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Official page ↗Track this applicationDocument checklist
Japan
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship (Japan)
Japan's national postdoc fellowship. The twist: you don't apply — your Japanese host professor applies for you, and the fellowship brings its own research money into their lab, which makes you a very attractive guest.
No application feeHost professor required
Fact sheet
- Funding
- ≈ ¥362,000/month + airfare + settling-in allowance
- Typical deadline window
- Two rounds/year — your Japanese host institution applies, with internal deadlines weeks earlier
- Application fee
- None
- Language test
- None (English-speaking labs throughout Japan)
- Where you study
- Japan
What it covers
- ✓Monthly maintenance allowance for 12–24 months
- ✓Round-trip airfare and a settling-in allowance
- ✓Research funds available to the host lab (Grant-in-Aid) for your project
- ✓Insurance coverage
Can you apply?
- ▸PhD obtained within the last 6 years
- ▸A host researcher at a Japanese university or institute who agrees to nominate you
- ▸All nationalities (some additional nomination routes exist via national academies)
Insider tips
- 01The real application is the cold email to the Japanese PI months earlier — mention JSPS by name; every PI knows it's fully funded for them.
- 02Internal university deadlines run ~1 month before JSPS's official ones. Ask the host's admin office for the true date.
- 03Pair the application with reading the lab's recent papers; Japanese groups value evidence you'll integrate, not just visit.
Useful services for this route
How we fund this siteMagoosh IELTS Prep ↗
Self-paced IELTS prep — far cheaper than coaching centres.
Wise ↗
Pay application/deposit fees abroad at the real exchange rate.
StudentUniverse ↗
Student-only fares for your first one-way flight.
Independent services we'd recommend anyway — using them never costs you extra.
Stipend amounts and deadlines shown are recent figures and change between intakes — always confirm on the official page above before planning.