Sakura Science Exchange Program invites aspiring youth for a short period of time and promotes the exchange in the field of science and technology.
Individual application cannot be accepted. Overseas and Japanese organizations jointly plan the program, and the Japanese organization sends applications to JST within the designated period.
Application Calendar (Updated on March 11)
Course A, B, C
Course A: Science and Technology Experience Course
Course B: Collaborative Research Activities Course
Course C: Science and Technology Training Course
During the Application period in FY2025, there are 3 deadlines to screen the application documents.
Schedule for FY2025 is as below. Please note that this schedule is subject to change.
| Acceptance start |
Deadline | Result notification |
Invitation period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 18 (Tue) | April 21 (Mon) | Mid June | Late July ~ March 13, 2026 |
| 2 | April 23 (Tue) | July 4 (Fri) | Early September | Late October ~ March 13, 2026 |
| 3 | July 5 (Sat) | October 6 (Mon) | Early December | Mid January ~ March 13, 2026 |
Course D: Annual Mutual Exchange Course
| Acceptance start |
Deadline | Result notification |
Invitation period |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 18 (Tue) | April 21 (Mon) | Mid June | Late July ~ March 13, 2026 |
Eligibility Criteria for the program
1. Countries or regions for invitation
Basically, all countries and regions are eligible for invitation.
Countries and regions which are eligible for the program are shown in Attachment 1.
※Course D: India and African countries
2. Requirements for invitees
The invitee must meet the following requirements when coming to Japan.
- Affiliation / Age
(i) High school students, Technical college students
(※Course D: High school students are not applicable)(ii) University students, Graduate students, Postdoctoral fellows, Faculty members, and persons who are engaged in work related to science and technology at public institutions and are below 40 years old.
- Experience of staying Japan
(i) For high school and technical college students, invitation through the Sakura Science Program must be their first stay in Japan. Those who have visited Japan only for short-term sightseeing (up to 10 days) or stayed only in their childhood (up to 12 years old) are still eligible.
(ii) For university students or others, invitation through the Sakura Science Program must be their first stay Japan after entering university. Those who have visited Japan only for short-term sightseeing (up to 10 days) are still eligible.
(※This requirement does not apply to the Course D)
