Sojitz Foundation

The Sojitz Foundation was established in 1988 for the purpose of promoting international understanding by providing support for academic research, education and promoting international exchange activities. Since its establishment, the Foundation has provided grants and scholarship totaling approximately one billion yen. Sojitz supports the Foundation's aims and continues to make contributions.

Grants are awarded in three major areas.
The first is support for academic research to foster better understanding of Japan.
The second is scholarships for privately financed foreign students studying at universities in Japan.
The third is grants for various international exchanges and programs to promote understanding between Japan and the countries of the world.

We help bring scholarship students to Japan every year from many different regions, mainly in Asia. From now on we will continue to provide support to approximately 20 students annually, contributing to international exchange.

Note: In FY2021, a special quota was implemented to provide scholarships to international students facing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with three students receiving the scholarships.

International Exchange Support Provided by Sojitz Foundation

The 71st Japan-America Student Conference

The Japan-America Student Conference was founded with the philosophy that world peace requires peace in the Pacific, and peace in the Pacific requires peace between Japan and the United States—and that students have a role to play in building that peace. The conference is held over three weeks every summer, alternating the host country each year between Japan and the United States. This program continues to build mutual understanding, friendship, and trust between students from the two countries, with conference activities being planned and organized by the students themselves.

Dates: August 5th–28th, 2019
Location: Japan (Kochi, Kyoto, Gifu, Tokyo)
Participants: 64 in total (32 Japanese, 32 American)

44th ‘Japan Week’ Event held in 2019 in Athens, Greece

Designed to deepen understanding of Japan and encourage exchanges between citizens, Japan Week contributes to closer Japan-Greece relations by introducing Japanese culture related to a wide variety of subjects, including traditional performing arts, traditional crafts, art, music, and sports. This event also featured stage performances, exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops, and visits to schools and senior citizen clubs, as well as music, dance, and cooking exchanges.

Dates: November 23rd–28th, 2019
Location: Athens, Greece
Participants: 86 groups comprising 1,311 individuals from Japan; one group from Greece; 24,000 attendees

Exchanges with Sojitz Employees

The Sojitz Foundation brings Sojitz employees and scholarship recipients together every year at an annual event, with the 2020 and 2021 event being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the event, the students shared opinions about aspects of Japanese culture and customs that have surprised them in Japan. The event also served as a forum for the students to exchange thoughts and concerns about the ongoing pandemic, making it a very meaningful time for the participants.