"Japan-EU Workshop on Mobility of Researchers" was held at Odaiba, Tokyo on 11-12 June, 2001, co-hosted by JSPS and EU institutions in Japan. Its theme was prospects for scientific/technical cooperation and researcher exchange between Japan and the EU toward 21st century.

The conference report included a recommendation for further supporting young researchers, conducting multinational collaborations in prioritized fields and enhancing researcher exchange between Japan and the EU. Accordingly, JSPS discussed with ESF the possibility of the bilateral collaboration and mutually agreed to hold the "ESF-JSPS Frontier Science Conference Series for Young Researchers" starting from 2003.