Following the EU-Japan ministerial meeting in 1986, the European Commission & the Japanese METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) agreed on the importance of deepening the industrial cooperation in order to achieve a closer relationship of the EU-Japan economic area.
Based on this agreement, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation was established in 1987 as a core organization to implement industrial cooperation between the EU and Japan as an affiliate of the Institute for International Studies and Training (renamed later Center for International Economic Collaboration).
The European Commission & METI of Japan strongly expect the Centre to contribute to the further development for the EU-Japan economic relationship from the entering into force of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) & Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) in February 2019.
Minerva programme:
MINERVA is a 6 month in-house research scheme in Japan, designed to support its research and policy analysis of EU-Japan economic and industrial issues.
Experts selected by the EU-Japan Centre will undertake research work on a selected priority topic of the Centre, which should result in a consistent policy report (70-100 pages), to be owned by the Centre.
Apart from research on a pre-determined topic, the Expert will be expected to support the daily analytical activities of the Centre, including media monitoring, policy briefings, seminar reports, etc.
Reports are issued every year, produced by experts at the end of each slot. (For 2022, there will be a unique slot, from September 2022 to February 2023).
Experts will be awarded a grant worth 2500 EUR/month (paid in JPY) during 6 months, to cover basic daily expenses and accommodation in Tokyo.
Experts selected from outside Japan will receive an additional travel subsidy of up to 1000 EUR.
The expert shall take out a personal insurance policy for the whole duration of the programme to cover:
- Travel,
- Personal health,
- Accident insurance,
- Third-party liability (private life): insurance against the loss of, or damage to, his/her personal property, and insurance against any injury, loss or damage suffered by a third person for which the Participant is personally liable.
- Covid treatment and hospitalization
This policy shall be taken out prior to the beginning of the programme. (The Centre may provide suggestions / assistance in this matter, if the participant is an EU national not residing in Japan.)
The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation will provide assistance in obtaining the visa for Japan.
