JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan – Eligibility, Deadline and How to Apply

Status: Open for preparation — the next deadline for the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research in Japan (Standard Programme, FY2027, second recruitment) is 23 April 2027 at 5:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time. The first recruitment, with a deadline of 28 August 2026, has already closed. This article was checked against the official Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) application schedule on 14 November 2026, and the official source is linked at the end so you can confirm the deadline and the application route. If you hold a doctorate and want to carry out research in Japan, the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship is the best-known route in the world to a research stay at a Japanese university or research institute.

JSPS — the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science — is Japan’s leading research funding agency, and its Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan bring researchers from abroad to Japanese host institutions for a period of research. The programme is simple in structure and generous in support: a researcher who has recently completed a doctorate applies, with a host researcher in Japan, to carry out research at that host’s institution for 12 to 24 months. More than that, JSPS supports the fellow with a maintenance allowance, a settling-in allowance, travel to and from Japan, and insurance, so that the fellow can focus on research from the moment they arrive.

The fellowship is for research, and it is the research that matters most. JSPS does not fund a degree, it does not fund coursework, and it is not a visiting lectureship. It funds a researcher to carry out a research project at a Japanese institution, to publish the results, and to build a lasting relationship with Japanese colleagues. That relationship is one of the programme’s most important outcomes: many JSPS fellows go on to collaborate with Japan throughout their careers.

The Standard Programme

The JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship you will most often apply for is called the Standard Programme. It is the main, open call for researchers from abroad who want to carry out research in Japan. Its tenure is 12 to 24 months, and it is offered twice a year, in two recruitments. In the FY2027 round, the first recruitment closed on 28 August 2026, and the second recruitment closes on 23 April 2027. There are 120 fellowships available in each recruitment, so 240 in total for the fiscal year.

The FY2027 second recruitment will be decided in a selection process that leads to an award decision in about August 2027, and its fellows must arrive in Japan between 1 September and 30 November 2027. That arrival window matters for your planning: you should not book flights, housing or travel before you have been selected, and you should be free to travel to Japan within that three-month window.

JSPS runs other related programmes, including a short-term programme of one to twelve months, a pathway programme and a programme for researchers in the United States, Canada and Europe, and there are also some fellowships supported by bilateral programmes with specific countries. This article focuses on the Standard Programme, because it is the main route for most applicants from Pakistan. If you are eligible for a different JSPS programme, check its own schedule before you decide which one to apply for.

Who is eligible

The requirements for the Standard Programme are clear, and they are the first thing to check. Applicants must be citizens of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan, or of a country that has a JSPS fellowship, or have obtained a permanent residence permit in such a country. The country list is published by JSPS, and Pakistan is within the scope of the programme through the arrangements JSPS describes on its site.

Applicants must hold a doctorate, or be scheduled to receive one before the fellowship begins. The academic rule is that a fellow must have received their doctorate or been scheduled to receive it, and the doctorate needs to have been awarded within the six years before the 1 April of the fiscal year in which the fellowship begins — for the FY2027 fellowships, that means a doctorate awarded on or after a date that JSPS specifies in its guidelines for the call. In practice, JSPS describes it as a requirement to hold the doctorate or be scheduled to receive it before the start date, and to have obtained it within six years of that date. The exact wording is in the JSPS application guidelines, and you should confirm the calculation for your own PhD award date before you apply, because a doctorate that is too old — or too far in the future — will make you ineligible.

There are also specific rules for parental leave that are set out in the JSPS guidelines, and you should check those if they apply to you. Fellows are also expected to be in good health, and to have the English ability or the ability to communicate with their host with the support of their host researcher’s guidance. Applicants should check the requirements with their host institution as well.

Just as important as the rules for the applicant is the role of the host. You do not apply alone. A host researcher at a Japanese university or research institution must agree to host you and to apply to JSPS on your behalf. JSPS states that a host researcher is the person who submits the application to JSPS, and that the application is made with the host researcher’s agreement through their institution. That means you cannot win a JSPS fellowship without first finding a host in Japan who knows your work, wants to work with you, and is willing to support your application.

What the fellowship provides, and what it does not

The Standard Programme is generous. JSPS provides a monthly maintenance allowance of 362,000 yen a month, a settling-in allowance of 200,000 yen, round-trip airfare for the fellow at the start and end of the fellowship, and overseas travel insurance. The fellowship also provides a grant-in-aid for scientific research, which a fellow can apply for through their host institution while in Japan, and a JSPS fellow may apply through the host institution’s research grant. The 362,000 yen per month allowance is intended to cover living expenses in Japan, and fellows should budget carefully and discuss the cost of living in their host city with their host institution.

The fellowship is for the fellow and their research, and it does not fund dependants to live in Japan for the duration of the fellowship, it does not fund study outside Japan, and it does not fund a degree. It does not provide a permanent position in Japan, and it is not a route to employment in Japan. It is a personal research fellowship, and fellows should plan for its end: what they will do afterwards, and how the research they do in Japan will feed into the next stage of their careers.

The application deadline and how to apply

For the FY2027 Standard Programme, the second recruitment closes on 23 April 2027 at 5:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time. Note that JSPS publications list this as the deadline for applications from institutions in Japan after schedule checks carried out by the host institution, and the result of that recruitment is expected to be announced in early August 2027, with arrival in Japan between 1 September and 30 November 2027. If you apply for the FY2027 second recruitment, keep the following dates in mind: your application is submitted by your host institution before the deadline, a successful applicant is chosen around August 2027, and you must arrive in Japan within the window in the autumn of 2027.

How to apply is straightforward in form, but demanding in practice. You must find a host researcher at a Japanese university or research institution, agree with them a research project and a plan for your time in Japan, and ask the host researcher how to proceed with a JSPS application. Keep in touch with the host institution, stay in communication, and be specific in your research plan. The hosting institution’s support matters: if the host researcher is enthusiastic and has a strong record, it will help your application, and if the host researcher does not have the facilities or the time to support your research, your application will suffer.

Your proposal should be original, feasible and relevant to the host researcher’s field and to the institution where you will be based. It should explain what you will do, why it matters, how it builds on your previous work and the host’s work, and what you will publish. If you have published in the field, your record will be the strongest part of your application. If you have not published, you should reconsider whether you are ready to apply, because JSPS is designed for researchers who already have a doctorate and a publication record.

One practical point matters for applicants from Pakistan: JSPS is not a place to go to get a PhD, it is a place to go to use a PhD. The fellowship is for researchers, not students. If you are still writing your thesis or have only recently started your doctoral studies, do not apply. Wait until you have your doctorate, or until you are close to finishing it, and until you can present a research plan you can defend.

Official source

Verify the deadline, eligibility and application route on the official JSPS page before you apply: https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/e-ippan/appliguidelines.html. The programme overview is at https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/e-ippan/index.html. This article was checked on 14 November 2026; programme details can change, so the official page is the final authority.