Post-doctoral position in Japan?

I am hoping to do a post-doc in Japan after I graduate (~1 year). I have several questions, however. I study and research cancer, so I am hoping to do something similar in my post-doc, although medical research in general would work as well.

First, I'm not sure-are post-doc postions are common at Japanese Universities?
If they are not common at universities, are there companies that it would be possible to work for?
Second, what is the best way to go about contacting potential professors to work with?
What can I expect from a post-doc position in Japan?
In my country (US), usually the post-doc is required to get their research funded before they are hired (writing grants to the NIH, etc.); is it the same in Japan? If so, how do Japanese go about this?

Basically, I would like to hear how difficult it would be to get a post-doc position, what the conditions of a post-doc would be like (compared to what it would be like in America or other countries), etc.

If anyone has any information about this topic, from specific to general, I would love to hear it.

Also, I am taking Japanese (2nd year, with plans to take 3rd year before I graduate), so I will have a solid understanding of basic Japanese, so I don't expect this to be a big stumbling block.

Thanks!

I really want to do a post-doc in Japan in my field also (which is also in science), and I've researched the topic a little. Unlike you, though, I just finished my first year, so obviously I have a while.

In regards to your questions, I can only answer your first one. Post-doc positions in science are pretty common in Japan. There are a few sites that award post-doc fellowships in Japan and other places overseas. You can look into Fulbright, and here's a link to a site with a few options (though I haven't looked into them in depth). http://www.eg.emb-japan.go.jp/e/study/post_doctoral/index.ht...

I've attached my email address, so if it's possible, I'd love to learn the answers to your other questions regarding a post-doc in Japan, and also anything else regarding the process.

Ashley

Post-docs are common in Japan though at universities perhaps less so than other countries as the system is slightly different with assistant and associate professors working in a lab under a full professor rather than being independent as in the the US for example. I would suggest looking for labs that you are interested in and then trying to meet the lab head at conferences for example or be introduced to them through someone you already know - a common way in Japan. If not contact the lab head directly and if possible try and visit the lab in Japan to talk to them.

I would say it really depends where you work as to what the conditions etc would be like. I am from the UK and have worked in the US and now am a post-doc in Japan. One possibility is at a RIKEN institute www.riken.jp a government funded institute at different places in Japan. It is excellently funded and the top in Japan, labs can fund posdocs directly and they have recently introduced a foreign postdoc fellowship. Conditions are excellent and RIKEN is bilingual so knowledge of Japanese in not necessary. Another source of funding is a jsps fellowship www.jsps.go.jp
and there may be other sources of funding from your country to work in Japan. In Universities Japanese ability is going to be more of an issue and funding generally lower than RIKEN.

Thanks for the replies.

I have also found that the NIH (National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov) does offer post-doctoral exchanges to several different institution in Japan. I am hoping to tour the NIH this fall-if I get any more information I will post it.