Preferred Networks (PFN)

Yes. Preferred Networks (PFN) has accepted international graduate students and visiting researchers historically. Verify with the lab page directly for current openings.

Preferred Networks (PFN) maintains an English-language web presence and welcomes English-speaking researchers. Internal lab communication may still be partly Japanese, but English-only researchers can typically join.

Apply to the parent institution's graduate program (or postdoc opportunity for industry/government labs). Email the lab head 6-12 months before your target start date — see our guide on emailing Japanese professors.

For university-affiliated labs, MEXT scholarship (full tuition + ¥1.7M/year stipend) covers admission via either Embassy Recommendation or the lab's University Recommendation track. JASSO Honors Scholarship and foundation scholarships add monthly stipends. For industry/government labs, employer-funded internships and JSPS fellowships are typical paths.

Primary fields: AI / Machine Learning, Robotics, Materials Science. See the lab's official site for current specific research themes.

For university labs: yes — PhD students typically affiliate with one lab for the full duration of their program. For OIST: students do 3 lab rotations in year 1 then choose a primary lab. For industry/government labs (Preferred Networks, RIKEN AIP, etc.): typically you do the PhD with a partner university and intern at the industry lab — full-time PhD enrollment at the industry lab is rare.

Japanese labs typically have 10-30 members including the PI, postdocs, PhD students, Master's students, and sometimes undergraduates. Industry research labs vary widely from small startup teams (5-10) to large corporate research divisions (100+). Contact the lab directly for current numbers.