FEATURE

JSPS Fellowship
Bright Stories
Voice of Former JSPS Fellows

JSPS:Basic Features in Program Operation
What is JSPS?
(Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)

Established in 1932
(with an imperial endowment)
Places high value on bothresearcher autonomy andresearch diversity
Japan’s core funding agency

JSPS’scommittee
chairmen's
meeting in 1937

What does
JSPS support?
Covers the entire spectrum of academic
fields including the humanities, socialsciences, and natural sciences

From basic to applied research conductedbased on curiosity-driven research andthe free ideas of researchers

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Comp s applicatio
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obasedJSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships
for Research in Japan
Standard

1-2

Duration of Fellowship(in years)

340

Approximate Numberof Fellowships Awarded

Terms of Award

Round-trip
air ticket

Monthly
maintenanceallowance

Grant-in-Aidfor JSPS ResearchFellows(KAKENHI)

There are various programs like theshort-term one. Please check the details here.
https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fellow/index.html

Settling-inallowance

Overseas
travelinsurance

30-40%of fellows continues tostay in Japan after
their fellowships

Envisioning Our Co-existence with Robots,and More: Prof. Venture’s JSPS Journey
Prof. Gentiane Venture is a Professor at the University of Tokyo. She
has been an academician for more than 15 years now andspecializes in robotics. Her research and engineering work spans awide arena—from mechanical and robotic sciences to humanmotion science, robot control, and the design of technologicalsystems.
Prof. Venture completed her doctorate in France; she found out
about the JSPS postdoctoral fellowship by chance! Talking about
her JSPS experience, she fondly reminisces about how her friends
helped her integrate into life in Japan. Being selected as a
postdoctoral researcher in the JSPS Fellowship program not only
involved shifting to a new country but also required her to adapt tothe academic and other norms followed by Japanese institutions,which she recalls are majorly different from those followed byEuropean institutions. However, she has no complaints.
The professor is, in fact, very appreciative of the research environment in Japan. “I really enjoy
the research, in particular, the university environment,” she smiles. She finds the environment tobe very supportive. While she remarks that interdisciplinary science is not encouraged by thetraditional flagbearers of certain disciplines, she acknowledges how important it is for her fieldof study.
As a roboticist researching how humans can live with robots, her work is on the precipice ofrobotics and humanities. As a result, Prof. Venture collaborates with professionals from diverse
backgrounds—scientists, philosophers, psychologists, artists, communicators, and evenathletes. She also is a part of various industry–academia collaborations and is thankful for her
local industrial partners placing their trust in her despite the stark difference in their cultural
backgrounds and nationalities.
However, Prof. Venture has come a long way from being a postdoc in France—she now speaks
fluent Japanese and has her own lab! “It's like running a very tiny company,” she explains when
asked about her experience heading the GV Lab. The professor envisions a future where robots
and humans work closely together and is curious to know what would happen if they did. Her
parting words for budding researchers hoping to come to Japan? She encourages them toaccept the differences between Japan and their home countries and to respect the Japaneseculture.

