Applications

Application for Project Managers

We have stopped accepting applications for Project Managers.

The Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI) determined the Moonshot Goals [details] on Jan.23, 2020.
JST is holding a call for research proposals on the below Moonshot Goals (1)(2)(3)(6), with Program Directors (PDs) responsible for the whole R&D regarding their respective Moonshot Goals. This follows the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) creating challenging R&D concepts.

  • Moonshot Goal (1) (973KB) [R&D Concept][PD: Prof. HAGITA Norihiro]
    Realization of a society in which human beings can be free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050.
  • Moonshot Goal (2)  (697KB) [R&D Concept] [PD: Prof. SOBUE Gen]
    Realization of ultra-early disease prediction and intervention by 2050.
  • Moonshot Goal (3) (1.3MB) [R&D Concept] [PD: Prof. FUKUDA Toshio]
    Realization of AI robots that autonomously learn, adapt to their environment, evolve in intelligence and act alongside human beings, by 2050.
  • Moonshot Goal (6) (1.1MB) [R&D Concept] [PD: Prof. KITAGAWA Masahiro]
    Realization of a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer that will revolutionize economy, industry, and security by 2050.

*Translation of the Moonshot goals are provisional.

Please note that calls for proposals regarding “Moonshot Goal (4) - Realization of sustainable resource circulation to recover the global environment by 2050” and “Moonshot Goal (5) - Creation of industry that enables sustainable global food supply by exploiting unused biological resources by 2050” are held by NEDO and Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, NARO (BRAIN) respectively.
Thus, the information below refers only to Moonshot Goals (1)(2)(3)(6) handled by JST.

Call and Selection Schedule

*Dates of document/interview screening, and announcement of selected Project Managers(PMs) are expected. They are subject to change.

Considering the spread of COVID-19, we will extend the application deadline and selection schedule as below.

Application Deadline* June 2, 2020 at 12:00 noon, Japan Standard Time

*Deadline for submitting applications through the e-Rad system.

Document screening period early June – early July
Interview Screening Schedule

Interview screening will be held on the following dates, due to the extension of the selection schedule. Precise interview dates and times will be assigned by JST and announced to the applicants individually after document screening, by July 27th.

【Please see also the document  (355KB) on on-line interview screening】

Moonshot Goal (1)
[PD: Prof. HAGITA Norihiro]		 August 15  August 16*
Moonshot Goal (2)
[PD: Prof. SOBUE Gen]		 August 13  August 14*
Moonshot Goal (3)
[PD: Prof. FUKUDA Toshio]		 August 16*  August 17
Moonshot Goal (6)
[PD: Prof. KITAGAWA Masahiro]		 August  8  August 9*

*Please note that we may not conduct interviews on the dates according to the numbers of applicants who will be interviewed.

Notification/announcement of selected Project Managers mid-late September

How to Apply

Please fill in the following application forms and submit via e-Rad, the cross-ministerial R&D management system. Instructions on how to use e-Rad can be found here. Applicants must first register their applicant information and obtain an e-Rad login ID and password prior to application. Please allow two weeks or more for completing this process. If you have not finished your application steps from e-Rad before the deadline, your application, regardless of the reason, will not be accepted as a subject of our examination. A proposal using a non-standard form may also be rejected.
If the English version of the information of call for proposals including application guidelines does not conform to the Japanese version, the Japanese version shall prevail.

〈e-Rad Registration〉

Please see the following URL for how to register : https://www.e-rad.go.jp/en/researcher/index.html

  1. For applicants (PM candidates) affiliated with a Japanese institution
    Person responsible for e-Rad registration: Administrator at the institution
    Registration items: Information regarding the institution and applicant
     For more details on user registration, please refer to the website.
  2. For applicants (PM candidates) affiliated with a foreign institution, and applicants affiliated with no institution
    Person responsible for e-Rad registration: Applicant
    Registration item: Information regarding the applicant
     For more details on user registration, please refer to the “Applying for registration” here.
Application Guidelines  (5.3MB)
Application Forms  (118KB)
The basic approach for the Moonshot Research and Development Program  (97KB)
Guidelines for Operation and Evaluation of the Moonshot R&D Program  (270KB)
FAQ  (169KB)
Errata  (259KB)
e-Rad Operation Manual for the Moonshot R&D Program  (1.7MB)
〈Attention〉

The applicant must complete the educational program for research integrity as a prerequisite for application. Detailed information will be posted on this website. Note that if completion of the program cannot be confirmed, the application will be disqualified for failing to meet the requirements.

〈Contractual Agreement with JST to proceed Research and Development〉
Contractual Research and Development Agreement TBA
Instruction of procedures to execute contracted Research and Development TBA
Cross-ministerial R&D cost categories TBA

*Please make sure the latest version of documents with last update date.

Explanatory Meetings Regarding Call for Proposals (Language: Japanese)

We had originally planned to hold explanatory meetings where we would present details about the Moonshot R&D Program, the call for proposals, and the R&D concepts. Program Directors (PDs) would each explain about their R&D concept in person.
After considering the risk of COVID-19, instead of holding explanatory meetings we have uploaded explanatory materials and a pre-recorded video in which JST staff explain about the call for proposals and PDs explain their R&D concepts.

〈Explanatory Materials and Movies〉
Overview of the Moonshot R&D program and the call for proposals（JST） (presentation 1.3MB)   
(movie) 
R&D Concept of Moonshot Goal 1
 （PD: Prof. HAGITA Norihiro）		 (presentation 833KB)   
(movie) 
R&D Concept of Moonshot Goal 2
  （PD: Prof. SOBUE Gen）		  (presentation 796KB)  
(movie) 
R&D Concept of Moonshot Goal 3
 （PD: Prof. FUKUDA Toshio）		  (presentation 1.1MB)  
(movie) 
R&D Concept of Moonshot Goal 6
 （PD: Prof. KITAGAWA Masahiro）		  (presentation 450KB)  
(movie) 

*Please note that presentation materials of R&D concepts are written in Japanese, and languege of all the recorded videos is Japanese.

Inquries about Call for Proposals

Inquiries about Call for Proposals of Moonshot R&D regarding the Moonshot goals (1) (2) (3) (6) should be addressed to:

[JST] Department of Moonshot Research and Development Program

Inquiries about Call for Proposals of Moonsho R&D regarding the Moonshot Goal (4) and (5), should be addressed to:

[NEDO] Moonshot Goal (4)：refer to website
Moonshot Research and Development Program Office
moonshot-officeadnedo.go.jp

[NARO (BRAIN)] Moonshot Goal (5)：refer to website
MS team, Strategic research development division
E-mail：seiken-moonshotadml.affrc.go.jp