The FY2026 Call for Research Proposals for the Strategic Basic Research Programs (CREST, PRESTO, and ACT-X) is now open. Please see the schedule and Research Areas below. Information on the call for new Research Areas for FY2026 has also been updated.

Schedule: FY2026

Application Submission Deadlines

PRESTO/ACT-X:	Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 12:00 noon, Japan time
CREST:	Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 12:00 noon, Japan time
Document review:	Early June – Late July
Notification of document review results on e-Rad:	Early July – Late July
Interview selection meeting (Online):	Middle of July – Early August
Notification and announcement of interview results:	Late September
Research start:	October 1st, 2026 (planning)

List of the research areas
*Information regarding the new research area (PRESTO) under the Strategic Objective"Organism–Environment Interactions: Elucidating the Interplay Between Organisms and the Exposome" is currently to be determined. An announcement will be made on this website as soon as the information becomes available.

Explanatory meetings

Applicants selected to proceed to the Interview selection meeting and applicants who receive a provisional funding offer as a result of the Interview Selection will be notified individually by email. The notifications will be sent to the email address registered in the e-Rad system, so please ensure that your registered email address is valid and able to receive emails from JST.
Applicants who are not selected at each stage (Document review or Interview selection meeting) will be notified via e-Rad.

Please refer to the "Application Guidelines" and "How to apply via e-Rad" for the details.

Key Points to Note for the FY2026 Call for Research Proposals

（１）Selection Criteria

From FY 2026 onward, greater emphasis will be placed on the perspective of international expansion of research in the selection process for CREST and PRESTO, including plans for international collaboration and the expected global impact of the proposed research.
However, depending on the characteristics of the research field and the stage of the research, various forms of international engagement are possible, and international joint research is not necessarily required.
For further details, please refer to “5.1.3 Selection Perspective.”

（２）Discontinuation of the PDF Conversion Function in e-Rad

As of FY2026, the PDF conversion function in e-Rad has been discontinued. Applicants are required to convert the application forms into PDF files on their own and must ensure, prior to submission, that no garbled or corrupted characters appear when text is copied and pasted using a PDF reader.
For details, please refer to "8.1 e-Rad usage notes."

（３）Expansion of Eligibility for Personnel Costs of the Principal Investigator (PI) Charged to Direct Costs

As of FY2026, eligibility for charging personnel costs of the Principal Investigator (PI) to direct costs has been expanded to include principal Co-PIs of CREST projects.
For details, please refer to “5.2.3 Research Costs.”

In addition, please note the following points when submitting your research proposal.

(1) Registration of “Research Integrity” Information in e-Rad

Applicants must have completed the registration of "Research Integrity" information in the e-Rad system in order to submit an application. Those who have not yet completed the registration are requested to do so as soon as possible. For the CREST program, all Co-PIｓ are also required to complete this registration.　The registration can be completed after logging in to the e-Rad system, via the “Confirm/Modify Researcher Information” menu.
For details on how to enter the required information, please refer to the link below.

https://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/boshuu/teian/en/koubo/2026e-rad_en.pdf#page=3

(2) Information on Security Export Control in e-Rad

When submitting an application via the e-Rad system, applicants must enter information on security export control at their research institutions.
For details, please refer to the instructions below.

https://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/boshuu/teian/en/koubo/2026e-rad_en.pdf#page=16