From late July to early August 2023, JSPS staff members visited International Research Fellows ("Fellows") and their Japanese host researchers ("Hosts") in the vicinity of Tokyo who were enrolled in the JSPS Summer Program 2023. We had conversations with a total of 15 Fellows and Hosts.

The Program is designed to help advance the Fellows' research and to internationalize the Host Institutions in Japan. To gather information that could be used to strengthen and improve the Program, we asked the Fellows about how they came to apply for the Program, their research and daily lives in Japan, and their career plans after completing the Program. To the Hosts, we asked them how they felt about being a Host.

The Fellows were staying for about two months in Japan conducting collaborative research with their Hosts. They seemed to be enjoying a fulfilling research life, having many discussions with their Hosts and members of their Host Institutions. In their daily lives, the Fellows were actively involved in cultural events and community exchanges through the homestays and Japanese language classes that were part of the Program, as well as through their personal activities.

This year, for the first time in four years, we held a face-to-face orientation for the Program. The orientation facilitated networking among the Fellows, and there was much interaction among them even after they were assigned to their individual Host Institutions.

Many of the Fellows have expressed their desire to return to Japan as researchers. We were very pleased to see that the Program is helping to build up research networks between Europe, the US, Canada and Japan.