Research and Training Opportunities

Research and Training Opportunities
SHOWA Medical University offers an International Postgraduate Program for young physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and related researchers from around the world who wish to further their education and/or career by studying in Japan. 
**Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are not accepting any new applications for the 2022/2023 program**
In particular, we encourage and prioritize faculty from our sister school and exchange-agreement universities to apply to this program as a way to encourage exchange between our institutions. You can find a full list of our sister school universities and individual schools with exchange agreements on our International Exchange page
For more information about the application process, please follow the link below.

Training Options

1. International Postgraduate Program

Our most common option, the “International Postgraduate Program” provides fellows the opportunity to study in one of our university’s hospitals and learn about the latest treatments and technology in a clinical department of their choice. 
Under this option, they can attend patient rounds and surgeries/treatments, view relevant patient data and records, participate in meetings and conference, co-author publication and articles, and utilize training models/equipment to improve their knowledge and skills. An official certificate of program completion with this title will issued at the end of the program. 
Please note that due to Japanese law, medical professionals who do not hold a Japanese medical license are not allowed to provide direct treatment to patients. For fellows interested in this possibility, they should consider our “Advanced Clinical Training” option. 

2. Advanced Clinical Training

 “Advanced Clinical Training” is an option accredited by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare under the Japanese law. If a “foreign medical practitioner” is granted a permit for this program, he/she may receive clinical training which includes clinical diagnosis and treatment of patients. Fellows in this option will receive an official certificate of program completion with this title at the end of the program.
Please note that this option is only available to medical professionals who have at least 3 years’ clinical experience. In addition, the application process generally takes a couple of months and application must be started after the person’s arrival to Japan – we cannot guarantee that a fellow will be able to participate in the “Advanced Clinical Training” option. Finally, the decision to apply/not apply for this permit will be made by your department and faculty sponsor. As such, we highly recommend you discuss with your desired department/faculty sponsor as soon as possible. 

3. Visiting Researcher

This option is available through any research lab in the schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing and Rehabilitation Sciences. The objective of this option is for foreign fellows to collaborate with a researcher in his/her lab in order to learn a new research technique and/or to conduct new research with the goal of future publication and/or presentation of the results. Researchers will be provided lab space and have access to the same equipment and facilities as any other researcher at SHOWA Medical University. An official certificate of program completion with this title will issued at the end of the program

Departments Hosting International Fellows: 2010-2018

We cannot guarantee that all departments listed below accept fellows every year or for every option (International postgraduate program, Advanced clinical training, or Visiting researcher). Please contact your desired department/faculty sponsor to confirm

School of Medicine

School of Dentistry

School of Pharmacy

  • Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, Division of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

School of Nursing and Rehabilitation Sciences


  • Oncology Nursing and Medical Oncology

Research/Clinical Training Centers

Below is a list of clinical/research departments who have related training programs for international fellows. Some of these departments/centers have their own application process, so fellows interested in these centers are highly encouraged to check their websites and/or contact them directly before starting the application process.

SUITE (SHOWA Medical University International Training center for Endoscopy and endoscopic surgery)

The center is established in SHOWA Medical University Northern Yokohama Hospital, and is visited by many international and domestic trainees who wish to learn the latest in endoscopic treatment. The center also holds international seminars and is promoting the use of gastrointestinal treatment techniques.

Northern Yokohama Hospital

Digestive Disease Center, SHOWA Medical University Koto Toyosu Hospital

This center aims to provide state-of-the-art treatment for patients suffering from various digestive diseases. Most notably, the center is famous for Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) treatment for achalasia and the Anti-Reflux Mucosectomy (ARMS) treatment of GERD. The center’s program for international fellows involves various aspects of endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of GI disease, magnifying endoscopy, IPCL pattern diagnosis in the squamous epithelium, NBI magnifying diagnosis in the stomach, EMR/ESD, POEM and laparoscopic surgery.
Koto Toyosu Hospital