As Japan prepares to join the EU’s research programme, we take a look at the country’s participation so far
Photo credits: weyo / BigStock
Japan is set to sign an agreement to join the EU’s €93.5 billion Horizon Europe research and innovation programme by the end of the year. But the country’s researchers are already no strangers to EU research.
Third countries, like Japan is now, are not usually eligible for funding but can partake in projects and even secure funding in a select few schemes. So far, 84 Japanese organisations have participated in Horizon Europe 169 times, receiving €1.25 million in funding.
The association agreement will open the door for Japanese researchers to join EU partners on equal terms for 2026 and 2027, the last two years of the current Horizon Europe programme.
Formal negotiations on association began in November 2024, but the EU has been courting Japan for years. Now, Japan has opened the doors as it tries to reconfigure its science and technology policy amid…
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