Strategic Japanese-Swiss Science and Technology Programme
Research cooperation with Japan
Call for proposals with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2025)
For 2025, the SNSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) are launching a joint call for proposals that is open to projects from all disciplines.
The SNSF will cover project costs in Switzerland, while JSPS will cover the costs in Japan. The project duration is three years. The maximum permissible budget on the Swiss side is CHF 300’000.
The available funds will enable the funding of up to 10 projects.
Interested researchers are invited to submit their proposals to the SNSF by the submission deadline of 30 June 2025. Researchers in Japan must simultaneously submit the proposals at JSPS. The proposals will be evaluated by JSPS.
Call for proposals with the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) 2025
The call is open to proposals in health research on the topic of:
- Inflammaging
The SNSF covers the project costs in Switzerland, and AMED covers the research costs in Japan. The duration of the projects is five years on the Japanese side and four years on the Swiss side. The maximum amount per project that can be requested on the Swiss side is 625,000 francs side. The proposals will be evaluated by AMED alone.
The available budget is sufficient for funding up to three projects.
Details
Research cooperation with Japan
The Strategic Japanese-Swiss Science and Technology Programme (SJSSTP) is aimed at researchers in Switzerland who wish to address specific research questions together with partners in Japan.
The SNSF organises calls for Joint Research Projects (JRPs) with two research funding agencies in Japan, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). JRPs allow researchers in Switzerland to collaborate with a partner in Japan. On the Swiss side, the project grants cover similar costs as national SNSF projects (equipment, research funds and salaries). The Japanese funding agency covers the costs incurred by the Japanese partner.
JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
The second call with JSPS was open from 22 March to 13 June 2018. The subject area was limited to mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. The evaluation was conducted by way of a two-stage process. The results of the first phase were communicated in September 2018. The deadline for the submission of full proposals was 28 November 2018. The results of the second phase were communicated in May 2019. Eight projects could be funded. The evaluation was carried out jointly by the SNSF and JSPS. The SNSF will bear the costs of 1.9 million Swiss francs for the Swiss part of the research, the JSPS will cover the costs in Japan.
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research in Japan (2022)
For a number of years, the SNSF has acted as the nomination body for the Postdoctoral Fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Each year, the SNSF can propose two researchers to the JSPS.
Researchers interested in the fellowships are invited to submit their applications by the deadline. The forms provided by the JSPS for this purpose must be used and the relevant conditions must be taken into consideration. The completed forms and all necessary enclosures must be sent both by post to the Interdisciplinary and International Co-operation division of the SNSF and by e-mail to international@snf.ch as a scanned attachment.
After evaluation by the SNSF, the JSPS will evaluate the applications nominated by the SNSF and inform the candidates about the funding decision by spring/summer. The selected researchers must commence their stays within the communicated timeframe.
JST (Japan Science and Technology Agency)
The call for proposals with JST was open from 15 August to 14 November 2017 and was limited to the following thematic area:
Research on hydrogen as a renewable energy carrier
The nine submitted applications were jointly evaluated by the SNSF and JST. Three applications were approved for funding. The SNSF covers the costs of CHF 750'000.- for the Swiss part of the research and JST covers the costs in Japan.
Documents
Links
Supplementary measures
Submission deadline
JSPS
30 June 2025, 17h Swiss local time / 5 PM Japan Standard Time
JST
12 May 2025, 17h Swiss local time / 5 PM Japan Standard Time
AMED
1 July 2025, 17h Swiss local time / 5 PM Japan Standard Time
Other funding options
Information on other funding options and on the cooperation with Japan are also available from the Leading House ETHZ.
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