1. Home
  2. INNOVATION
  3. Information for doctors and researchers
  4. Research Grant
  5. Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Research Grant

Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant is a research fund to support female researchers, aiming for a leadership position in the future. Based on our belief that supporting female researchers who will be leaders of the next generation will contribute to the advancement of science and technology, we have provided research grants annually to 10 excellent female researchers in a wide variety of fields in natural science* since 2007. *generally referring to science, technology and life sciences. As a company that supports the empowerment of women, Shiseido supports the academic research activities by female researchers from diverse perspective, with broad view of the environment surrounding the female researchers. We welcome unique, creative research projects that have the potential to expand the fields of research.

Key Figures

  • Years of Support for Female Researchers*1

    19

  • Aggregate Number of Applicants*1

    2,870

  • Number of Grants Awarded*1

    189

  • Proportion of Laureates in
    Leadership Roles After Award*2

    31%

  1. *1 From the 1st (2007) to the 19th (2025)
  2. *2 "Leadership Roles" refers to heads of institutions or full professors. The survey covered 175 individuals whose careers could be tracked and who had not reached mandatory retirement age as of the end of December 2025.

Application Guidelines for the 19th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Purpose

The Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant contributes to the development of talented female researchers aiming for a leading position in the future by providing support for women conducting world-leading research in the field of natural sciences.

Disciplines covered

Disciplines of natural science (science and engineering or life science fields).
We welcome unique, creative research projects that have the potential to expand the fields of research.

Grant Amount /
Number of Grants

One million yen per grant / max. 10 grants awarded (10 million yen in total per annum)

Grant Funded Research Period

The 19th Grant Period: One year from June 1,2026 to May 31,2027

Uses of Grant

Research expenditures (lab equipment costs, test reagent costs, etc.), employment of research assistants, etc.
Please note that expenses related to animal testing cannot be used for research grants.

Target Applicants

Female researchers who will conduct research in disciplines of natural science at a Japanese university or a research facility other than companies in Japan during the grant period.

  • *No restrictions in terms of age or nationality.
  • *No references required. This is a completely open application system in which anyone is free to apply.
  • *Individuals who are researchers already in a leadership role (professors, etc.) and graduate / undergraduate students at the time of application are ineligible to receive the grant.
  • *No limit on number of applications (number of times applying). However, those who have previously received the grant are ineligible to receive it again.

Application Method

The application method has been changed to a Web application from the 12th application.
For details, please read the 19th application guidelines.
Click the new member registration button below to obtain the My Page for the Web application.

Deadline

12:00 (noon) November 13 (Thursday) 2025 (End of registration period)

Evaluation Criteria

Judges outside Shiseido and judges within Shiseido objectively assess the following criteria in their decision-making.

Judging Committee

Head of Judging Committee
Yosuke Tojo, Executive Officer of Shiseido Co., Ltd.

Judges outside Shiseido(in alphabetical order)for a detailed biography, please see below.

Associate Professor Ikuko Kakizaki of Hirosaki University,Professor Takashi Kondo of The University of Tokyo,Professor Akiko Hori of Shibaura Institute of Technology, External Expert Committee Member Kimiko Yabe of NARO

Announcement of Results from Judging

All applicants will be notified of results in or after March 2026. After June 2026 the names of grant recipients and research titles for which they applied will be posted on the site, and a press release will be issued.

Biographies of judges outside Shiseido.(in alphabetical order)

Professor Akiko Hori of Shibaura Institute of Technology

[Biography]

  1. March,2002 Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University Ph.D.
  2. April.2002-March,2004 Ph.D researcher, Genesis Research Institute, Inc., The University of Tokyo
  3. April,2004-March,2006 JSPS Research Fellow(PD), The University of Tokyo
  4. April,2006-March,2015 Assistant Professor, Kitasato University
  5. April,2015-March,2020 Associate Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology
  6. April,2020- Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology
  7. *October,2008-March,2012 PRESTO researcher , JST
  8. *A recipient of the 8th Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Associate Professor Ikuko Kakizaki of Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine

[Biography]

  1. March,1998 Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine Ph.D.
  2. April,1998-March,2007 Instructor, Department of Biochemistry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine
  3. April,2007-December,2007 Instructor, Department of Glycotechnology, Center for Advanced Medical Research, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
  4. January,2008-December,2023 Associate Professor, Department of Glycotechnology, Center for Advanced Medical Research, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
  5. January,2024- Associate Professor, Department of Glycotechnology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
  6. *July,2003-February,2004 Overseas research fellow, Education Ministry of Japan(Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA)
  7. *A recipient of the 3rd Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant

Professor Takashi Kondo of Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo

[Biography]

  1. March,1988 Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo(M. Eng)
  2. April,1988-February,1998 Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Physics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  3. March,1998-January,2010 Associate Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  4. February,2010-March,2015 Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  5. April,2015-September,2025 Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
  6. April,2019-September,2025 Vice Director, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
  7. October,2025- Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, The University of Tokyo
  8. *May,1995  Department of Applied Physics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo  Ph.D.
  9. *November,2002-March,2006 PRESTO researcher , JST

Kimiko Yabe, Ph.D.
External Expert Committee Member of the Climate Change and Mycotoxin Consortium, Institute of Food Research, NARO

[Biography]

  1. March,1982 Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo Ph.D.
  2. April,1982-March,1984 Assistant professor, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
  3. April,1985-March,1988 Researcher, National Institute of Animal Health (NIAH), MAFF
  4. April,1988-March,1997 Senior Researcher, NIAH , MAFF
  5. April,1997-March,1999 Senior Researcher, National Food Research Institute (NFRI) , MAFF
  6. April,1999-March,2001 Head, Cell Function Laboratory, NFRI, MAFF
  7. April,2001-March,2006 Head, Cell Function Laboratory, NFRI, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO)
  8. April,2006-March,2007 Chief, Cell Function Laboratory, NFRI, NARO
  9. April,2007-March,2009 Research Management Counselor, Headquarters, NARO
  10. April,2009-March,2015 Director, Food Biotechnology Division, NFRI, NARO
  11. April,2015-March,2016 Professor, Department of Environmental and Food Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, Fukui University of Technology (FUT)
  12. April,2016-March,2020 Dean, Department Chief, Professor, Department of Environmental and Food Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, FUT
  13. April,2020-March,2023 Dean, Department Chief, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Environmental and Information Sciences, FUT
  14. April,2023-March,2025 Dean, Department Chief, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Environmental Studies, FUT
  15. April,2025-External Expert Committee Member of the Climate Change and Mycotoxin Consortium, Institute of Food Research, NARO
  16. *February,1994-January,1995 Visiting Researcher, University of California, San Francisco, USA

Inquiries regarding applications

Please read the following and send us an inquiry via email.

Handling of Personal Information

  • Requests for disclosure, modification, and deletion of personal information should be addressed to the Shiseido Female Researcher Science Grant Office . Requests will be handled promptly after identity verification. For details, refer to the Privacy Policy of the Company.

Average number of applicants over the past 3 years (17th–19th)

117 applicants

  • Field

    (%)
    100
    50
    0
  • Permanent / Fixed-term

    (%)
    100
    50
    0
  • Affiliated Institution

    (%)
    100
    50
    0
  • Age

    (%)
    100
    50
    0
  • Job Grade*

    (%)
    100
    50
    0
    • * Classified based on the "Job Title-Job Grade Correspondence Table" published by JST
 

CAREERS