Overview
UNESCO and the Government of Japan are offering 10 fellowships for eligible young researchers to complete 3–9 month postgraduate research stays in Japan, with grants of up to US$10,000.
Complete fellowship details
The 2026 UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi cycle supports research in heritage conservation and management and several AI-related areas spanning natural resources and climate action, responsible and human-centred AI, resilient cities and infrastructure, and education. Research stays in Japanese universities or research institutions begin from February 2027 and must finish by December 2027. Applications are routed through the applicant’s National Commission for UNESCO and only nominated applications are accepted by UNESCO.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must be nationals of an invited Member State or Associate Member listed by UNESCO for the 2026 cycle, be no more than 40 years old at application, hold at least a Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field, demonstrate sufficient language proficiency for the proposed Japanese host institution, and have acceptance from an academic supervisor at a Japanese university or research institution.
Tips for this fellowship
Practical Job and Scholarship guidance. These tips do not replace official rules or create new eligibility requirements.
- Check eligibility, funding coverage, study/project level and every required document before investing time in the application.
- Prepare transcripts, references, language tests, proposal/motivation statement and proof documents early.
- Separate the scholarship deadline from any university/program admission deadline; they may be different.
- Treat “fully funded” as a source fact only when the official provider explicitly confirms the covered costs.
Verification notes
Reverified on UNESCO’s official 2026 fellowship page on 31 August 2026. The page confirms that applications are open, 10 fellowships are available, grants are up to US$10,000, research stays last 3–9 months in Japan, the listed eligibility requirements apply, and UNESCO’s nomination deadline is 30 September 2026 at midnight Paris time. The prior payload used UNESCO’s 'Last update' date as published_at; this append-only revision leaves published_at null because UNESCO does not state a separate publication date.
Job and Scholarship is the discovery and verification layer. Confirm eligibility, dates, salary/funding and application instructions on the original source before submitting anything.
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