The EU and Japan acknowledge the opening of Horizon Europe association talks at the EU-Japan Summit in Tokyo

An important milestone for the EU-Japan Partnership was reached during the EU-Japan Summit held in Tokyo in May as leaders on both sides acknowledged the launch of discussions to explore the possibility for Japan to join the Horizon Europe Programme as an associated country.
Horizon Europe is the very first EU Framework Programme that offers association statuses to countries outside EU’s geographic vicinity, taking into account that they share common values with the EU and demonstrate a good capacity in science, technology and innovation. 
The EU and Japan will now take forward the discussions on enhancing cooperation for jointly addressing global societal challenges by opening exploratory talks on Japan’s possible association to the programme. Exploratory talks provide an opportunity to discuss the envisaged scope of the association, the terms and conditions for their participation in Horizon Europe actions and the programme’s governance.

A possible association of Japan to Horizon Europe builds on the already excellent level of cooperation on Science & Technology. Under the previous EU research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 (2014-2021), Japan was successful in 176 projects involving 219 Japanese entities, connecting them to research entities across Europe and beyond. So far, cooperation is strong in ICT, climate action, health and renewable energy (biofuels).

Source: European Commission