The Japan Prizewinners Programme (JPP) was a one-year postgraduate course for outstanding

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

graduates with a university master's degree, who may aspire to become leaders in Dutch society. Each year up to 20 participants were recruited among the best university graduates in various fields of study. The programme consisted of a 4-month high-intensity course of Japanese language and culture at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

, The Netherlands. Upon successful completion of the exams, the students would travel to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan where they would follow an advanced course of Japanese language for 2 months at the Japan-Netherlands Institute in Tokyo. After this specialist language training the students continued with the core of the programme: an internship at a Japanese company or institution, related to their field of study. The first group of students of the Japan Prizewinners Programme started their training in September 1995. The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science terminated its support for the program in 2008; the last group of JPP graduates obtained their diplomas in September 2008.

References

Leiden University {{Netherlands-university-stub