Research Fields and Areas

Examples of eligible research projects

• Research on the observation, prediction, impact assessment, and adaptation to climate change
• Research that contributes to assessing and predicting the abundance of water resources and improving safe, sustainable water resource management, utilization, and treatment (including proposals to strengthen the capacity of water utilities and improve service quality, and research concerning the reconciliation of conflicting interests pertaining to water resources and how to build consensus)
• Research on establishing a material-cycle society (including collection and reuse of waste and useful resources)
• Research on the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity on land and in the sea
• Research on urban environmental conservation (including greening) for the purpose of smart city construction, mitigation of environmental degradation as a result of urbanization, land use that contributes to climate change mitigation, and the construction and operation of urban plans
• Research on reconstruction and restoration of environments damaged by large-scale disasters(including the preservation of cultural heritage)
• Research on sustainable use of natural resources
• Research on chemical pollution, its risk reduction and remediation

※ Even if the research themes fall under the above categories, research themes relating to systems and key technologies for the achievement of carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation (including energy saving, renewable energy, and new forms of energy) fall into Research Area ②. In addition, those that match the purpose of the disaster prevention field will be classified as Research Area ④.

Examples of eligible research projects

• Studies of the introduction and validation of social systems contributing to green transformation (GX), such as carbon pricing and energy transition
• Research on renewable energy, such as sunlight and solar heat, wind power, ocean energy, geothermal energy, and biomass
• Research promoting the use of renewable energy through the generation and utilization of carbon recycling, green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, ammonia, methane and other substances
• Research on energy conservation in industrial processes and elsewhere
• Research utilizing digital technologies to create sustainable, resource-recycling societies in forms such as smart cities, smart communities, smart agriculture, transport networks, and next-generation infrastructure
• Research related to carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and negative emission technologies such as BECCS, DAC, forest absorption, and weathering, etc.
• Research contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from non-CO₂, such as CH₄, N₂O, and HFCs
• Research contributing to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), synthetic fuel for use in transportation machinery, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector field
• Research on the promotion of carbon neutrality through expansion of the application field of new materials, and the conversion to recycled materials, etc.

Examples of eligible research projects

• Research and development contributing to the sustainable production and utilization of bioresources (including resource management, breeding, cultivation, propagation and culturing technology for plant, animal, marine and microbial resources, production/distribution systems)
• Research contributing to the evaluation and effective utilization of unutilized resources and biological functions (including using biodiversity for discovery, identification, and production of valuable substances derived from biological resources (excluding for human drug development), and the development of recycling-oriented food production systems utilizing biological functions of insects and microbes, etc.)
• Research on improving the environmental settings for bioresources (including the prevention of damage to agricultural crops and livestock, and the creation and improvement of green infrastructure)
• Research contributing to mitigating the effects of climate change on the production of biological resources
• Research on production and utilization of new food resources (alternative protein foods (proteins derived from plants and animals), genome-edited foods, cell-based foods) and environmental improvement

Projects focusing on the following topics should be under the field of Environment and Energy.

• Research contributing to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services (Environment and Energy, Research Area ①)
• Research contributing to the utilization of biomass energy (Environment and Energy, Research Area ②)
• Research activities that primarily address environment and energy issues (Environment and Energy, Research Areas ① and ②)

Examples of eligible research projects

• Research on clarifying the mechanisms and prediction of disasters associated with natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, storms, storm surges, inundation, drought, heat waves, and landslides, together with prevention and mitigation measures to prevent such disaster risks and damage from becoming more large-scale, as well as measures for restoration and reconstruction, and research on effectiveness of investment in disaster risk reduction
• Research on understanding the relationships between climate change and large-scale natural disasters and measures for adapting to damage thought to be caused by climate change
• Research on identifying the mechanisms whereby large-scale natural disasters that are exacerbated by urbanization (such as urban flooding caused by localized heavy rainfall, sea level rise, or ground subsidence; earthquake damage and associated fire damage in regions with vulnerable buildings and urban fabrics; and damage to lifelines, transport networks, and other social infrastructure) become widespread, and on damage mitigation strategies.
• Research contributing to the prevention and mitigation of regional and urban disasters through the prompt collection and effective utilization of disaster information (including the development of technologies to utilize disaster observation satellites, remote sensing, UAV, GIS, GNSS, ICT, IoT, Big Data, AI, and other digital technologies)
• Research on building national resilience to create and maintain disaster-resistant, resilient communities, land use planning and urban design, and improvements to social infrastructure and its sustainable operation
• Research for the prevention of, mitigation of, and recovery from disasters that combines approaches across the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences to help establish precise and practical disaster forecasting and enable effective recovery
• Research on disaster countermeasures prompted by the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and improving overall social resilience

Examples of eligible research projects

• Zoonosis such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, rabies and others
• Epidemiology, diagnostics, prevention and treatment for the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, protozoa and parasites like malaria, dengue fever, tuberculosis, AMR infections, acute respiratory infection, infectious diarrhea and other infectious diseases

※ Proposals for drug discovery and development which focus only on the screening of materials are not eligible.

※ The following research proposals are not eligible: those only involving technology transfer or knowledge provision from Japan but not involved in joint research; those only conducting surveys that will not contribute to the advancement of science and technology.

※ Joint research involving clinical trials etc.,^[1] conducted in the partner country, are not eligible for adoption under the SATREPS program.

※ With regard to joint research including medical procedures performed by Japanese nationals in partner countries, you are requested to consult with JICA before submitting your application. The submitted proposal without consultation beforehand may not be accepted to bring the part of research activity related to the medical procedures after the adoption.

[1]　Clinical trials etc. include not only company-sponsored or investigator-initiated trials but also clinical research etc. conducted by researchers using unapproved drugs etc.