A press conference was held at The Nippon Foundation’s head office in Tokyo on May 30 to announce the resumption of two private-sector exchange programs between Japan and China. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China, and in July the Japan–China Field Officer Exchange program for officers of the Japan Self Defense Forces and the People’s Liberation Army, which had been suspended for four years because of the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to resume.

[Support in Japan]

Financial Assistance to Evacuees from Ukraine
We are providing assistance for travel and living expenses for Ukrainian citizens who have evacuated to Japan as a result of Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and who have a guarantor with residence status in Japan.

The Nippon Foundation is carrying out the following support measures while closely following the situation with regard to infections.

With the declining birthrate having become a major issue for Japan, in March 2023 The Nippon Foundation conducted its 4th Awareness Survey of 10,000 Women, on the topic of “Declining Birthrate and Raising Children,” to gauge Japanese women’s attitudes toward raising children against a backdrop of a declining birthrate.

Providing emotional support to children with serious illnesses

Facility dogs are service dogs specifically trained to be close to children hospitalized with serious illnesses. They are part of the hospital staff and provide emotional support to children and their families. The dogs accompany children when doing things like going to the operating room or when having blood samples taken, and their presence helps to relieve the children’s stress, approach their treatment with a positive attitude, and promote a healthy appetite and rehabilitation.

The Nippon Foundation’s THE TOKYO TOILET project is recreating public toilets in 17 locations in Shibuya, Tokyo, to make them accessible to everyone. The 15th facility, in Hatagaya (3-37-8 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; UTokyo DLX Design Lab / Miles Pennington, creator) opened to the public on February 22; the 16th facility, in Sasazuka Greenway (1-29 Sasazuka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Junko Kobayashi / Gondola Architects, creator), opened on March 10; and the 17th facility, in Nishisando (3-27-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Sou Fujimoto, creator), opened on March 24.

The Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census is a global initiative to discover unknown marine life, jointly launched by The Nippon Foundation and Nekton Foundation as an open network based on cooperation among the scientific world, the media, academia, business, and the private sector.

On April 27 (London time), The Nippon Foundation and Nekton Foundation of Britain announced the launch of The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, an international project to explore unknown marine life.

The Nippon Foundation launched the “Project to Study Possibilities for Collaboration with the Next Generation of Nikkei” in April 2023. The project aims to use the Foundation’s experience and networks from its support of Nikkei communities to date, to provide a platform for discussion among next-generation Nikkei^* leaders who face similar challenges without being constrained by position, affiliation, or interests.

Marking the 34th anniversary of Peruvian-Japanese Friendship Day, a certificate of commendation jointly signed by María del Pilar Cordero Jon Tay, Chairperson of the Peru-Japan Friendship League of Congress, and José Daniel Williams Zapata, President of the Congress of Peru, was presented to The Nippon Foundation on April 3, 2023. The presentation was in recognition of the Foundation’s contributions to Peru, and to Peru’s Nikkei^* society in particular, in areas including support for medical and welfare facilities in Peru and human resource development for young Nikkei.

MetLife Insurance K.K. (“MetLife Japan”) and The Nippon Foundation held a ceremony on March 21 to mark the opening of MetLife Foundation Ratan in the city of Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture. This is the first Children’s 3rd Place^*1 to open in Unzen, as well as the first to open as part of the “MetLife Foundation and The Nippon Foundation: ‘Better Life Better Place’ for the Elderly and Children” program.^*2

With local elections to take place across Japan in April, the 55th installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from February 22 to 27 on the subject of “Local Legislative Assemblies.” The survey found that, of young people aged 18 and older who are residents of prefectures or municipalities where elections are scheduled, roughly 15% were aware of the upcoming elections. Of those respondents, more than 80% intend to vote, but that still means that only roughly 12% of all young people will vote.

The Nippon Foundation is providing assistance for travel expenses, daily living expenses, and home furnishing expenses to people who have evacuated from Ukraine to Japan. The details are as follows.

The 54th installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from January 27 to February 1 on the subject of the “National Diet and Politicians.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s interest in politics and their impression and opinions regarding the Diet (national legislature) and Diet members.
The results showed that while a majority of respondents expressed interest in politics for reasons including “Politics will be relevant to my life now or in the future,” negative views including “Responses to unforeseen events,” “Reflecting the people’s will,” and “Lack of integrity / transparency” were expressed, with a majority saying that the Diet is “Not a place for meaningful policy deliberation” and more than 60% feeling that the “Opinions of young people are not incorporated.” In addition, when asked if they had “High hopes” for today’s politics, only one in five replied affirmatively, with the remaining 80% saying they did not. With regard to measures to improve the functioning of the Diet, the top replies for how to increase interest in politics were the “Election of younger Diet members” and “Online activities.”

Ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, four of the 1,921 Ukrainian evacuees to Japan receiving support for travel and living expenses from The Nippon Foundation gathered on February 20 to discuss the issues they currently face in Japan and their thoughts regarding their home country.

The 53^rd installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from January 11-16 on the subject of “National Security.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s attitudes and opinions regarding peace and Japan’s national security policies, and increasing the defense budget.
When asked what they saw as the biggest threat to Japan over the next five years, the top response among both men and women was “war or the effects from conflict among countries neighboring Japan,” followed by an “armed attack by another country against Japan.” More than 30% of respondents also rated the likelihood of Japan becoming involved in an armed conflict with another country within the next five years as “50% or higher.”
Opinion was divided with regard to the increase in defense spending currently being deliberated in the Diet, with 38% approving and 32% disapproving.

Supporting Nikkei communities around the world for 50 years

The Nippon Foundation began supporting Nikkei^* communities in various countries in the 1970s as a tribute to the early generations of Japanese emigrants who overcame numerous hardships in other countries under emigration policies and who laid the foundation of today’s Nikkei communities. In addition to supporting the early generation of emigrants, The Nippon Foundation today also provides support for the education and development of the networks for the next generation of the Nikkei communities.

Developing specialist knowledge and cultivating leaders for next generation of Nikkei society through training and social contribution activities while studying in Japan
The Nippon Foundation Nikkei Scholarship, administered by the Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad, has supported 148 young Nikkei from 11 countries (as of September 2022) from Latin America and Asia.
The scholarship program has three unique features: (1) A wide range of choices for the institusion and subject; (2) A robust program that includes training opportunities; and (3) A network of other scholars after completing the program.

A ceremony was held at The Nippon Zaidan Building on January 17 to present the portable wooden stage used in the Nippon Bunraku project to the city of Hachioji in western Tokyo.

The Nippon Foundation’s THE TOKYO TOILET project is recreating public toilets in 17 locations in Shibuya, Tokyo, to make them accessible to everyone. The 14th facility, in Urasando Park (4-28-1 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Marc Newson, creator) opened to the public on January 20.

Yohei Sasakawa, The Nippon Foundation Chairman and World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, was received by Pope Francis at the Vatican on the morning of January 26 (local time). Mr. Sasakawa asked for the pope’s cooperation in eliminating both the disease of leprosy and the prejudice and discrimination that accompany it. In response, the pope thanked Mr. Sasakawa for his work as WHO goodwill ambassador and displayed a deep understanding of the situation, noting the need to continue to work to make people understand that leprosy is a curable disease.

The 52^nd installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from December 2-5, 2022, on the subject of “Values and Life Design.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 (i.e., approaching or just having reached legal adulthood) was intended to examine young people’s values and thinking regarding marriage and partnership, and child-rearing.
While more than 40% of male and female respondents replied “Yes” to the question, “Do you want to get married in the future,” only roughly 20% of men and roughly 10% of women replied “Definitely yes” when asked, “Do you believe you actually will get married in the future.” In addition, more than 70% approved of common-law marriages, the use of separate surnames by husbands and wives, and partnership oath systems for same-sex couples.
With regard to Japan’s aging population and declining birthrate, more than 70% of both men and women view the situation with a sense of crisis, while roughly 80% replied that the government’s response is “insufficient” and showed a clear desire for economic support including tuition-free education.

The Nippon Foundation held a symposium on December 5 to mark the launch of the Digital Transformation Fund, established with a US$3 million donation from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google LLC, to use the power of digital transformation to invigorate the social sector.

The Nippon Foundation has announced the results of a survey of evacuees from Ukraine who are 18 years old and older. Of the 750 respondents, roughly one in four (24.7%) showed a clear desire to settle in Japan, replying that they “Want to stay in Japan for as long as possible.” Adding those who replied that they “Want to stay in Japan until the situation in Ukraine stabilizes” brought the percentage of evacuees who wish to become long-term residents of Japan to 65.5%.

The MetLife Foundation and The Nippon Foundation announced on December 12 the launch of Shared House Satchan-chi, a home-like hospice for older people located in Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture. The hospice is part of the “MetLife Foundation and The Nippon Foundation: ‘Better Life Better Place’ for the Elderly and Children” program, which is funded by donations from the MetLife Foundation, and is the program’s first home-like hospice for older people.

The 51st installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from October 21 to 25 on the subject of “Coronavirus, Travel, and Inbound Tourism.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s thinking regarding the relaxation of border controls introduced to stop the spread of coronavirus infections, and travel within and outside Japan.

The Nippon Foundation, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Otake City held a joint demonstration project on November 17 on Atata Island for the efficient recovery and processing of large amounts of debris that have washed up on a remote island that is difficult to access, as part of their efforts to reduce plastic ocean debris.

