Applications for this project are not currently being accepted. The information below is provided as a record only.


The Nippon Foundation has recently begun a book donation project entitled “100 Books for Understanding Contemporary Japan” as a means to provide books on contemporary Japan in English to a wide readership overseas. This year, we intend to donate sets of books to 200 - 300 institutions throughout North America and we are now accepting applications from university and public libraries there.

Attached, please find a brief outline of the project and its aims, an application form, a book checklist and short summaries of the 100 books. Libraries interested in receiving some or all of these books are requested to send the documents requested below to The Nippon Foundation by email before June 30, 2009.

After your application has been screened, you will be notified as to whether or not it was successful. We hope to be able to announce the recipients in July, 2009. Should your application be successful, The Nippon Foundation will take all possible measures to ensure that your request for books is dealt with as speedily as possible. However, the process of preparing books for dispatch does take considerable time, and thus we ask that you please be prepared to wait up to six months before the books are delivered.

Should you wish to apply, please send the following documents to Etsuko Morimura at the email address listed below or at:

International Program Department, The Nippon Foundation
Akasaka 1-2-2, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-8404 Japan
Tel. 81-3-6229-5181 / Fax. 81-3-6229-5180

Required Documents

Book Donation Project
International Program Department The Nippon Foundation
Address: Akasaka 1-2-2, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-8404 Japan
Phone: 81-3-6229-5181
Fax: 81-3-6229-5180
E-mail: