JSPS International Fellowships for Research in Japan

JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship In Japan (Standard)
Application through an overseas nominating authority
Application Guidelines for FY 2017

(From JSPS)

The JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Overseas Researchers provides opportunities for young and excellent postdoctoral researchers from other countries to conduct, under the guidance of their hosts, cooperative research with leading research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions. The program allows such researchers to advance their own research while contributing to the progress of research in Japan and the counterpart countries.

1. FIELDS OF RESEARCH

All fields of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are included under this program.

2. ELIGIBILITY

Each candidate for the Fellowship must:
1) Possess either the nationality or citizenship of the nominating country or be a permanent resident of that country．
2) Hold a doctorate degree when the Fellowship goes into effect, which must have been received within six years prior to April 1, 2017 (i.e. awarded on or after April 2, 2011), or be scheduled to receive a doctorate degree before the Fellowship goes into effect.
3) Have arranged in advance a research plan with his/her host researcher in Japan.
〔Note〕
●Those who have previously been awarded a fellowship under the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Overseas Researchers (excluding the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Short-term) for North American and European Researchers and Summer Program) are not eligible.
●Those who do not meet the above nationality/citizenship requirement may apply for the program only if the competent nominating authority agrees to accept their applications. Such researchers may be nominated to JSPS so long as they do not reduce the number of nominees with eligible status. However, researchers of Japanese nationality are not eligible , nor are those of dual nationality if one is Japanese.
●MD (Medical Doctor) holders without a PhD degree are not eligible.

3. PERIOD

From 12 to 24 months (full months)

4. STARTING DATE

Fellows must start their Fellowship in Japan during the period of 1 April 2017 – 30 November 2017.

5. TERMS OF AWARD (FELLOWS ONLY)

1) A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS regulations)
2) A monthly maintenance allowance of 362,000 yen
3) A settling-in allowance of 200,000 yen
4) Overseas travel accident and sickness insurance coverage, etc.
〔Note〕
● The amounts of the Awards indicated above are subject to change.
● If the Fellow were already residing in Japan before his/her fellowship started or had resident status before/after the date his/her award letter was issued, the above-mentioned air ticket to Japan and settling-in allowance would not be provided.
● A research grant, “Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research” (Tokubetsu Kenkyuin Shorei-hi) of up to 1,500,000 yen per year (total of 3,000,000 yen for two years) is available to cover cooperative research-related expenses. Application for these grants is made by the host researcher through his/her institution.

6. HOST RESEARCHERS AND HOST INSTITUTIONS IN JAPAN

- Host researchers in Japan must be employed full-time or classified as being employed full-time (excluding Jokyo, assistant professors, and Joshu, research assistants) at a university or research institution, eligible to apply to MEXT for funding under the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Program (Kakenhi) and approved by JSPS as an appropriate institution for hosting young overseas researchers.
- Candidates must have arranged in advance a research plan for their stay in Japan with their prospective host researchers.
〔Note〕
● Full-time employment classification is determined by the regulations of the host institution.

7. APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR THE PROGRAM

Applications for this program must be submitted to JSPS through an overseas nominating authority. Application process is as follows:
1) Contact is made between an overseas researcher who wishes to conduct cooperative research in Japan and his/her prospective host.
2) The overseas researcher submits an application to a nominating authority.
3) Nominating authority conducts scientific evaluation to select the candidates and nominates them to
JSPS.
4) Approximately three months after JSPS receiving application from nominating authorities, JSPS will send out a notice of selection decision to both the candidate and submitting nominating authority.
〔Note〕
● JSPS does not find or introduce host researchers.
● Application deadlines and selection procedures differ by each nominating authority.
●When setting the starting date of fellowships, adequate time should be allowed for application processing: e.g., application screening by the nominating authority (depending on authorities) and selection decision-making by JSPS (app. three months).
●In addition to receiving applications through overseas nominating authorities, JSPS also accepts application from host researcher in Japan as an applicant (open recruitment) who agrees to host an overseas postdoctoral researcher. For details on this application channel, please see our website: http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/index.html

