Your next action
Entry is closed for this cycle. Registered students should check October instructions; new applicants should await the next notice.
- Cycle
- 37th JMO / 25th JJMO, leading towards IMO 2027.
- Closed application period
- 1 July–10 September 2026, including payment.
- Preliminary
- 15 November 2026, 13:00–16:00 Japan time (JST, UTC+9).
- JMO individual fee
- JPY5,000 for this closed cycle; school-group rates differ.
JMO annual notice · JJMO annual notice
Checked 24 September 2026. The November exam date is not a registration deadline.
Organiser and local names
The Mathematical Olympiad Foundation of Japan organises 日本数学オリンピック (JMO) and 日本ジュニア数学オリンピック (JJMO). Official application and paper pages are in Japanese. This is an independent English guide.
JMO: eligibility and application route
The current notice permits entrants under 20 in November 2026 who have not received university-level or equivalent education. IMO candidates must be at high-school level or below when the IMO takes place; foreign nationals should ask the foundation about selection eligibility.
Individual and school-group routes were available; incomplete payment meant incomplete entry. Admission tickets are expected around October. See the 37th JMO notice and foundation enquiry page.
JMO 2026–27: which stage comes next?
- Preliminary: 12 answer-only questions in three hours, at designated venues.
- Final: 11 February 2027, 13:00–17:00 JST; five written-solution questions for A-rank qualifiers.
- Selection camp: planned for late March 2027; six candidate representatives are chosen afterwards.
Venue details may change. These stage dates come from the current annual notice, which should take priority over older calendar summaries.
JJMO: the junior route has a different preliminary format
The 25th JJMO notice admits students in the third year of junior high school or below in November 2026. The individual fee was JPY4,000; its application period is also closed.
Unlike the in-person JMO preliminary, this JJMO preliminary is online from home or another suitable location: 12 short-answer questions in three hours, on 15 November 2026, 13:00–16:00 JST. The foundation says detailed instructions will be posted in October. Qualified students take five written-solution questions on 11 February 2027, 13:00–17:00 JST; the top five JJMO awardees are invited to selection camp. Read the full junior notice.
From a domestic result to the IMO team
The JMO overview explains the combined camp route for eligible leading JMO and JJMO participants. It also says junior-high students may choose JMO. This does not mean that one application enters both contests; use the correct annual notice and ask the foundation if you are unsure which route is suitable.
Separate the competition edition from the sitting date. The 36th JMO is labelled 2026, but its preliminary was held on 16 November 2025. The forthcoming November 2026 preliminary belongs to the 37th JMO/2027 cycle. This is why old January dates and bare year labels can mislead a new entrant.
For home education, overseas schooling, nationality or other unusual eligibility cases, obtain the foundation’s ruling and check the IMO eligibility guide.
JMO papers: questions, short answers and full solutions
The foundation’s overview gives a year-by-year archive. Check each file: the 36th preliminary PDF includes a final-answer page, while the final PDF contains questions without worked solutions. A short answer key does not explain the proof.
- 36th JMO preliminary: 2026 edition, held 16 November 2025 — questions and short answers, Japanese PDF, 5 pages.
- 36th JMO final: 11 February 2026 — questions, Japanese PDF, 3 pages.
- JMO archive for other preliminary, final and camp papers.
- JJMO archive.
These are links to the foundation’s files; we have not republished them or obtained reuse permission. For a first attempt, keep the last answer page closed. Then distinguish a wrong answer from a missing method. Use our worked number-theory lesson and proof-writing guide to practise explaining the steps.
Previous results
Use the official domestic results pages for the relevant edition and stage. For international appearances and medals, use Japan in the official IMO archive. Do not interpret a domestic rank or camp invitation as a final IMO place.
If your school does not take part
An individual application route exists, but it does not override a closed deadline. Ask the foundation about the next announced cycle and any eligibility or access arrangements you need.
Organiser-enquiry checklist · Japan paper catalogue · National results index
Annual notices and linked paper contents checked 24 September 2026. No next-season opening date is assumed.