A Lifetime of Learning, Philosophy, and More:Prof. D. Sakthi Kumar’s Tryst with Japan
Since his childhood days, Prof. D. Sakthi Kumar, now the deputy director of the Bio Nano
Electronics Research Center at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary New Science, Toyo
University, has been fascinated with Japan. He recalls checking the medals obtained by Japanin the Olympics, even during his school days!
It was partly this fascination that motivated him to apply for the JSPS Fellowship back in 2000
and come to Japan. He ended up staying all these years and now lives in Japan with his family.
The enthusiastic professor’s interests range from cancer research to the development of acricket club.
As a scientist who works at the intersectionof biology, physics, chemistry, andmathematics, he believes interdisciplinary
research is the way forward. He highly
regards the efforts of Toyo University inbringing together scientists from varying
disciplines, providing scope for mutualinteractions, and thereby advancing
towards being a hub for intersectional
discussion and innovative research areas.
“The world is now talking about
interdisciplinary fusion. But Toyo University
did it much earlier,” he says.
Through his own research, which involves
the application of knowledge from multiple
scientific disciplines, he dreams of making
the world cancer-free. His research group at
Toyo University studies and uses ‘nanoparticles’ to identify
and eliminate various cancers at the early stages.
Prof. Kumar understands the importance of publicizing theopportunities available to the global research community.
“I'm happy that JSPS is going in that direction,” he beams.
He perceives that language issues may be deterring
people from applying for the program, but the professor
lays to rest any such doubts—he himself did not face any
such problems in his career trajectory, and learning
Japanese was not imperative for him.
Being a person of Indian origin, he was extremely keen on
forming an association of Indian alumni who havebenefited from the JSPS Fellowship Program. Hislong-drawn efforts in accumulating all the required
information onto a website for the purpose have received
recognition from the embassies of both countries. Maybesome of these scholars will fall in love with Japan and stayon, like Prof. Sakthi did, making great breakthroughs inresearch!

Balancing Academic and Industrial Research:
Dr. Yonathan Asikin’s JSPS Journey

Dr. Yonathan Asikin, an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of theRyukyus, Japan, was accepted for a JSPS’ postdoctoral fellowship in 2014. He had studied inJapan before as an exchange student during his master’s course. Subsequently, he worked in
the food and packaging industries and also had a stint as a Junior Lecturer at a private
university in Indonesia. However, the wealth of experience obtained through these professions
led Dr. Asikin to a single conclusion: That he needed to study more.
Enthralled by the technological advancements, he decided to return to Japan for his PhD.
“Japan was one of my top priorities because Japan is known in Southeast Asia as the leading
technology country,” he says. He recounts that his former advisor was the one who told him to
apply for the JSPS Fellowship. “JSPS is the best fellowship for postdocs in Japan and is very
prestigious,” he remarks.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Asikin delved deeper into the biomolecular application aspects offood and agriculture. He mentions that the JSPS Fellowship helped him extend his research andgain experience in fields apart from his own. While collaborating with other researchers fromvarious universities, he maneuvered the scope of his research to address both academic
research and the application-based perspective of industrial research.
As a native of Indonesia, Dr. Asikin agrees that there are a lot of cultural similarities between hishome country and Japan. But he also stresses that he could not have explored the applicativeside of his research so much in his home country. Japan provided him the opportunity tounderstand the needs of the people—the farming community in this case—and address thoseneeds through his research.
Stepping into a new society and culture can feel daunting for foreign researchers. But heassures the future generation of the cooperation and kindness he received from his mentors
and peers. He mentions that many JSPS fellows who came to Japan for the first time fit ineasily, even without being fluent in Japanese. He speaks highly of the effect this fellowship has
had on advancing his own career. He feels the experience that can be gained from working
and studying in Japan, along with the advanced research opportunities that Japan has tooffer, will encourage other researchers to apply for the JSPS Fellowship. Dr. Asikin leaves futureapplicants with a very inspiring message. He says, “We have to dream. We have to dream forthe future and I think the dream will bring more motivation.”

