Japanese Studies Grants
The Japan Foundation offers two types of grants to support scholars and related institutions whose projects involve Japan.
Major Grants have one application round per year (see timeline below) and are administered in collaboration with the Japan Foundation Head Office. These are designed to support medium- to large-scale initiatives such as conferences, symposia or projects requiring in-country research.
Mini Grants are administered locally, and have no fixed application round. Applications are accepted up to 2 months prior to project commencement until funding allocations are exhausted. Mini Grants are designed to support small-scale projects such as workshops or lectures by visiting scholars.
Major Grants
ENQUIRIES
Japan Foundation Fellowships provide support for doctoral candidates and established researchers in the humanities and social sciences conducting research in Japan.
Conference Grants offer partial funding to research institutions and non-government organisations for international conferences, symposia and other intellectual exchange fora.
This grant supports projects that aim to promote Japan-related research and intellectual exchange at local academic institutions.
These fellowships are available to curators and researchers of Japanese art wishing to conduct research in Japan.
This intensive in-country language training program is designed to give researchers and cultural specialists the skills they need to conduct research in Japan.
Mini Grants
FAQ: Major Grants (General)
My project will take place in April. If my application is successful, will I receive the grant funds in time?
Results of all applications are released in late April, with funding generally not available until two months after that. For this reason, we recommend that applicants for Conference Grants and Japanese Studies Projects either: (a) consider not scheduling important project activities during the first few months of the grant period; or (b) be prepared to use other funds for initial expenses, and be reimbursed later after funds are received in the event that the application is approved. In the case of Fellowships, April departures are not possible due to timelines for visa applications and attendant paperwork. The earliest possible departure date for fellows each year is May 20.
Can I apply for support from multiple programs for the same project?
No. The Japan Foundation is only able to support projects through a single funding channel, and applying to multiple programs for the same project is not encouraged. Instead, the best option is to find the program that you project is most likely to be successful with and concentrate your efforts on that application alone. If you are unsure which program would be most suitable for your project, please contact the grant administrators at The Japan Foundation, Sydney office.
Can I apply for support from multiple programs if the projects are different?
Yes. This is true for both individual applicants and organisational applicants. Note that if you apply for the Fellowship Program and the Language Program for Specialists in the same year, a condition of the Language Program for Specialists is that applicants are not “scheduled to come to Japan for study or training under other programs, at the time of participation in the program”. This means that applicants cannot be successful under both programs if their respective dates overlap.
Note: Please see individual program pages for program-specific FAQ.
Other grants offered by The Japan Foundation
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