Q&A Session

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

Before we start…

1. We will first answer the Frequently Asked Questions
provided from past seminars and from registration.

2. Then, we will pick up unanswered questions from theaudience with the remaining time. Selected question will
be shared on the screen.

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Question 1: Eligibility

I am not a young researcher but am within 8 years fromobtaining my PhD degree. Can I still apply for WAKATE? Also,
does academic position matter in applying?
Can a graduate student or a guest fellow apply for KAKENHI?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Eligibility: from the Application Guideline
At the time of the proposal submission, a researcher needs to have been approved by his/herresearch institution as an eligible researcher who meets the Requirements a), b) and c) statedbelow, and have his/her Researcher Information properly registered in thee-Rad system as eligible
for KAKENHI application.
<Requirements>
a. The applicant must be an individual belonging to a research institution with a job
assignment including a research activity within the said institution. (Whether the job ispaid/unpaid, or full-time/part-time is irrelevant. It is not a prerequisite of eligibility that the research activity constitutes
the main part of his/her job.)b. The applicant must be actually engaged in a research activity in his/her research
institution. (Those who are only engaged in research assisting jobs are ineligible.)c.

The applicant must not be a graduate student nor any other categories of student.

(However, an individual who has a position in a research institution with a research activity as his/her main job (e.g., auniversity teaching staff, a researcher belonging to a company, etc.) and holds a student status at the same time iseligible.)
Application Procedures for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research-KAKENHI
Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Question 2: Parallel applications

Can we apply for Wakate and Kiban C at the same time? Are
there other categories which are allowed for parallelapplications?
I already have an KAKENHI WAKATE/Kiban C right now and will
cover next fiscal year as well. Can I still apply?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Handout p59

Restriction on Parallel Grant Application

If you wish to apply for multiple categories, check the restriction chart before application
Example of an restriction chart (excerpt from the original chart)

Applicableor Not

Already haveor have applied for

Can you apply for the“Column B” category?
[Blank]: Yes (can receive both)■: Yes, but priority is on A
(cannot receive both)□: Yes, but priority is on B
(cannot receive both)

－: No
×: No
▲: No
★: No

Original chart https://www.jsps.go.jp/file/storage/kaken_kiban_2023_g730/table_of_restriction_e.pdf
Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Question 3: Language (Japanese vs English)

Will the chance of acceptance become better if we write theproposal in Japanese rather than to write it in English?
Would it be worth translating my English proposal intoJapanese? Would it increase the chance?
Is it possible to write some parts such as keywords, phrases,
sentences in Japanese?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Question 4: Publication records

Will the publication track record affect the chance ofacceptance?
I have just finished my PhD and have changed my research
direction as a postdoc, so I don’t have a publication record inthat field. Is there anything we can write to substitutepublication records?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Handout p53

Assessment Criteria: 3 Rating Elements[Rating Element 3]
Appropriateness of Ability and Research Environment to Conduct Researchhttps://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/data/2023/r5hyoutei03_en_general.pdf
Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

9Question 5: Preliminary data

Do I need to describe any pre-experiments or previous studies
for the proposal? How much data do I need to show?
In other countries, I may put myself in a risk of having the idea
copiedRe se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Handout p52

Assessment Criteria: 3 Rating Elements[Rating Element 2]
Validity of the Research Method

https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/data/2023/r5hyoutei03_en_general.pdf
Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Question 6: Research Theme

Which would be better to choose for WAKATE/Kiban C?
a) a theme that continues my previous studies orb) an entirely new theme but have supporting works for
In case of b), what should I write to justify that I’m able toconduct the research?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Question 7: Basic Section

My research will fit well for both section XXX and YYY. It uses
the method in the field of XXX but the application will be in thefield of YYY. How do I choose which basic section to apply for?
Would the acceptance rate differ between humanities andnatural sciences?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Handout p62

Past Selection Results: KAKEN Database
From the website, you can search for past adopted projects for each Review Sections

3) Press “Search” to check adopted projects.
Title, Investigator, Outline can be found
1) Press “Advanced Search” to open
search criteria
2) Select your category, review section, etc.

Original DB found athttps://kaken.nii.ac.jp/en/
Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

14Past Selection Results: Adoption Data (Numbers, Allocation)

Handout p61

From the chart, you can observe that the adoption rates are similar between “all” Review Sections
Acceptance rate for each broad sections (all category combined, FY2022 new adoptions)
SectionReseearch Fields

Applications

Accepted

Acceptance Rate

Composition

A

Philosophy, Literature, History, Geography, Law, Political science, Economics, Sociology, Education, Psychology related fields16,991

5,368

32%

21%

B

Algebra, Analysis, Condensed matter physics, Plasma science, Particle-/nuclear-/astro-physics, Earth and planetary sciece relatedfields

5,370

1,45927%

6%

C

Mechanics of materials, Fluid engineering, Electrical and electronic engineering, Civil engineering, Architecture, Aerospaceengineering, Social systems engineering related fields

7,019

1,865

27%

7%

D

Materials engineering, Chemical engineering, Nano/micro science, Applied condensed matter physics, Applied physics andengineering, Nuclear/earth resources engineering, Biomedical engineering related fields

5,562

1,359

24%

5%

E

Physical chemistry, Organic chemistry, Inorganic/coordination chemistry, Polymers, Inorganic chemistry, Biomolecular chemistry
related fields

4,187

1,040

25%

4%

F

Agricultural chemistry, Agricultural and evironmental biology, Forestry and forest products science, Agricultural economics andrural sociology, Veterinary medical science related fields

5,860

1,517

26%

6%

G

Biology at molecular to cellular levels, Biology at cellular to organism levels, Biology at organismal to poppulation levels relatedfields

4,851

1,25426%

5%HPharmaceutical sciences, Biomedical structure and function, Pathology and infection/immunology related fields

4,612

1,237

27%

5%

I

Oncology, Brain sciences, General internal medicine, Organ-based internal medicine, Internal medicine of the bio-information
integration, Surgery of the organs maintaining homeostasis, Surgery related to bioogical and censory functions, Oral science,
Society medicine, Sports sciences, physical education, Biomedical engineering related fields

28,818

8,467

29%

34%

J

Information science and computer engineering, Human informatics, Applied informatics related fields

3,787

1,026

27%

4%

KEnvironmental analyses and evaluation, Environmental conservation related fields

1,795

452

25%

2%

88,852

25,044

28%

100%

Total

Modified from https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-grantsinaid/27_kdata/data/r04/3-2_r4.pdf
15Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

Question 8: Budget Plan

What should I write for an explanation of the budget plan?
How much in detail should we write the budget plan?
Should I still ask for the maximum amount although I don’t
really require that much?

Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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Handout p57

Assessment Criteria: Other Evaluation Items (Research Expenditure)https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/data/2023/r5hyoutei03_en_general.pdf
Re se arch Acce le ration U nit, Institute for the Ad vance d Stud y of Human B iology (W PI-ASHB i)

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