Funding

From the year 2023-2024, all applications should be digitally submitted and applicants should register to make an account for the procedures.

Japan Foundation London Grant Programme（2025-2026)

Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Fellowship Programmes (2026-2027)
Japanese Studies Fellowship Programme

Fellowship Programmes in Collaboration with the Japan Foundation
JF-Nichibunken Fellowship Programme
JF-CIJS EAJS Fellowship Programme
2025 JF-GJS Fellowship Programme

Japan Foundation Japanese Studies and International Dialogue Funding Programmes (2026-2027)
Grant Programme for Japanese Studies Projects
Programme for Specialists in Cultural and Academic Fields

Japan Foundation London Grant Programme (Japanese Studies & Intellectual Exchange) 2025-2026

This programme is designed to provide grant assistance to projects (e.g. lectures, workshops, conferences) in any discipline of the humanities and social sciences that have a significant Japan element, or involve collaboration with Japanese researchers/practitioners.

Projects must take place in the UK to be eligible for support and applications can only be accepted from not-for-profit organisations in the UK.

Priority:

Priority will be given to projects that fall under one or more of the following descriptions:

1. 1. Projects that will bring together researchers/ practitioners from a variety of disciplines and sectors that are relevant to Japan
2. 2. Projects organised by, and/or involving core participation by, early career researchers/ practitioners
3. 3. Projects that will nurture diverse interests in Japan among future generations in the UK

Applications for preliminary project development will be considered as long as such projects include some of the above elements.

Grant coverage:

Only specific items such as travel expenses, honoraria, venue hire, printing/publicity costs etc. which are deemed to be essential in order to carry out the project.

Successful applicants may be granted up to £1500. As successful applicants will not necessarily be granted the full requested amount, applicants are strongly encouraged to secure additional funding from their own organisation and elsewhere

Application Deadline: Applications for this grant are currently closed.

If you are interested in applying to this grant, please read the complete Application Instructions PDF.

Once you have read the Application Instructions, please email the Japanese Studies team at LO_JapaneseStudies@jpf.go.jp, and CC Iona_Vos@jpf.go.jp (Assistant Programme Officer for Japanese Studies) and Natsumi_Abe@jpf.go.jp (Manager of Japanese Studies Affairs)

Japanese Studies Fellowship Programme

This program provides preeminent foreign scholars and researchers in the field of Japanese studies with opportunities to conduct research in Japan, with the aim of supporting them and promoting Japanese studies overseas. Experts in the fields of natural science, medical science, and engineering are excluded.

There are three subcategories as follows.

1. Scholars and Researchers (Long Term) (4 - 12 months)

For scholars and researchers who have a Ph.D. degree or equivalent professional experience at the time of application and are conducting research related to Japan (comparative research included) in the humanities and social sciences, whose projects require them to travel to Japan to carry out research over a long period of time. A named affiliate in Japan is also required at the time of application.

2. Scholars and Researchers (Short-term) (21 days - 89 days)

For scholars and researchers who have a Ph.D. degree or equivalent professional experience at the time of application are conducting research related to Japan (comparative research included) in the humanities and social sciences, whose projects require them to travel to Japan to carry out research, gather materials, etc., intensively over a short period of time. A named affiliate in Japan is also required at the time of application.

3. Doctoral Candidates (4 - 12 months)

For doctoral candidates working in the field of Japanese Studies, the humanities and social sciences who are in the closing stages of their Ph.D. and who need to undertake fieldwork in Japan in order to complete their dissertation/thesis. A named affiliate in Japan is required at the time of application.

Grant Coverage:

• Round-trip airfare (discount economy class - most direct and economical route)
• Stipend and other allowances

Dates for FY 2026-2027 programme:

• Applications available: Apply through our Online Application Portal. Details on the programme list on our Tokyo site.
• Application Deadline: Apply through Online Application Portal by 4am GMT (1pm JST) on Tuesday 2 December 2025
• Notification of Results: By the end of April 2026
• Project Duration: Research trips must commence between 20 June, 2026 and 20 March, 2027.

US citizens residing in the UK without UK permanent resident status should submit their applications on-line via the website of the Japan Foundation, New York.

For further information, please contact the Assistant Programme Officer or go to the programme list on our Tokyo site.

Please contact the Japan Foundation to discuss eligibility before applying.

Grant Recipients 2025-2026

JF-Nichibunken Fellowship Programme

This programme is jointly organised by the Japan Foundation and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, National Institutes for the Humanities (Nichibunken). It provides post-doctoral researchers in the field of Japanese Studies with the opportunity to conduct research in Japan while belonging to Nichibunken. The Fellows will also be expected to gain experience as project facilitators through operation and management work at various meetings or workshops, and to form networks with people involved in international exchange.

Eligibility

Eligible research themes examine Japanese culture from an international, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive perspective in the fields of the humanities and the social sciences. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. at the time of application, and must have received the Ph.D. within 6 years as of April 1, 2026.

Grant Coverage

• Round-trip airfare (discount economy class - most direct and economical route)
• Stipend and other allowances

Dates for FY 2026-27 programme:

• Applications available: Apply by filling out and sending the Application Form to JF-Nichibunken@jpf.go.jp. For full details and Application Form, click here.
• Application Deadline: Monday, 1 December (JST)
• Notification of Results: Applicants who pass the first screening will be invited for interview in January, 2026. Successful Fellows will be informed in April 2026.
• Project Duration: Fellows will be invited to stay continuously in Japan for a period from over 6 months to a maximum of 24 months. Projects must commence between September 1, 2026 and March 1, 2027.

