Volunteer roleCycle: Recruitment twice a year (spring and autumn); short-term volunteers four times a year.

JICA Volunteer Program (JOCV)

Japan International Cooperation Agency Japan

Japan's long-running overseas volunteer program that dispatches Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and skilled volunteers to developing countries, after pre-departure language and technical training.

Free to start · no account needed

Get your tailored résumé and short bio for this programme, drafted from your own documents in about two minutes.

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About

Also: pre-dispatch training in Japan; placement with partner organisations abroad; support for returned volunteers.

Who can apply: Recruited through JICA in Japan; selection by documents, written exam and interviews.

Free to apply.

Recruitment twice a year (spring and autumn); short-term volunteers four times a year.

How to apply: through the organiser's own application portal (you need an account there).

What to prepare: application form, online tests.

From the official page (checked 2026-10-21): “Volunteer recruitment takes place twice a year in spring and autumn”

Who can apply

Open to students, working professionals, licensed professionals, people in a career transition
Recruited through JICA in Japan; selection by documents, written exam and interviews.

What you will need

Application form answersOnward Scout drafts it from your sourced profile; you approve every line.
Test scoresOnly you can supply it: upload it once and it is attached wherever it is asked for.

How to apply

Applications go through the official page (own portal), which needs an account in your name.

Let Onward Scout apply for me Official page

Step-by-step guide

How Onward Scout helps

This one is submitted on the organiser's own site, behind your login. Onward Scout prepares every answer and file in the form's order with one-tap copy, so submitting takes minutes; you mark it submitted when you're done.

Every answer is drafted from your own documents and cites where each fact came from; anything we can’t source is flagged for you, never invented.

Key facts

Timing: Cycle: Recruitment twice a year (spring and autumn); short-term volunteers four times a year.
What you get: pre-dispatch training in Japan · placement with partner organisations abroad
Also included: pre-dispatch training in Japan · placement with partner organisations abroad · support for returned volunteers
Cost: Free to apply and take part
Where: Japan
Language: JA
Last checked: 21 October 2026

volunteering abroadjapandevelopmentskilled volunteersnikkei communities

Programs change their terms. The official page is the final word on dates, amounts and rules.

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Get your tailored résumé and short bio for this programme, drafted from your own documents in about two minutes. Free to start, no account needed: you look at the draft first, and nothing goes to Japan International Cooperation Agency without your tap.

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