25 distinctive regional core universities selected for MEXT's J-PEAKS program: Max 5.5 billion yen in research support per school over 5 years

On the 24th of January, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced the inclusion of 13 universities in the J-PEAKS program in fiscal year (FY) 2024. J-PEAKS supports the research capabilities of regional core universities with strengths in specific fields. The program covered national, public, and private universities, including Hirosaki University and Yokohama City University. In FY2023, MEXT selected 12 universities, including Hokkaido University, for the program. This brings the total number of universities eligible for support to 25.

The J-PEAKS program was established to create a cluster of research universities that will power Japan's overall research capabilities. This is against a backdrop of declining research capabilities in Japan. The program is intended to support universities that will become regional centers of excellence and engage in distinctive research. It operates alongside the Universities for International Research Excellence program that MEXT is promoting with the aim of achieving world-class research standards. Each selected university will receive a maximum grant of approximately 5.5 billion yen over a 5-year period.

Ten national universities were selected for the FY2024 intake: Hirosaki University, Yamagata University, Niigata University, Nagaoka University of Technology, the University of Yamanashi, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Tokushima University, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Nagasaki University, and Kumamoto University. The public university selected was Yokohama City University and the private universities were Fujita Health University and Ritsumeikan University, for a total of 13 universities.

The 12 national, public, and private institutions previously selected for the FY2023 intake were Hokkaido University, Chiba University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo University of the Arts, Keio University, Kanazawa University, Shinshu University, Osaka Metropolitan University, Kobe University, Okayama University, Hiroshima University, and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology.

Each selected university will develop a vision for the next 10 years and formulate a management strategy with its strengths and distinctive research capabilities at its core. In collaboration with universities and research institutions in Japan and abroad, they will accelerate the international development of research and social implementation. They will also promote initiatives to raise the research level.

Support under J-PEAKS will include up to 2.5 billion yen for each school for personnel expenses for specialized personnel and expenses necessary to implement strategies to improve research and research capabilities (strategic implementation expenses). Expenses for the purchase of research equipment and costs for upgrading the research environment (research equipment maintenance expenses) will be set at a maximum of approximately 3 billion yen for each school.

Among the unique research themes proposed by the 13 universities selected for the most recent intake, Hirosaki University, for example, proposed "Establishment of an Innovative Research University Cluster through Integrated Knowledge Based on the Integration of Different Fields to Realize a Society for the Co-Creation of Global Well-being." The University of Yamanashi proposed "Strengthening World-Leading Research Capabilities with Green Hydrogen at the Core and Leading Regional Innovation through Green Innovation." Kumamoto University proposed "Realization of Regional Innovation and Sustainable Industrial City Concept through Co-Creation of Society from Semiconductor Implementation to Social Creation Research."

Among the 12 schools selected in the previous intake, Chiba University, for example, will "strategically strengthen immunology/vaccine research and other areas, link the results to social implementation, and horizontally deploy efforts within the university." Hiroshima University, in collaboration with Kobe University and others, will "realize an industrial ecosystem integrating the semiconductor, supermaterial and bio fields, centered on materials visualization technology using synchrotron radiation."

Tohoku University was the first university to be approved under the Universities for International Research Excellence program. It will receive approximately 15.4 billion yen for the first fiscal year of the program, FY2025. According to MEXT officials, eight national universities and two private universities joined the first round of applications. Only Tohoku University was approved in last November. The operational performance of this system in FY2023 was a net profit of 116.7 billion yen. The University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and other universities indicated their intention to apply for the second round of applications.