8. MATERIALS TO BESUBMITTED

1) Application form (research data) written by each candidate (Format 2-Postdoc)
2) A letter of acceptance/invitation from the candidate’s prospective host researcher in Japan, stating that he/she accepts the candidate at his/her institution during the period of the fellowship tenure.
3) A letter of reference/recommendation from the candidate’s current or previous supervisor (not from his/her prospective host researcher in Japan).
4)A copy of the candidate’s PhD degree diploma or the original PhD certificate. If the degree has not yet been awarded, a letter is required from the candidate’s institution stating the date that he/she will officially receive the degree. In that case, the candidate should submit to JSPS the original of the degree certificate or the copy of the diploma promptly before starting his/her fellowship.
5) Supplementary documents (ifnecessary)
〔Note〕
● The application form submitted must be the original. PDF files are also acceptable.
● All documents must be in either English or Japanese. When the original document is in another
language, please be sure to attach an English translation (which does not need to be an official translation, but may be done by the host or candidate).
● With regard to section “13. Research Theme in Japan” in the application form, the entry must be

around 100 letters including spaces and symbols.

9. OBLIGATION （INCLUDING MEASURES AGAINST MISCONDUCT AND MISUSE OF FUNDS）

The host researchers, candidates and host institution should bear the following nine points in mind when applying for the program, and should observe them if selected for a fellowship. After selection, they will be expected to observe the regulations and procedures stipulated in the Program Guidelines for the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Overseas Researchers. If either the fellow or host researcher should fail to do so, the fellowship may be withdrawn, allowances (including airfares) stopped, and already-paid allowances (including research grants) reclaimed.

1. So as to allow the smooth progress of the fellow’s research in Japan, before submitting an application, the host researcher shall fully inform the candidate of conditions at the host institution, including his/her status under the fellowship, and will ascertain the candidate’s acknowledgement to accept those conditions.
2. The host researcher will, in cooperation with the administration office of the host institution, provide
a suitable arrangement for the fellow to pursue his/her joint research. The host will also assist the fellow, when needed, with immigration processing (including applying for a “certificate of eligibility”), securing domicile and other matters related to his/her stay in Japan.
3. During fellowship tenures, the host is also advised not to commit such acts of discrimination or abuse with regard to his/her fellow, and should be particularly careful that what s/he says or does cannot be interpreted as committing such acts.
4 During their tenures, fellows shall not, either in or outside the host institution, infringe in any way on
the human rights of others, including racial or gender discrimination or other forms of abuse.
5. As a rule, fellows shall stay in Japan continuously during the tenure of their fellowships and concentrate on their research at the host institution. Fellows may, however, suspend their fellowships for the purpose of childbearing or infant nursing. Fellow may not engage in other work, neither paid nor unpaid, during their tenures.
6. The host researchers and fellows shall follow the rules established by the host institution and JSPS
prohibiting acts of research misconduct, e.g., fabricating or falsifying research results, and misuse of research funds, e.g., use for private purpose or for purposes other than the approved research.
7. The fellow and host researcher must submit a research report using separately prescribed format.
8. The host institution shall inform both the host researcher and the fellow of the rules that it and JSPS have established to prevent research misconduct and misuse of research funds and of the penalties for violations.
9. The host shall take first responsibility for the fellow’s actions, so must be proactive in preventing any
discrimination, misconduct or misuse on the part of the fellow during his/her tenure. If any such problems should occur, the host will endeavor to resolve them.

10. HANDLING OF PERSONALINFORMATION

With regard to personal information contained in application materials, it shall be strictly controlled in accordance with the “Law to Protect Personal Information Held by Independent Administrative Institutions” and JSPS’s own regulations for protecting personal information. JSPS will use such information exclusively for implementing its programs. (This may involve the provision of personal information to external companies commissioned to electronically process and manage program- related data.)
If selected for a fellowship, fellows should note that their name, title, affiliated organization and country, research theme, host institution, host researcher’s name and title, and research reports may be given public access. Fellows are also asked to participate in surveys aimed at improving JSPS programs.

11. NOTES
●Thesamepersonmaynotsimultaneouslybe a candidateforboththispostdoctoralfellowshipanda JSPSInvitation
Fellowship for Research in Japan.
●Should JSPS determine any information in an application to be falsified, plagiarized or otherwise flawed, the application will be rejected or, if already awarded, the fellowship withdrawn.
●JSPS does not support any research project related to military affairs.