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US-Japan Foundation Expands Grant Program
November 2020
The United States-Japan Foundation is pleased to announce a restructuring and an expansion of its Grant Program profile.
As in previous years, grants will be awarded biannually (Spring and Autumn), but the grant categories have been revised. Spring grants will be awarded to applications addressing a specific theme announced by the Foundation. Autumn grants will be awarded to applications submitted under the Foundation’s legacy categories of Education, Policy and Communication & Public Opinion (see below for schedules). In general, a greater percentage of the Foundation’s available annual funds will be dedicated to thematic grants.
Thematic Grants
Thematic grants present opportunities for a diverse range of individuals, sectors and disciplines to address a single issue of mutual consequence to American and Japanese societies. The Foundation will favor projects submitted by partnerships of Japanese and American applicants.
Themes will be proposed annually. Projects proposing one and two year durations will be considered. Funding for multi-year grants will be awarded annually (incrementally) based on satisfactory performance.
Recipients of discrete thematic grants will be fully informed about the contents of all other successful thematic applications. All awardees will be expected to interact in biannual gatherings (virtual) organized by the Foundation. Sharing resources, methodologies, discoveries and critiques, each thematic cohort is will be expected to devise a method of communicating its relevant insights to specialists and general audiences. The Foundation will actively monitor awards and peer perspectives may be solicited to evaluate
the original application or to observe or assist the grantee’s progress.
2021 Theme: Disruption and Resilience
The inaugural theme initiated with this application invitation addresses the topic of “Disruption and Resilience.” March 11, 2021 marks the tenth anniversary of the triple, interlinked disasters –earthquake, tsunami and an overwhelmed nuclear facility–which struck Japan’s Tohoku region.
Consequences of that series of events continue to reverberate nationally and internationally across all areas of society. Its consequences are both expected and surprising.
The Foundation welcomes project applications addressing aspects the Tohoku disaster or topics which range more widely and address the reactions of societies jarred by or anticipating disruptions of scale, whether natural or human in origin.
The 2022 theme will be announced in November 2021.
USJF Legacy Grants
The annual Autumn cycle will be dedicated to applications submitted under the familiar categories of Policy, Pre-collegiate Education and Communication and Public Opinion. This grant cycle will continue the Foundation’s dedication to our traditional grant categories. Applications for grants proposing projects of one and two duration will be considered. Funding for multi-year grants will be awarded annually (incrementally) based on satisfactory performance.
The Foundation will favor projects submitted by partnerships of Japanese and American applicants. In addition, grant applications that propose partnerships with other sponsoring sources are encouraged. The Foundation may suggest partnership sources to the grantee.
Out of Cycle Requests
Although the Foundation plans to focus the Spring grant cycle on thematic grants and the Autumn cycle on traditional category grants, out of cycle requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
COVID-19
The Foundation recognizes the considerable and varying restrictions imposed local and national jurisdictions attempting to contain the pandemic. These restrictions will likely be in place through much of 2021 and beyond.
In the interest of limiting the spread of the Corona virus during these extraordinary times, the Foundation has ruled out International travel for its staff for 2021. Likewise, the Foundation will not accept grant proposals which request funds for international travel for 2021. Also, any proposed group gatherings must comply with attendance limitations as determined by local jurisdictions.
Grant timeline for 2021 and beyond
Spring (themed) cycle:
• November: announcement of the coming year’s theme
• January 15: Letters of Inquiry (LOI) due
• February 1: Request for Proposals (RFP) issued to selected projects
• March 1: Proposals Due
• April (approx. 3rd week): Grants awarded
• May, November (approx.) : Themed grant portfolio touch-point sessions
(virtual)
Autumn (traditional category) cycle:
• July 15: LOIs due
• August 1: RFPs issued
• September 1: Proposals Due
• October (approx. 4th week): Grants awarded
We hope and expect that this expansion of the US-Japan Foundation grant program will provide meaningful and impactful results and bring together a wide variety of organizations – familiar and unfamiliar – to the Foundation’s family of partners.
Please address any question or concerns to us at programs@us-jf.org.
The United States-Japan Foundation is pleased to announce grants award during its Spring 2020 funding cycle. Click here to learn more.
The United States-Japan Foundation is saddened to announce the passing of Michael Morales on May 8, 2020. Michael was a much-admired Fellow of the Foundation’s US-Japan Leadership Program’s Class of 2018-19. Known for his energizing and warm personality, infectious smile and deeply compassionate spirit, the Foundation was proud to have him in the Program and he will be greatly missed by all Foundation staff, trustees and members of the Leadership Program whose lives he touched.
He leaves wife Elisha and sons Gabriel, Diego, Kai and Izzy. A GoFundMe campaign has been established to assist his family. Memories and condolences may be shared at his online memorial site.
Since 2000, the US-Japan Leadership Program has been devoted to developing a network of friendship, communication and understanding among the next generation of leaders in the two countries. Over the course of two summers, some 40 young leaders are brought together to explore and discuss important topics of mutual interest. Once selected for the Program, participants gain lifelong access to the unique pool of USJLP talent, connections and opportunities.
