Kyoto University set to be Japan’s 3rd to get huge gov’t research grant

TOKYO, July 3 (Kyodo/APP): Kyoto University has met screening standards for designation as a world-class research institute eligible for substantial government grants aimed at elevating Japanese universities to the top of the global rankings, the education ministry said Friday.

The university is expected to be formally designated as the program’s third recipient possibly by the end of this summer and will be able to receive up to 25 years of support, with the amount expected to be around 20 billion yen ($124 million) in fiscal 2026.

The Universities for International Research Excellence program uses a 10 trillion yen fund to support schools striving to strengthen their research capabilities. It was introduced as Japanese universities have fallen behind global peers in producing internationally recognized research papers.

“We have high hopes that (Kyoto University) will become a research-intensive school that will lead other top-level institutions worldwide,” education minister Yohei Matsumoto said at a press conference.

Noting the substantial amount of funding involved, he expressed hopes that the university would be committed to its efforts “with full awareness that the public will be watching with a critical eye.”

Kyoto University was short-listed as a candidate in the second-round of applications accepted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology last year. Its initial plans, however, were deemed insufficient and it was told by the screening panel to submit a revised strategy to strengthen its research structure.

Under the new plans reviewed by the screening panel, the prestigious state-run university would abolish the traditional structure of small group seminars headed by professors, which have been criticized as being insular, and shift to a department-based structure intended to support the independence of younger researchers.

The ministry will check in with the university after its designation to assess whether the school has implemented its plans as submitted. The assessment will be used to decide changes to grants or whether the school should continue to receive support.

An executive from Kyoto University said that if it follows the submitted blueprint and utilizes the grants, it would be able to continually generate several billions of yen, which is particularly significant amid cuts to management expense subsidies.

The program’s first two recipients are Tohoku University and the Institute of Science Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the University of Tokyo, tainted by multiple corruption scandals involving its professors, remains under review. The review would be discontinued, however, if more misconduct is discovered regarding the school’s governance.