The Matsumae International Foundation Research Fellowship (公益財団法人松前国際財団) is the most generous short-term postdoctoral fellowship available to non-Japanese researchers who want to spend a funded research period in Japan. Unlike the other foundation scholarships profiled in this database — which fund graduate students in degree programs — Matsumae is exclusively for researchers who already hold a doctoral degree and are at the early-career postdoctoral stage. The fellowship pays ¥220,000 per month for three to six months, plus round-trip airfare from the fellow's home country, plus health insurance during the stay, plus a small research-support allowance. For STEM postdoctoral and early-career researchers — particularly those wanting a Japan-based research stay shorter than the 12–24 months typical of JSPS — Matsumae is the canonical route. The 2027 cycle continues the existing structure with applications opening in May 2026.
What Matsumae actually pays for
Matsumae pays a flat monthly stipend of ¥220,000 — significantly higher than the ¥120,000–¥150,000 paid by the major graduate-student foundation scholarships, and roughly in line with what early-career postdocs at Japanese universities and national institutes earn through internal funding. The stipend is deposited monthly into a Japanese bank account. Beyond the stipend, the foundation covers round-trip economy airfare from the fellow's home country to Japan, provides comprehensive health insurance for the duration of the stay, and offers a research-support allowance to cover small research-related expenses such as conference travel within Japan, consumables, or printing. There is no direct tuition or institutional fee component because Matsumae fellows are not enrolled in degree programs — they are visiting researchers hosted by a Japanese institution.
The total six-month package — stipend, airfare, insurance, research support — generally comes to ¥1.5–¥1.7 million in cash equivalent, plus the in-kind value of round-trip international travel and Japan-resident health insurance. For comparison with the longer doctoral funding options in Japan, see our breakdown of PhD in Japan funding, duration, and English-track options, which puts Matsumae alongside JSPS, JST, and the major doctoral fellowships.
Eligibility and what "early-career postdoc" means
Matsumae is restricted to non-Japanese researchers who already hold a doctoral degree (or equivalent research qualification) and are aged 49 or younger at the time of application. The fellowship is explicitly for postdoctoral and early-career researchers — not for graduate students working toward a doctorate, and not for senior researchers approaching retirement. Most successful applicants are between five and fifteen years post-PhD, in stable research positions at universities or research institutes in their home country. Pre-doctoral applicants are not eligible regardless of academic strength; senior researchers above the age cutoff must look to other routes.
Eligible fields are primarily the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences, mathematics), engineering (across all branches), and medical sciences. Social sciences and humanities applicants face a much higher implicit bar; Matsumae has historically funded a small number of social-science fellows but the strong majority of recipients come from STEM. For applicants in computer science, AI, or machine learning, the foundation routinely funds CS fellows whose work has clear applied or interdisciplinary character — see our overview on studying AI and ML in Japan for the broader context. Engineering applicants should consult our engineering doctorate Japan real path for how a Matsumae fellowship typically fits into a longer-term Japan research career.
The host researcher requirement
Matsumae is a host-led fellowship: applicants must have a confirmed Japanese host researcher at a Japanese university or research institute before applying. The foundation does not place fellows. The host researcher provides a formal letter of acceptance, a statement of the proposed research plan, and confirmation that the host institution can accommodate the visiting researcher (lab access, desk space, library access, computing resources). Applications without a confirmed host are rejected at document review.
Identifying and securing a host is the single most important task for a Matsumae applicant, and it should begin six to twelve months before the application deadline. Most fellows make initial contact through a research collaboration their home institution already has, through a conference connection, or through cold-emailing Japanese principal investigators whose work they want to engage with. The first email matters enormously — our guide on the application timeline for Japanese graduate schools includes the same email-templating principles that work for Matsumae host outreach.
The 2027 application calendar
Matsumae runs one cycle per year on a calendar that is offset from the graduate-student foundation cycle. For 2027 fellowships the timeline is approximately:
- May 2026: application portal opens.
- Late August 2026: application deadline.
- September–November 2026: document review and shortlisting.
- December 2026: final selection announced.
- April 2027 – March 2028: fellowship periods. Fellows can choose their start date within this window in coordination with the host institution.
This longer offset between selection (December) and fellowship start (potentially up to sixteen months later) is unusual and useful: it gives selected fellows time to wind down home-country commitments, secure visas, arrange housing, and coordinate with the host institution's lab schedule. Most fellows take up the fellowship in April, May, or September — aligning with the Japanese academic calendar. Because most major Japanese labs have natural slow periods around those months, host institutions tend to prefer these start dates as well.
Application materials and evaluation criteria
The Matsumae application asks for the host acceptance letter, a research plan of three to five pages with clear methodology and intended outputs, the applicant's CV including a complete publication list, two recommendation letters (typically one from the doctoral advisor and one from a current research mentor), academic transcripts including the doctoral degree certificate, and a financial declaration. Panel reviewers come from across Japanese STEM and applied-science backgrounds and they evaluate applications on research quality (publications, independence, methodological rigour), fit with the Japanese host (alignment of the visiting research plan with the host's interests), and potential for long-term collaboration (whether the visit is likely to lead to publications, joint grants, or continued exchange).
Combining Matsumae with other funding and longer Japan stays
Matsumae is often the entry point for researchers who plan a longer Japan-based research arc. A six-month Matsumae fellowship typically produces a published paper or submission with the Japanese host, which materially strengthens a subsequent JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship application from the same host institution. JSPS pays substantially more (¥362,000–¥482,000 per month) and runs 12–24 months but is harder to secure on a first attempt. Matsumae as a stepping stone has a strong track record. For researchers planning to come to Japan from the United States, our studying in Japan from the USA guide compares Matsumae to Fulbright Japan; researchers from India should consult studying in Japan from India for the comparable picture. Country-specific MEXT pipelines remain useful context — our Indian students MEXT guide, Vietnamese students MEXT guide, and Indonesian students MEXT guide — although MEXT is for graduate students, not postdocs.
Practical considerations for a six-month Japan stay
Six months in Japan is short enough that fellows tend to forgo learning Japanese deeply, but long enough that some Japanese ability materially improves the experience. Recipients should aim for at least JLPT N3 level Japanese where possible, although N4 is the more realistic target for most fellows arriving with no prior Japanese background. Cost of living during the fellowship is comfortable on the ¥220,000/month stipend in most Japanese cities — see our cheapest universities in Japan analysis for comparable cost-of-living figures by city. Tokyo and Osaka are the most expensive; Sendai, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and the regional university cities are noticeably cheaper. Most fellows live in short-term furnished apartments arranged through the host institution's international office or in temporary university accommodation when available.
The 2027 outlook
Matsumae's 2027 cycle continues the existing structure: ¥220,000 per month for three to six months, plus airfare and insurance, for non-Japanese postdocs and early-career researchers in STEM with a confirmed Japanese host. The foundation has not announced any change to the stipend rate or the eligibility criteria. For early-career STEM researchers who want a Japan-based research stay shorter and more flexible than a full JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship, Matsumae remains the canonical and most generous route. Read our English-taught master's in Japan 2027 guide and the MEXT scholarship 2027 complete guide for context on the broader Japanese funding ecosystem, MEXT stipend 2027 real costs for the cost-of-living comparison, and browse the full scholarship database and all university profiles to identify the institutions and labs most likely to host a Matsumae visiting researcher in your specific field.