The International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) is an inter-university research institute funded by a government grant with the vital mission of studying Japanese culture and history with international cooperation and supporting Japan specialists from other countries. In order to pursue that mission, Nichibunken organizes team research groups comprising both Japanese and foreign researchers, in addition to annually sponsoring a wide variety of international research conferences in Japan and abroad. Every year Nichibunken also invites about fifteen foreign researchers from various fields of the humanities and social sciences to conduct unrestricted, creative research based on the latest research results and data.