Website: http://www.spf.org/e/index.html
Address: The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Bldg., 1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524, Japan
Year Founded: 1986

Outline of Activities

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation carries out a range of programs aimed at promoting international understanding, exchanges, and cooperation. Working in these areas, SPF attempts to enhance the welfare of humankind and foster a healthy international society, while ultimately contributing to the furtherance of world peace.

The foundation’s projects are divided into two groups: regular projects and special funds. Grant making for its regular projects focuses on three themes: (1) Toward the Coexistence of Pluralistic Values; (2) Fostering Human Security and Private Nonprofit Activities; and (3) Japan and Asia in the World.

Its special funds are region-specific, and each develops its own programs, as follows:

• The Global Frontier Fund (external site) was newly established following the merger of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation (renamed The Ocean Policy Research Institute, SPF) on April 1, 2015. The Fund conducts and supports projects that build on projects that both Foundations have been carrying out, as a merged entity.
• The Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund (external site) strengthens friendly relations between Japan and China through exchanges, personnel training, and research projects aimed at introducing a market economy in China.
• The Sasakawa Middle East Islam Fund (external site) is a private foundation that aims to make a proactive contribution toward establishing peace in the Middle East and showcasing Japan in the region, by hosting activities at the grassroots level that foster interaction between Japan and the Middle East.
• The Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund (external site) promotes mutual understanding and cooperation among the island nations of the Pacific. Specifically, it promotes exchange between the people of Japan and other Pacific island nations and builds links between government bodies, NGOs, and other organizations interested in strengthening the region’s harmony and in enhancing the quality of life in these island societies.
• The Sasakawa Pan Asia Fund (external site) helps stabilize the current rapid social change in Asia by providing assistance in education, agriculture, policymaking, and networking.

In addition, The Ocean Policy Research Institute, SPF (external site), is a “do-tank,” dedicated to selected research activities involving ocean policy, and the dissemination of useful information and policy proposals on ocean issues.