Japan will require researchers applying to grant programs to declare if they have received financial support from other countries in a bid to ensure transparency and protect intellectual property, officials said Monday.

The education ministry will begin putting such a requirement on people applying for the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research funds in the academic year starting in April, and those who provide false or incomplete information will be ineligible for a grant, officials said.

The ministry has so far been asking applicants to declare if they have received support from other domestic subsidy programs. The latest move will expand the scope to funds from abroad.