The investment performance of the Japan University Fund for FY2024, which serves as the funding source for supporting Universities for International Research Excellence, has been released. The net income for FY2024 was 256 billion yen, an increase of 139.3 billion yen from the previous year. The surplus to be appropriated in cases where profits cannot be generated is 152.7 billion yen. The sum of the net income and the surplus is 408.7 billion yen. One third of this sum, 136.2 billion yen, will become the maximum amount that can be allocated to support Universities for International Research Excellence and doctoral students.
The Japan University Fund is funded by a total of 10 trillion yen, comprising 8.8889 trillion yen borrowed from the Fiscal Loan Fund and 1.1111 trillion yen in government contribution. From the investment returns, up to 300 billion yen annually can be allocated to support Universities for International Research Excellence and similar institutions. Within 10 years of operation, the fund aims to achieve investment returns of 3% plus the inflation rate through a basic portfolio that takes on certain risks. To ensure continued support even when investment returns are negative, the fund follows a rule of accumulating two-thirds of the combined investment returns and reserves until a reserve fund of 600 billion yen is established. Additionally, starting 20 years after the operation begins, the fund will repay the loans from the Fiscal Loan Fund over 20 years while paying interest annually.
The total revenue for FY2024 was 188.2 billion yen, with a return rate of 1.7%, and assets under management totaling 11.1056 trillion yen. The valuation difference based on the market value of held assets was 652.6 billion yen. This brings the maximum expenditure for FY2025 to 136.2 billion yen, of which approximately 17 billion yen is allocated to Tohoku University and 20 billion yen to doctoral student support. The maximum expenditure for new Universities for International Research Excellence currently under review is up to 99 billion yen. However, given the instability of the international situation and increased geopolitical risks, it is uncertain whether similar investment returns can be secured next year, with expenditures likely limited to around 40-50 billion yen.
MEXT officials state that "the review process is based on the content of proposals, not predetermined amounts," but given this background, it is speculated that the second round of Universities for International Research Excellence may include only 2-3 universities.
The government announced a 100-billion-yen policy package "J-RISE Initiative," one of whose objectives is to provide support utilizing the Japan University Fund. Within the 20-billion-yen framework of the fund for doctoral student support, 16.7 billion yen has been allocated to SPRING. The remaining 3.3 billion yen will be used to provide three-year grants to top-level Japanese universities that are advancing the acceptance of outstanding young researchers and doctoral students. The universities to be supported will be determined in September.
This article has been translated by JST with permission from The Science News Ltd. (https://sci-news.co.jp/). Unauthorized reproduction of the article and photographs is prohibited.