The European Union (EU) and Japan share a common commitment towards promoting science, innovation and digital cooperation.

Our collaboration with Japan in the field of science and technology is based on an overarching Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement that was signed in 2009 and entered into force on 20 March 2011. Two important documents were further adopted in May 2015: the "Joint Vision" towards a closer relationship in research and innovation and the New Strategic Partnership in Research and Innovation between the European Commission and the Government of Japan. Finally, the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement strengthens the overall bilateral partnership by promoting political and sectoral cooperation and joint actions on issues of common interest.

The EU has a very close relationship with our counterparts in the Japanese government on the topic of science, technology and innovation policy, there is a regular Joint Committee Meeting on scientific and technological cooperation (a summary of the Seventh Joint Committee Meeting that took place on 7 December 2023 is available here).

Collaboration on research and innovation presents a huge opportunity for the EU and Japan to enhance the excellence of our research activities, develop the talent and skills of our students and researchers, and stimulate the circulation of scientific knowledge and experience.

In the digital domain the EU-Japan Digital Partnership was first agreed upon at the 2022 EU-Japan Summit. Under this partnership there is an ambitious agenda to build cooperation across a range of digital areas, including semiconductors, data free flow with trust and data governance, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and quantum, online platforms, and other areas. The work programme is organised on the basis of an annual EU-Japan Digital Partnership Council Meeting.  In addition, we have regular annual dialogues on ICT and digital with Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

In May 2024, the EU and Japan launched an Enhanced Dialogue on Advanced Materials to create a platform for sharing information on policy developments and exploring the opportunities to pursue collaborative research in new materials used in critical sectors of the economy (press release).

The EU has supported research and innovation since 1984 through a series of Framework Programmes. The latest one, Horizon Europe, covers the period 2021-2027 and is the EU’s largest-ever funding programme for research with a budget of EUR 95.5 billion, allocated through a competitive call process to research institutions, universities and innovative companies, both big and small. Horizon Europe tackles climate change, helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and to boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth. It supports researchers at various stages of their career. Importantly, researchers from many parts of the world, including Japan, may participate in nearly all Horizon Europe calls.
Science, technology and innovation cooperation with Japan is of strategic importance for the EU and the two sides share many research priorities and societal challenges.

Japan’s participation in Horizon Europe is open through the following avenues:

• The regular Horizon Europe calls for collaborative research proposals, where Japanese organisations can join projects in almost any area. All calls are published on the “EU Funding & Tenders Portal”. Financial support for Japanese researchers is possible under the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)’s co-funding scheme launched in October 2015. For further information, please consult the JST website.
• Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), a mobility programme for researchers (doctoral training and postdoctoral research grants) and for research-related personnel.
• European Research Council (ERC) grants for early-stage researchers, who show great promise, or advanced researchers with a track record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years.
• The Euratom research programme for nuclear research and training.

For detailed information on the opportunities available under Horizon Europe, the eligibility criteria, finding partners, or more, please consult with the Horizon Europe National Contact Point in Japan.

For past and ongoing research projects funded under Horizon Europe and the previous editions of the Programme, please refer to the CORDIS database.

The European Commission and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) have signed a series of administrative agreements, which allow researchers funded by the JSPS, JST, and AMED to visit ERC teams in Europe for a period of up to one year (these agencies publicise the announcement of these opportunities to eligible researchers in Japan on an annual basis).

Additional information on EU-Japan collaboration in research and innovation is available at the website of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

A new call under the EIG CONCERT-JAPAN Programme, on “Digital Transformations and Robotics in Sustainable Agriculture” https://concert-japan.eu/.

• Annual events

EU-Japan Science Policy Forum	European Research Day	European Innovation Day	EU-Japan ICT Strategies Workshop	Science Agora
The EU-Japan Science Policy Forum takes place annually in the margins of the Science and Technology in Society forum (STS forum) in Kyoto in early October.	European Research Day aims to bring together the European research community currently based in Japan to discuss research, careers and opportunities for collaboration with partners in Europe.	European Innovation Day aims to present cooperation opportunities with Europe to the Japan-based community of researchers, innovators and innovation-related institutions.	Twice a year, the EU and Japan meet with industry to deepen cooperation and understanding of policies that shape the digital field.	The EU booth at Science Agora (the largest annual science communication event in Japan) hosts representatives of Japanese research entities who participate in Horizon Europe projects; it allows them to showcase their research and explain about the collaboration with Europe.

• Regional outreach

Our Ambassador, H.E. Jean-Eric-Paquet, alongside members of our science and innovation team,regularly  visit universities and research institutes around Japan to learn more about their research, and their international cooperation. It also allows us an opportunity to promote further collaboration in research and innovation between the EU and Japan. The Delegation would be delighted to visit your institution as well. Please contact us at the following address if you would like to explore the opportunities for such a visit: [email protected].

• Past events

During the course of the year we organise or host many events, seminars and workshops at our Delegation. A listing of some past key events can be found here.

We also organise open lectures; a listing of thesecan be found here.

• Examples of collaborative research projects under Horizon Europe with the participation of Japanese entities (under preparation).

• University of Tokyo and INPEX Corp. win EIC Horizon Prize on Artificial Photosynthesis (December 2022). The University of Tokyo in cooperation with INPEX Corp. won the €5 million prize for developing a fully functional prototype of an artificial photosynthetic fuel production system.  Press release 05/12/2022;  YouTube.

• EU-Japan Enhanced Dialogue on Advanced Materials, which was launched in May 2024, builds on the success of EU-Japan collaboration in research in the material sciences, including the development of new materials for the substitution of critical raw materials or advanced materials for power electronics. It also follows the recently adopted European Commission’s Communication on Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership (press release, February 2024).