Komai

The Komai Fellowship Program was inaugurated under the auspices of late Mr. K. Komai, the first chairman of the Hitachi Scholarship Foundation, to encourage interactions between Southeast Asian countries and Japan in the field of social and cultural science.  In this program, fellowships are offered to the scholars and researchers in Southeast Asian countries who have keen interest in conducting the research on Japan such as Japanese culture, Japanese economy and Japanese industry under the following conditions.

1.   Term of Fellowship: Maximum three months

The fellowship begins on the day of the grantee’s arrival in Japan and ends on the day of departure from Japan.  The fellowship cannot be extended, and the grantee must stay in Japan during the term of the fellowship.

2.            Contents of Fellowship

     The Foundation will support the following costs and expenses.

     Travel expenses: Economy class round-trip airfare between the nearest airport

     of the grantee’s hometown and the airport in Japan and travel expenses between

     the airport in Japan and the place of grantee’s research affiliation

       (i) Maintenance allowance: ￥17,000 a day (*)

     This rate is applied to the number of nights the grantee stays in Japan.

       (ii) Research travel allowance: At cost but limited to ￥100,000(*)

*If the grantee wishes to receive this allowance, the travel plan should be submitted to the Foundation for review in advance.  This plan should be related to the proposed research and duly endorsed by the Japanese host scientist. 

3.            Application and Selection

1)  Eligibility and qualification of applicants

(i)     The faculty members belonging to the universities invited by the Foundation

(ii)     Majoring in social and cultural science

(iii)   Research proposals have to be related wholly or in substantial part to Japan

(iv)  Firm position or profession in the university

   (v) Below 45 years of age

2)     Application Procedure

Application shall be endorsed by the President’s office of the university to which the Foundation has offered the fellowship award and submitted to the following address through the said office by November 30, 2005 using registered mail.  Neither personal nor direct application to the Foundation is accepted.

                          Managing Director

                     The Hitachi Scholarship Foundation

                     4F, Higashi Ochanomizu Bldg.

                     2-29 Kanda Awaji-cho

                     Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0063

                     Japan

Application shall be submitted with all the documents as required below and the application missing any of them will be automatically rejected.  The Foundation reserves the right to request any other additional documents

3)     Documents required for application

The research plan should be discussed in detail with the host scientist in Japan before making application and reflected to the proposal in the application form.

The documents required are one (1) original and one (1) copy of

(i)     Type written Application Form along with 3cm x 4cm size photograph

(ii)   Letter of recommendation from the head and/or dean of the faculty to                 which the applicant belongs

(iii)  Letter of acceptance from the host scientist

(iv) List of publications by the applicant

(v)  Proposed schedule for the research

NOTE: The Foundation reserves the right to distribute a copy of the above documents to any person for the purpose of evaluation and selection.  A copy of the above documents will also be distributed to the proposed Japanese host scientists of the finally selected candidates.

       4) Method of selection

(1)  Preliminary selection

       The Selection Committee of the Foundation will conduct preliminary   selection based on the application documents.

   (2)  Interview

        The preliminary-selected candidates will be interviewed by the representative(s) of the Selection Committee of the Foundation at their home countries.

   (3) Final selection

   The Selection Committee of the Foundation will make final selection after the interview.

       5)         Criteria of selection

(i) Support by the senior management of the applicant’s university on his/her           research

         (ii) Academic performance and achievement by the applicant

         (iii) Proposed plan and significance of research

6)     Schedule of selection

           End of November       Deadline to submit application

           December - January   Preliminary selection based on the application documents

           February - March       Interview of preliminary-selected candidates at their home countries

           April - May               Final selection

* The result of selection will be informed to the applicant through the President’s office of his/her university, and the successful applicant is requested to come to Japan before the date set by the host scientist in Japan.

4.      Preparation for Entry to Japan

The grantee is required to obtain a valid entry visa from a Japanese embassy or consulate before coming to Japan.  The Letter of Award issued by the Foundation is necessary to be attached to this application of visa.

5.      Accommodation

The grantee is responsible for finding his/her own accommodation.

As some universities and institutions have their own accommodations, it is recommended to inquire the host scientist about their availability.

6.     Bank Account

The grantee is requested to open an account at a Japanese bank upon his/her arrival and inform the Foundation of the bank account details sending a copy of bankbook. 

7.     Liaison

The grantee should keep in close contact with the Foundation and keep them informed of any change of his/her address or other pertinent matters.

8.     Report

The grantee is required to submit to the Foundation a report on his/her research and activities in Japan within one (1) month after completion of the fellowship.  When his/her research is presented for publication or dissemination, the Foundation’s support should be acknowledged in an appropriate way.  A copy of such publication or offprint is requested to be sent to the Foundation.

9.     Insurance

The Foundation will buy the following insurance for the period from the date of the grantee’s the grantee’s departure from his/her home country until the date of his/her return to his/her home country.  However, illness contracted before the grantee’s arrival in Japan, chronic disease and dental care will not be covered.

       1)  Death from injury:                                \15 million

       2)  Treatment of injury:                       Up to \2 million

       3)  Death from illness:                                 \2 million

       4)  Treatment of illness:                      Up to \2 million

10.   Compliance with the Laws and Regulations

 The grantee must abide by the laws and regulations of Japan.

11.   Suspension or Termination of the Fellowship

The grantees of the Komai Fellowship Award are tenable only in Japan and expected to devote themselves full-time to their intended research.  And they shall not be employed in Japan with or without remuneration during the period of fellowship unless such employment has been specifically approved by the Foundation.  The Foundation may withdraw this fellowship and terminate payments if it judges that the foregoing terms and conditions are not observed in good faith.