Japanese Language Grants
The Japan Foundation offers 2 types of grants to support teachers of the Japanese-language.
- Major Grants (Japan in-country and online training programs) [Currently open]
- Mini Grants [Currently suspended]
1. Major Grants
One application round per year (see timeline below) and are administered in collaboration with the Japan Foundation Head Office. These are designed to support the professional development of teachers through in-country Japanese language training at the Japan Foundation’s Japanese-Language Institute in Urawa.
Applications for Fiscal Year 2023 (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024) are open until December 2, 2022 12pm JST.
ENQUIRIES
(02) 8239 0055
A six-month program for early-career teachers of Japanese language to up-skill their Japanese language skills, acquire basic teaching methodology and deepen their knowledge of Japan.
A six-week program designed to provide an opportunity for improving Japanese language skills necessary as a teacher (methodology not covered).
A six-week program focused on improving teaching methodology. To be conducted twice in FY 2023 (language acquisition not covered).
An online training program focused on theory and basic knowledge for teaching themes related to Japanese language teaching methods. Two different themes are offered in FY 2023: (1) Teaching Japanese Characters and (2) Assessment of Language Learning.
An tailored intensive in-country language training program for specialists such as researchers, graduate students, librarians, and museum and art museum curators requiring Japanese-language proficiency in order to smoothly execute their specialist work and research activities. Two month and five month courses offered. Conducted at the Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai.
FAQ for Major Grants:
Where do I send my application?
All applications in 2022 must be submitted via the online application portal by the time deadline indicated in the guidelines.
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 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 once funds from The Japan Foundation have been received.
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.
2. Mini Grants [Currently suspended]
Administered locally, and are designed to support the purchase of Japanese teaching materials, the running of speech contents, and support projects undertaken by organisations belonging to the Sakura Network.
This grant is for schools in Australia seeking assistance to purchase teaching materials for their Japanese language program.
This program is to assist organisations that plan to hold state/territory level or regional level Japanese language speech contests.
This program provides financial support to the members of the “JF Nihongo Network (Sakura Network)” for projects having a high ripple effect on a regional, state, or national level.
This grant supports schools to purchase online teaching materials to aid in teaching Japanese language programs online due to COVID-19.
This grant supports schools that have been affected by natural disasters such as bushfires and floods in 2020 and 2021 by providing financial support for the loss of Japanese language teaching materials.