As Japan faces demographic decline and a shrinking research workforce, securing the next generation of researchers has become a matter of national urgency. Financially stable doctoral programs are essential to attract and retain talent capable of sustaining the country’s scientific and educational infrastructure. In an increasingly global competition for research excellence, insufficient support risks driving promising students abroad, weakening Japan’s capacity to cultivate the skilled researchers it needs for future innovation.
For young researchers pursuing a PhD in Japan, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellowship for Young Scientists—known colloquially as Gakushin (with categories DC1, DC2, and PD)—has long been seen as a golden opportunity. Successful applicants receive a monthly stipend of about ¥200,000 (approximately USD 1,300) and an annual research grant of up to ¥1.5 million (about USD 10,000). In a country where universities rarely provide salaries for doctoral students, this program has effectively served as the most stable source of funding available—both a lifeline and a rite of passage for many aspiring academics. Because selection is highly competitive and conducted on a national scale, success or failure in obtaining a JSPS fellowship can determine the course of one’s academic career.
Despite a steady decline in the number of doctoral entrants due to demographic decline and waning interest in PhD programs, competition for these limited fellowships remains fierce. However, acceptance rates for doctoral fellowships (DC1, DC2) have fallen in recent years. Once hovering around 20%, the acceptance rate has now dropped to roughly 15%, and in some humanities and social science fields even below that. The acceptance rate for DC1 applications in sociology for instance has dropped to just below 9%. The result is a widening economic and psychological divide between those who secure the fellowship and those who do not, reinforcing the view that pursuing a PhD in Japan is a high-risk decision. For many students, this effectively means that their future career path hinges on the results of their JSPS application.
This sense of precarity is rooted in structural trends. Ministry of Education data show that annual doctoral enrollments peaked at over 18,000 in the early 2000s but have since fallen to around 15,000. This decline is further closely tied to a pervasive belief that even a PhD would not secure future employment.
Earning a doctorate often means entering a career path defined more by uncertainty than by opportunity.
The post-PhD career landscape only intensifies this challenge. Although JSPS also offers fellowships for postdoctoral researchers, their acceptance rates are even lower, and many recipients still struggle to secure stable positions after their fellowship term ends. Permanent academic posts have become scarce, replaced by a proliferation of fixed-term positions. As universities merge or downsize due to Japan’s declining population, not only research jobs but also teaching opportunities are shrinking. It is increasingly common for PhD holders to juggle part-time teaching positions at multiple universities simply to make a living. Under such conditions, earning a doctorate often means entering a career path defined more by uncertainty than by opportunity.
In response, new programs have emerged to supplement JSPS funding. The most prominent is the SPRING (Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation) program launched by the Ministry of Education in 2021. SPRING provides roughly ¥2 million per year (about USD 13,000) in living support and includes career development activities such as collaboration with industry and reskilling opportunities. Because the program allocates funds to universities rather than through a national competition, it reaches a wider pool of students.
SPRING has helped to ease the “all-or-nothing” nature of JSPS funding, but it emphasizes employability and career transition rather than pure research support, and its long-term budgetary sustainability remains uncertain. Implementation also varies widely by university, leaving support uneven across institutions. Notably, the proposed reform to restrict SPRING living-expense support to Japanese nationals has also been interpreted as running counter to Japan’s internationalization goals by potentially discouraging international doctoral students, especially from China, from enrolling.
While other fellowships and scholarships offered by private foundations or individual universities exist, these are typically smaller in scale and cannot fully replace JSPS as the main pillar of doctoral support. For most PhD students, whether they receive one of these limited fellowships remains a make-or-break factor in continuing their studies.
From an international perspective, Japan’s doctoral programs stand out for their financial fragility and uncertain career prospects. In many other countries such as the United States and Germany, doctoral students are typically employed by universities or research projects and receive a salary that ensures a basic standard of living. In those systems, PhD students are regarded not merely as students but as integral members of the research workforce, with recognized professional status.
In Japan, by contrast, doctoral candidates are still largely treated as students, reliant on competitive fellowships or scholarships rather than salaries. Without such funding, continuing in a PhD program can be financially impossible. Tuition fees also remain a burden: while some universities offer fee waivers, eligibility is often income-based, meaning that students from middle-income households—the “missing middle”—are excluded from most forms of aid. This combination of limited funding and poor career prospects has further discouraged potential applicants, perpetuating the cycle of decline.
In this context, the JSPS fellowship embodies both hope and fragility within Japan’s academic system. For those who win it, it offers rare independence and research freedom; for those who do not, it marks a major setback that may end their research aspirations entirely. Newer programs like SPRING represent important steps toward diversification, but they have yet to establish a stable and equitable foundation for doctoral education.
As long as pursuing a PhD in Japan continues to be seen as a personal gamble rather than a viable career investment, the country’s research base will remain on unstable ground. The JSPS system thus stands as both a beacon of aspiration and a mirror reflecting the structural vulnerabilities of Japanese academia.
Ryo Konishi holds a PhD in Regional Innovation Studies from Mie University, Japan, and is currently a Research Fellow at the same institution. His research specializes in the sociology of education and family sociology, with a particular focus on educational inequality, family background, and the formation of young people’s attitudes and aspirations in Japan. His recent research focuses on perceptions of relative inequality rooted in family background, the formation of beliefs about effort and merit, and the well-being of children and young people.
Stefan Aichholzer is a PhD candidate at Osaka University and a former JSPS Research Fellow. He holds an MA in Human Sciences from Osaka University and a BA in Japanese Studies from the University of Vienna. His dissertation examines interethnic marriage and the reproduction of ethnic hierarchies in Japan. His broader research interest centers on immigrant integration, intergroup relations, and ethnic diversity in Japan.