If you have any questions regarding the JF-Nichibunken Fellowship, please email JF-Nichibunken@jpf.go.jp.

JF-GJS Fellowship Programme

This programme is jointly organised by the Japan Foundation and the Institute for Advance Studies on Asia of the University of Tokyo (Tobunken). It provides post-doctoral researchers in the field of Japanese Studies with the opportunity to conduct research in Japan while belonging to Tobunken. The Fellows will also be expected to gain experience as project facilitators through operation and management work at various meetings or workshops, and to form networks with people involved in international exchange.

Eligibility

With the overall theme of “Japan in Asia, Asia in Japan,” eligible research themes reinterpret Japan from the context of Asia in the fields of the humanities and social sciences. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. at the time of application, and must have received the Ph.D. within 6 years as of April 1, 2026.

Grant Coverage:

• Round-trip airfare (discount economy class - most direct and economical route)
• Stipend and other allowances

Dates for FY 2026-27 programme:

• Applications available: Apply by filling out and sending the Application Form to JF-GJS@jpf.go.jp. For full details and Application Form, click here.
• Application Deadline: Monday, 1 December (JST)
• Notification of Results: Applicants who pass the first screening will be invited for interview in January, 2026. Successful Fellows will be informed in April 2026.
• Project Duration: Fellows will be invited to stay continuously in Japan for a period from over 6 months to a maximum of 24 months. Projects must commence between September 1, 2026 and March 1, 2027.

If you have any questions regarding the JF-GJS Fellowship, please email JF-GJS@jpf.go.jp.

JF-CIJS-EAJS Fellowship Programme

Tohoku University’s Center for Integrated Japanese Studies (CIJS), in collaboration with the Japan Foundation and supported by the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS), has announced a new research fellowship programme that allows Ph.D. candidates who conduct research related to Japan and need to visit Japan to complete their doctoral research, to do so at Tohoku University.

Eligibility

Research in Japanese Studies in the fields of the humanities and social sciences are eligible. Applicants must be Ph.D. candidates at graduate schools throughout Europe. Fellows will be expected to submit their dissertations shortly after completing their research in Japan.

Grant Coverage:

• Round-trip airfare (discount economy class - most direct and economical route)
• Stipend and other allowances

Dates for FY 2026-27 programme:

• Applications available: Apply by filling out and sending the Application Form to JF-CIJS-EAJS@jpf.go.jp. For full details and Application Form, click here.
• Application Deadline: Monday, 1 December (JST)
• Notification of Results: Applicants who pass the first screening will be invited for interview in January, 2026. Successful Fellows will be informed in April 2026.
• Project Duration: The fellowship will last between 4 and 12 months. Projects must commence between September 1, 2026 and March 1, 2027.

If you have any questions regarding the JF-CIJS-EAJS Fellowship, please email JF-CIJS-EAJS@jpf.go.jp.

Grant Programme for Japanese Studies Projects

This programme is designed to promote Japanese studies overseas by providing grants to non-profit organisations such as higher education institutions and research institutions that are implementing Japanese Studies activities.

Eligible projects must fall into any of the following four categories:

• Research or conference on Japan; study or training in Japan; or publications that promote and contribute to the development of Japanese studies;
• Inviting scholars or researchers from Japan or other countries to deliver lectures on Japan;
• Purchase of books and materials on Japanese studies;
• Other relevant projects which would further promote and expand the horizon of Japanese studies.

*Projects in the field of natural sciences, commercial activities, arts and cultural activities, activities in support of specific doctrines or claims, and so forth are not eligible for this programme.

Grant Coverage:

Part of the following expenses:

• Travel expenses (international airfares and other transportation expenses, daily allowances and accommodation fees)
• Honoraria (for lecturers, collaborators, interpreters, etc.)
• Meeting expenses (for preparing materials, venues, equipment, public relations, etc.);
• Other direct expenses (for purchasing materials, etc.)

Dates for FY 2026-27 programme:

• Applications available: Apply through our Online Application Portal. Details on the programme list on our Tokyo site
• Application Deadline: Apply through Online Application Portal by 4am GMT (1pm Japan Standard Time) on Tuesday 2 December 2025
• Notification of Results: By end of April 2026
• Project Duration: Projects must be implemented and completed during FY 2026-25 (Between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027)

For further details on this programme and application forms either contact the Assistant Programme Officer or go to our Tokyo site.

Please contact the Japan Foundation to discuss eligibility before applying.

UK Grant Recipients 2025-26

UK Grant Recipients 2024-25

Programme for Specialists in Cultural and Academic Fields

This programme provides a six-month residential language course for specialists (researchers, postgraduate students, librarians, museum and art gallery curators, etc.) who need to improve their Japanese for academic or professional purposes. Courses take place at our Japanese-Language Institute in Kansai, Japan. Tuition, accommodation and meals are included in the programme but UK based applicants bear their own return travel expenses to Japan. The programme is open to those who are in a field of Japan-related humanities and social sciences, who are aged under 40, and who have a proficiency in Japanese, equivalent to or higher than level JLPT N4 (level 3 of the old JLPT).

Dates for FY 2026-27 programme:

Course Dates:

• Course Dates: 6 month course, from early-October 2026 to late-March 2027
• Applications available: on the programme list on our Tokyo site
• Application Deadline: Apply through Online Application Portal by 4am GMT (1pm Japan Standard Time) on Tuesday 2 December 2025
• Notification of Results: Late April 2026

For further details on this programme and application forms either contact the Assistant Programme Officer or go to our Tokyo site.

Please contact the Japan Foundation to discuss eligibility before applying.