Support Programs

The applicant must meet the following conditions:

1. He/she is a current or past recipient of a Sylff fellowship. (Those who are being screened for a fellowship but have not received official notification of their status from their respective universities or the Tokyo Foundation are not yet considered a “current recipient” and are therefore not eligible.)
2. He/she is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at any institution of higher learning or received a doctorate on or after April 1, 2023.
3. He/she has never received or has only once received an SRG award. (Those who have already received the award twice are not eligible.)

SRG supports research activities whose primary objective falls into one of the following categories:

• Domestic fieldwork by the applicant
• International fieldwork by the applicant

This grant supports research activities conducted during the period between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027.

IMPORTANT: All successful applicants need to start their SRG project by March 31, 2027, at the latest. Projects not incurring SRG expenditures by this date are not eligible for SRG FY2026.

(1)  An award of up to US$5,000 is provided per successful applicant for domestic fieldwork.
(2)  An award of up to US$10,000 is provided per successful applicant for international fieldwork.

1. Eligible expenses:
   

   Category (A): Domestic fieldwork by the applicant

   • Transportation
   • Lodging
   • University bench fees, etc., for physical access to research facilities

   Category (B): International fieldwork by the applicant

   • Transportation
   • Lodging
   • Wi-fi
   • Travel insurance
   • Visa application fees
   • University bench fees, etc., for physical access to research facilities
2. An SRG award cannot be used to cover expenses not listed above. Any expenses that fall outside these categories will be removed from the proposed budget during the screening process.
3. Even when included in the above list, all expense items must be accompanied by a description of their necessity, unit price, number, name of service, etc., in the application. The Sylff Association secretariat reserves the right to exclude unexplained or unreasonable expenses from the proposed budget. Awardees will be notified of the amount of the approved budget when they are informed of the selection results.
4. An SRG award can only be used to cover expenses incurred by the applicant personally.

Applications should be completed in English. Descriptions of your proposed research should be written in a way that can be readily understood by readers outside your field of specialization.

Applications must be submitted via the online system, which can be accessed only during the application period. Please be sure to submit all required information by the respective deadlines, which are indicated in Japan Standard Time (JST). Applications sent by email, as well as those that are incomplete, late, or not in the prescribed format, will not be considered. All applicants are required to read “5. Screening and Evaluation Criteria” carefully prior to submitting their applications.

There are two steps in completing the application process.

FIRST STEP: Preliminary Application

The applicant should provide basic information about himself/herself and answer some eligibility questions via the online form. The form can be accessed from the SRG page between May 13 and 11:59 p.m. JST, May 27, 2026. .

Applicants will be requested to submit documentary evidence demonstrating that they are either currently enrolled in a doctoral program or have recently completed one. Acceptable documents include diplomas or transcripts, a copy of a university ID (if currently enrolled), or certificates that clearly state the date or anticipated date of graduation.

SECOND STEP: Formal Application

After screening the information provided in the first step, eligible applicants will be informed of a web link enabling them to proceed to the second step to submit their formal applications.

The Sylff Association secretariat strongly encourages applicants to prepare a draft of their application and recommendation letter in advance. Your application will be evaluated on the quality of the written responses and relevance to the information requested. Access to the system will be limited to the period between July 1 and 11:59 p.m. JST, July 15, 2026

I. Online Form
1. Basic Information about the Applicant
(1) SRG reference number *Required
(2.1) Given and middle name *Required
(2.2) Surname *Required
(3) Email address *Required
(4) Home Sylff institution *Required
(5) Home address *Required
(6) Date of birth *Required

2. Detailed Research Proposal
(1) Research title (10 words) *Required
(2) Type of fieldwork *Required
Domestic fieldwork (max. $5,000)
International fieldwork (max. $10,000)
(3) Objective of your fieldwork (200 words) *Required
(4) How you plan to achieve the above objective (200 words) *Required

3. Budget Proposal

II. Letter of Recommendation
The applicant should request a letter of recommendation from someone who can attest to the relevance and necessity of the proposed fieldwork in meeting the applicant’s research objectives. The letter should be scanned and uploaded to the online form in PDF or JPEG format and include the digital or physical signature of the referee.

The Sylff Association secretariat will first screen applicants’ eligibility following preliminary application. Only those confirmed to be eligible for the program will be invited to submit their formal applications.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Fieldwork plan is feasible in terms of schedule and methodology.
• Budget proposal has direct relevance to research plan.
• Budget proposal satisfies criteria for SRG expenses outlined in “3. Award,” with the amount and necessity of each item being explained in the application.

The Sylff Association secretariat will not consider applications if they:

• Are turned in late
• Are not accompanied by required documents
• Raise ethical concerns (use of slurs or other inappropriate expressions)

• Announcement of the Call for Applications: April 2, 2026
• Preliminary application: May 13 to 11:59 p.m. JST, May 27, 2026
• Eligibility notification: July 1, 2026
• Formal application: July 1 to 11:59 p.m. JST, July 15, 2026
• Notification of selection outcomes: September 16, 2026
  (Successful applicants may start their proposed research after receiving this notification.)
• Disbursement of funds: End of November 2026

<IMPORTANT>

• An agreement shall be signed between the awardee and the Tokyo Foundation (Sylff Association secretariat) for award disbursement.
• The award will be remitted by the Tokyo Foundation to the bank account designated by the awardee; the account must be able to accommodate foreign transfers in US dollars.
• The awardee is responsible for clearing any legal requirements in receiving the award and for covering any associated costs.
• The award will NOT be remitted for any reason to a third party, such as a research assistant, family member, outsourcing company, etc. The award may be cancelled if it cannot be remitted to the awardee’s account for technical reasons.

1. All awardees must submit narrative and financial reports, along with associated receipts within 30 days after the completion of the proposed research. Please obtain receipts or other forms of financial proof for all expenses. You will be asked to refund expenditure items in the financial report that are not accompanied by proof of payment. The template for the financial report is available here.
2. Recipients are asked to cooperate with the Sylff Association’s public relations activities by agreeing to have their names, photos, and narrative reports (either in full or in part) published on the Sylff website. They are also asked to promptly submit or update their Sylff profiles through a designated web link upon request from the Sylff Association secretariat, since links to recipients’ profile pages will be included in the announcement of SRG awardees, scheduled to be published by February 2027.
3. Recipients are highly encouraged to register with The Nippon Foundation Scholars Association (TNFSA), an interactive, online platform for all fellows in the Nippon Foundation Group, including the Sylff Association, and post the progress and outcomes of their SRG fieldwork.