Support Program for Translation and Publication

Support Program for Translation and  Publication on Japan

This program is designed to provide partial financial support for overseas publishers intending to translate and/or publish works originally written in Japanese. The program aims to foster better understanding of Japan by encouraging overseas publishers to translate and publish Japanese works. The grant covers part of the translation cost and/or publishing costs (e.g., costs for paper, typesetting, platemaking, printing, and binding).

Applicants may apply for one of the following categories: "translation," "publication," or "translation and publication."


Eligibility
Publishing companies outside of Japan.

Eligible Projects
Translation and/or publication projects of works in humanities, social sciences, or arts written in Japanese and already published. The projects must fulfill all of the following requirements:

(1) The translated work must be published between April 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024. However, for the "translation" applicants, the publishing deadline is within two years after the completion of the translation. Applicants for the "translation" category may apply for the "publication" category for the same project in a different fiscal year.

(2) The original work written in Japanese must already be published at the time of application.

(3) As a general rule, translations must be made directly from the original works. Projects that involve indirect translations of Japanese works (translations from foreign language editions of Japanese works) will only be accepted for evaluation when they are from countries where there is a lack of translators.

(4) Contract for the acquisition of translation rights of the original work must already be concluded or must be ready for signing (and permission for translating from a translated edition of the work must also be obtained, in case of indirect translation). As for the translation fee, a written contract between the publisher and the translator must already be concluded. Submission of a copy of each contract is required for the application.

(5) A part of the draft translation should accompany the application. The draft should be approximately 30 pages long.

(6) The plan and method of implementation must be appropriate and promise to yield good results.

(7) Projects must not be used for religious or political purposes.

    *Grant applications for e-book publication projects are accepted.

    *The following categories of works are not eligible:

・Works originally written in a language other than Japanese;

・Translations already made public, including as a self-published book or a magazine or on a website. Reprints of out-of-print books;

・Periodicals (including special issues), proceedings, exhibition catalogues, travel brochures, language dictionaries, and Japanese-language teaching materials;

・Works not expected to secure wide distribution, including those only to be published for donation purposes;

・Projects for which the translator's fee is only paid depending on the number of copies sold.

    *Applicants cannot reapply for projects that were rejected in the past without a new plan and/or revised translation.

Grant Coverage
Part of the following costs incurred and paid between April 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024:

(1) Translation fee (paid to a translator by an applicant);

(2) Production costs such as costs for paper, typesetting/platemaking, printing, and binding; paid to printing companies and paper manufacturers.

    *Copies of the contract between the translator(s) and applicant, as well as estimates for the costs that the applicant intends to cover by the grant, from the printing company or others, will be required at the time of application. Receipts from the translator, printing companies, and paper manufacturers will be needed when the applicant claims the grant payment after publishing the book.

・Please note that only the expenses paid on and after April 1, 2023, are applicable. Any expenses paid before April 1, 2023, are not applicable.

・The grant shall cover part of the translation cost and/or part of the production costs mentioned above.

・Costs for editing, acquisition of translation rights, copyright clearance, design layout, shipping, proofreading, and other in-house expenses are not applicable.

・Grant payments will be made after the completion of translation and/or publication.

・The grant should not cover any part of the project expense(s) funded by other organizations.
 

Number and the average amount of assistance of Grants (Reference)
Number of assistance: 35 out of 54 applications for FY 2022
Average amount of assistance for FY 2022: Approximately JPY 440,000


Selection Policy
(1) See p. 2 of PROGRAM GUIDELINES for the selection policy common to all programs.

(2) Screening will be conducted after consulting with experts in the field.

(3) Relatively higher evaluation will be given to the translation and/or publication of the following works:

    a. The titles in Worth Sharing―A Selection of Japanese Books Recommended for Translation and Lifelong Favorites―Selections from

the Bookshelves of Young Readers in Japan. The list of the titles is available on the Japan Foundation's website:

    b. Works that are considered to have a wide influence on society; not only limited to researchers but expected to get a wide range of

readers in the applicant's country;

    c. Works by authors who have never been translated and published in the applicant's country before; and

    d. Works of direct translations from Japanese works in the area where translations of Japanese works are rarely published.

(4) The grant amount will be determined by the Japan Foundation based on the project plan.

Application Deadline CLOSED
Apply through Online Application Portal
Notification of Results
Late April 2023

Application Instruction / Application Form
Download files (ZIP)(Contents of ZIP file: PDF, Excel)

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