Michelo Syanyana Syakalima with host researcher Prof. Maede Yoshimitsu at Hokkaido University
3. JSPS Award for Eminent Scientists
Researchers with highly distinguished records of pioneering achievement are invited to make multiple trips to Japan over a period of up to one year. They use these visits to offer guidance and advice on the full spectrum of research activities at Japanese institu-tions. Awards include travels, per-diem (¥42,000) and family allowances.
Budget FY2006: ¥7 billion
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This program seeks to establish and promote campus-wide international strategies and infrastructures tailored to the unique institutional characteristics of each Japanese university. The Ministry of Education and Science (MEXT) has entrusted this program to JSPS and the Japan International Science and Technology Exchange Center (JISTEC). In turn, they pass its implementation on to 20 MEXT-selected pilot universities, which establish “international strategy headquarters” and carry out institution-wide international activities. JSPS takes successful pilot program results, good practices of overseas universities and other inputs, and uses them to develop highly effective international strategy models, ones which other universities may consider in designing their own innovative programs.
Strategic Fund for Establishing International Headquarters in Universities
JSPS defrays the cost of international research meetings held in Japan in an amount of up to ¥3.5 million per meeting. It also provides 300 travel grants per year to help Japanese researchers attend overseas conferences.