Japan’s Special Envoy for National Reconciliation in Myanmar and The Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa has brokered a cease-fire and reached an agreement between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army ethnic armed group. Mr. Sasakawa visited Myanmar on November 25-27 and met with senior leaders of both Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army to continue brokering a humanitarian cease-fire. He also plans to visit Rakhine state before the end of this year to work out further details.

TESMaP, a joint initiative of The Nippon Foundation and NIWA, has completed the fullest investigation to date into January’s eruption of the underwater Tongan volcano.

The Nippon Foundation held an international seminar on ocean development on November 9 in a hybrid face-to-face and online format at The Nippon Zaidan Building in Tokyo. More than 210 participants attended the seminar either in person or online, and in addition to presentations by the presenters, the seminar concluded with a lively Q&A session and exchange of opinions with the audience.

The 50th installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from September 22 to 27 on the subject of “Internet Use and Online Abuse.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s thinking regarding strengthening laws on online abuse and slander.

At a press event held on October 24 at The Nippon Foundation headquarters, the Japan Hydrographic Association (JHA) and The Nippon Foundation announced the joint launch of the Umi-no-Chizu Project (Map of the Sea Project) to use aerial measurement to map 90% of Japan’s shallow coastal waters (up to a depth of 20 meters).

The Nippon Foundation will release “Global Disability and Diversity Fact Sheet for CEOs” as part of the initiatives of a working group that worked with persons with disabilities remotely. This fact sheet summarizes the current situation and actions that companies that engage in disability inclusion, such as hiring persons with disabilities and developing products/services for customers with disabilities, should know at a minimum. We hope you will find this useful.

Japanese emigration, for economic reasons or to pursue challenges in a new world, began in full from the 1880s. Many emigrants took up agriculture in North and South America, but developing virgin land for agriculture was by no means easy. These emigrants therefore established mutual aid organizations of Japanese or Nikkei* residents to ensure lifestyles and health, educate children, and pass on Japanese culture. In Brazil, they built meeting halls and sports facilities known as kaikan in communities with large Nikkei populations. Some of these still exist today, hosting festivals and other Japan-themed seasonal events.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more than 1,700 Ukrainians have evacuated to Japan. In late March, The Nippon Foundation announced that it would provide assistance with travel, daily living, and home furnishing expenses for up to 1,000 of these evacuees, and in late July that number was raised to 2,000.

The 49th installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from August 26 to 31 on the subject of “Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s experiences, thinking, and actions with regard to large-scale natural disasters and disaster prevention and mitigation.
More than 80% of respondents expressed concerns regarding disasters being exacerbated by global warming and forecasts of a large-scale earthquake occurring in the next 10 to 20 years, and view the situation with a sense of crisis. At the same time, however, more than half did not know things like the location of their locally designated evacuation center and less than 20% were familiar with the government’s evacuation information guidelines, showing a need for greater public awareness of disaster-related systems and countermeasures.

Earlier this year, The Nippon Foundation and The Nippon Foundation Volunteer Support Center jointly launched The Volunteer Program for Ukraine, a program that plans to send 105 Japanese university student volunteers (in seven groups of 15 people each) to countries bordering Ukraine to assist evacuees from Ukraine, for two weeks each from May to October.

On September 20, 2022, The Nippon Foundation established and began accepting donations to the No Barriers Fund to support people with disabilities, who are often placed at a disadvantage in education and employment.
This fund will be used to support the activities of NGOs and other organizations that support people with disabilities in Japan and overseas, in areas including employment support, sports, and artistic activities, with the aim of realizing an inclusive society.

A ceremony was held at The Nippon Zaidan Building on May 30 to see off the first two groups see off the first two groups of Japanese university student volunteers who are being dispatched to Poland to assist evacuees from Ukraine as part of a joint project with The Nippon Foundation Volunteer Center. The first group of 15 students will be dispatched from May 31 to June 16, and the second group of 15 will be dispatched from June 13 to 29, and 25 of those students attended the send-off ceremony. From their base in Krakow, the students will assist people who have evacuated from Ukraine by distributing food and other items, managing relief supplies, and assisting with the dissemination of information about activities being carried out by NGOs.

The 48th installment of the Awareness Survey of 18-Year-Olds, launched by The Nippon Foundation in October 2018, was carried out from July 29 to August 2 on the subject of “Energy.” The survey of 1,000 respondents in Japan aged 17 to 19 was intended to examine young people’s thinking and response to energy shortages and energy policy in light of the government’s request for reduced electricity consumption during the summer and policy for the full-fledged restart of nuclear power plants.
The results are as outlined below. While a majority of respondents were taking concrete actions to conserve electricity, less than 20% understood the reward points system the government has introduced to promote electricity conservation. A tendency toward prioritizing stable energy supplies was also seen, with a majority of respondents approving of nuclear power accounting for a larger portion of the country’s electrical power generation.