Team Researchers

1.Role of the Team Research Organizer

The team research organizer will be appointed as a Nichibunken Visiting Research Scholar. The organizer will be responsible for: selecting the project participants and organizing their project-related activities; drawing up and implementing the research plan; chairing research meetings; and collating the research results for publication.

2.Other Participants in the Project

Participants in the project must meet at least one of the following eligibilities: (1) researchers who are attached to a university or other research institution in or outside Japan or who have equivalent qualifications and (2) be members of the Nichibunken faculty.
A faculty member will assist the project organizer. The project team normally consists of approximately ten participants including the organizer. It may include three researchers who are affiliated with a university or an institution outside of Japan.
However, this does not apply if participation is via a web conferencing system (ZOOM) rather than in person. Please also consider the gender balance of the team members to ensure an equal ratio of men and women.

3.Venue of Research Meetings

In principle, research meetings should be held at Nichibunken. However, it is possible to hold a meeting in venues other than Nichibunken upon approval.

4.Operational Fund

Nichibunken will allocate each project an annual operational fund, from which the participants will be reimbursed for expenses necessary to participate in research meetings, including transportation, accommodation, daily allowances and honorariums for guest speakers according to the rules and regulations of Nichibunken. Please note that the expenses to be utilized must be approved by the Team Research Committee.

5.Eligibility and Requirements

Researchers who are not more than 65 years old as of 1 April 2026. Young applicants are especially welcome. Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

(1) Researchers (regardless of nationality) with a PhD who work for a university or research institution outside Japan.
(2) Those whom the director-general deems to have the same qualifications or research capability as (1).

Persons who held the position of visiting research scholar in the past are eligible with due consideration for the number of years that have passed since the end of the employment.

6.Number of Openings

Not more than two project organizers will be selected each year.

7.Research Period

The project runs for one year after the organizer takes up his or her post at Nichibunken on the first day of any month between April 1 and September 1, 2026. Please be sure to arrive in Japan within 1 to 7 days before the starting date of your contract period.

8.Team Research Report

The organizer is required to disseminate the research findings of the team research project. It is mandatory for the organizer to disseminate the research findings of the team research project. In principle, the report of the research is to be made available in "Nichibunken Open Access." The organizer is required to submit a plan for making the results of the research available to the public to Nichibunken no later than 6 months after the project ends, as well as to prepare a report in the form of proceedings no later than 12 months after the end of the team research project. (The organizer is responsible for requesting manuscripts from researchers, organizing manuscripts, and editing their compilation.) The report may be published commercially, but Nichibunken will not provide financial support for it.

9.External Evaluation and Collection of Research Results

Since academic year 2018/2019, external evaluation (annual inspection and end-of-project as-sessment) has been conducted by the External Evaluation Committee. The organizer may be requested to prepare documents and other materials at the time of evaluation. For external evaluation as well as for collecting research results for institutional research (IR) by the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU), all the project participants will be requested to submit data on their findings and research activities each year.

10.Application Procedure

1. Download the application form from Nichibunken's website.
   PDF file
   MS Word file
2. Completed application form, with a letter of recommendation. In principle, most of the project participants should reside in Japan. The list must include at least one member of the Nichibunken faculty. For Nichibunken faculty, see the accompanying list (Professors, Associate Professors).
   Before applying, please contact the faculty member(s) in question.
   List of Faculty (Nichibunken website)
3. Submit the application form and the recommendation letter via e-mail in PDF format to "kyoudou*nichibun.ac.jp" (Please replace * with @).
   Be sure to add your signature at the end of the application form.
4. Deadline for application
   The application form and the recommendation letter should be submitted by 17:00 (Japan time) 28 November (Thursday) 2024.
5. For further information contact:
   Research Support Unit
   Research Cooperation Section
   International Research Center for Japanese Studies
   Tel: +81-75-335-2044 (direct)
   Fax: +81-75-335-2092
   E-mail: kyoudou*nichibun.ac.jp（replace * with @）

11.Screening Results

Nichibunken will screen all applicants fairly and critically and will notify all applicants of the results by March 31, 2025.