Prof. Beise-Zee’s Experience with JSPS andMaking a Foreign Land Home
Prof. Beise-Zee Marian—the Vice President for
Research at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University(APU) in Japan—was a former fellow of the fellowship
program run by the JSPS.
The professor’s association with JSPS started in 2003,
when he came across an advertisement for theprogram. Then a postdoctoral researcher inGermany, he applied for the fellowship, thinking it
was a good way to get to know a foreign country.
Many years later, he acknowledges how that decision
positively impacted his life and career when hedecided to return and continue working in Japan.
“The fellowship had a big impact because it was very
enjoyable. It made me very happy at a point in mylife when I didn't know exactly what was next in mycareer,” he recounts. With immense support from his host institution—Kobe University—andJSPS, he seamlessly settled into his new life in Japan.
Alongside facilitating an international level of research, his host institute provided a plethora ofopportunities for off-work activities and successfully embedded their researchers and faculty
into a strongly connected community. This was very important, in his opinion. He also
recommends finding a community outside of your host institution and interacting with a lot ofpeople. “Local society in Japan can be good communication opportunities,” Prof. Beise-Zee
tells us. What he found particularly refreshing, though, was the fact that he did not need toknow Japanese to communicate with others. It was more important to be confident during
these interactions.
The bilingual communications at APU, which is his current affiliation, make it easier for
researchers to integrate with administration as well. Communications are largely in English,
and meetings are translated so a non-native speaker can follow the proceedings. This
trend—which is followed by most Japanese institutes of global repute—makes it much easierfor researchers to integrate with their institute’s administration and to chart a clear career
path in Japan, be it in research or in an administrative role, Prof. Beise-Zee explains.
The professor poses an important question to young researchers who are in the process ofdeciding their career trajectory on a global scale: “What do you want from your life?” Heapplauds the long-term effect that the JSPS and other fellowships have on young researchers,
and how it proved to be an excellent fit for his own development.

Across Cultures and Research Fields:
Dr. Lötstedt’s JSPS Experience

Dr. Erik Viktor Lötstedt is
an Associate Professor at
the University of Tokyo.
He is currently a part of
the quantum chemistrygroup at the Department of Chemistry, the Graduate School of Science.
As a young scholar, theoretical physics—which employs mathematical models andcalculations to understand natural phenomena—piqued Dr. Lötstedt’s interest. However, it wasonly during his PhD in Germany that he started working in physics, with lasers. Still, he felt likehis work was a bit too theoretical and lacked real-world experimentation and application. So,
while deciding upon a postdoctoral position, he looked for opportunities in the field of
theoretical chemistry.
It was not long before he discovered the JSPS postdoctoral fellowship. He connected withProfessor Yamanouchi, an acquaintance, who agreed to host Dr. Lötstedt. This was in 2009.
Over a decade later, he still recalls the experience to be extremely fulfilling, alongside being
well-paid.
Dr. Lötstedt believes that scientific research is special in a way because it does not changewith the place it is being done in and maintains its sanctity across the world. He found this tobe particularly true while working at the University of Tokyo. “The equations remain the same
everywhere,” he tells us, “irrespective of the researchers’ nationalities.”
Settling in a new country, understanding the cultural differences, and acquainting yourself withthe region is perhaps the more daunting part, Dr. Lötstedt feels. Even so, he did not have muchtrouble with administerial communication even when he was new in the country, thanks to hiswife’s help. “I remember she even went with me in the subway sometimes!” he recalls fondly,remembering his difficulties while commuting around a new city. He does mention how things
have gotten much easier now, thanks to smartphones, which let you access everything frommaps to translations at your fingertips. Given the scope for foreign researchers in the country
and his own positive experiences, Dr. Lötstedt is confident when he says, “I would recommend
Japan without hesitation as the kind of place to go to for doing good research.”
One day, he hopes to have his own research lab and go on to make brilliant discoveries.

JSPS Overseas Offices

JSPS London Office
JSPS Washington Office

JSPS Strasbourg Office

JSPS Stockholm Office

JSPS TOKYOJSPS Bonn Office
JSPS Beijing Office

JSPS San Francisco Office

JSPS Cairo Research Station
JSPS Bangkok Office

JSPS Nairobi Research Station
JSPS Science Advisor in São PauloABOUT JSPSThe Japan Society for thePromotion of Science (JSPS)
operates as an independentadministrative institution toperform the following mainfunctions: fund scientificresearch, foster researchers,
promote international
scientific exchange, andadvance university reform.

Published byJAPAN SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE
Edited by JSPS Overseas Fellowship Division
Copyright by Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceAll rights reserved