February 27, 2017 - VANCOUVER, BC - The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is accepting applications on behalf of the Foreign Press Center of Japan (FPCJ) for the FPCJ’s 2017 Media Fellowship Program, an excellent opportunity for Canadian journalists to visit and report on Japan, Canada's 4th largest trade partner and a longtime cultural and political ally.
The program is designed to enable foreign journalists to broadcast or write articles that will give their audience accurate and up-to-date information on Japan with the goal of deepening friendly relations and mutual understanding between Japan and Canada.
Topics for reported should be related to current Japanese politics, economics, foreign policy, society, and culture.
The FPCJ covers the following expenses for each Journalist Fellow:
- Return economy-class air tickets to and from Tokyo by the most direct route available
- Accommodation fee for the duration of the fellowship, including breakfast
- Per-diem (¥6,000 (C$70) per day; ¥3,000 (C$35) on the day of arrival and departure, and on the day of the FPCJ-hosted luncheon)
- Return bus fare to and from Narita Airport and the Tokyo hotel
- Travel expenses for any travel out of Tokyo to a city which is over 100 km one-way in Japan’s Railway calculation
- Interpreters and escorts for interviews
- Insurance for the duration of the fellowship
The itinerary will be determined based on each journalist’s requests. The recipients of the FPCJ Fellowships will spend six nights and seven days in Japan, arriving in Japan on Sunday and leaving the following Saturday, between April 2017 and March 2018. The journalists should provide FPCJ with an overview of which locations and people he or she would like to meet, and which topics he or she would like to discuss, preferably including a list of four or five questions for each intended interview.
*Note: Due to the intensive nature of the Fellowship Program, participants are requested to be occupied mostly with journalist activities. If participants wish to plan unreleated sightseeing and entertainment, they are asked to do so during free time in the evenings. Also, due to the professional and intensive nature of the program, family members or friends are not permitted to accompany participants.
To apply for the fellowship, interested journalists should request an application form (and if applicable provide any past article(s) on Japan or East Asia as a PDF attachment) via email to michael.roberts@asiapacific.ca. The deadline for applications to APF Canada is March 10, 2017.