To qualify for the 2020-2021 USJLP conferences, candidates must hold U.S. or Japan citizenship, be between the ages of 28 and 42 as of the first day of the 2020 conference (July 11, 2020), and have demonstrated leadership and achievement in their respective fields. USJLP strives to achieve a diverse and balanced class each year, and consideration will be given to leaders from a broad spectrum of careers and backgrounds.
The 21st Annual Conference will be held in Seattle, WA from July 11-18, 2020. Delegates who start the Program in 2020 are expected to return for their second year at the 2021 conference, currently scheduled to be held July 25 – August 1, 2021 in Japan. Learn more about USJLP conferences here.
To nominate a young leader for USJLP, please send a statement of support to
applications@usjlp.org indicating why he or she would be a good fit for USJLP, and the secretariats will be pleased to contact your nominee with application details.
The application deadline is Monday, December 9, 2019.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a CV, personal statement, recommendation letter from a leader in their field, and an application cover sheet with headshot photo. Applicants will be notified of the results in February, 2020.
Visit the USJLP Applications page for complete details and necessary documents.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNITED STATES-JAPAN FOUNDATION HIRES NEW PRESIDENT!
September 23, 2019, New York, NY – The United States-Japan Foundation announced the appointment of Dr. James T. Ulak as the organization’s new President. He will succeed Dr. George Packard and serve as the Foundation’s fifth president since its establishment in 1980.
As President of the Foundation Ulak will have the overall responsibility for the communication and implementation of the Foundation’s mission and all aspects of the organization’s operations including administration, strategic planning, supervision of the Foundation’s grant making program in the United States and Japan, and the US-Japan Leadership Program.
Ulak has functioned as an educator, scholar, curator and cultural diplomat. At the Smithsonian, he oversaw a significant expansion of the museum’s already distinguished Japanese art holdings and advanced the financial base for the increase of exhibitions, programs and staff development. He worked closely with Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, The Japan Foundation, public and private Japanese museums, and a range of corporate entities.
He has held positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, and The Art Institute of Chicago which were followed by a twenty-five year tenure as a curator of Japanese art and senior administrator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Extensive experience in Japan preceded Ulak’s career in Japanese art. In the 1970s and early 1980s he had pastoral duties at several Roman Catholic churches in the diocese of Kyoto and served as Director of Kibo no le, a municipal social service center in the heart of one of Kyoto’s most challenged neighborhoods. He also developed a series of cultural immersion training programs for American theology students embarking on careers in Japan.
Ulak is the recipient of many distinguished awards and fellowships, most notably, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, conferred by the Government of Japan in 2010 in recognition of his exceptional achievement in strengthening Japan-US bilateral relations in the area of cultural exchange.
“We are proud and excited to welcome Jim Ulak to the United States-Japan Foundation. I am very confident Jim will bring new strategy and focus to our organization and to our grantmaking in the United States and Japan. Jim’s wealth of experience, leadership, strategic perspective, interpersonal skills and philanthropic outlook will clearly advance the activities of the Foundation” said Mr. James W. Lintott, Chair of the Board.
The United States-Japan Foundation, incorporated under United States law in 1980, was founded with a grant of $44.8 million from the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation (now known as the Nippon Foundation).
The United States-Japan Foundation is the only private independent American grant making foundation dedicated to the mutual interests of the American and Japanese people. The United States-Japan Foundation is committed to promoting stronger ties between Americans and Japanese by supporting projects that foster mutual knowledge and education, deepen understanding, create effective channels of communication, and address common concerns in an increasingly interdependent world.
The United States-Japan Foundation offers grants in the areas of pre-college education, communication / public opinion, US-Japan policy studies and operates the United States-Japan Leadership Program.
The Foundation is pleased to announce the 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award winner! Read about them here.
The United States-Japan Foundation is pleased to announce grants award during its Spring 2019 funding cycle. Click here to learn more.
Letters of Inquiry for the Foundation’s Fall 2019 funding cycle are due by July 15, 2019. Details regarding our application are available here.
The US-Japan Foundation is proud to announce the newest class of Delegates to the US-Japan Leadership Program (USJLP). The purpose of USJLP is to develop a network of communication, friendship and understanding among the next generation of leaders in the U.S. and Japan. The Program aims to foster a continuing dialogue among rising stars in leadership from a variety of backgrounds and professions. It starts this process by bringing together some 20 young leaders, ages 28-42, from each country for two intensive weeklong conferences over two years, with discussions revolving around historical and current issues in bilateral relations, as well as issues reaching beyond our two countries. Through serious conversation as well as recreation and shared cultural activities it seeks to nurture lifelong friendships.
Once selected for the Program, members gain lifelong access to the unique pool of USJLP talent and are able to engage in activities that take place throughout the U.S. and Japan, from intellectual gatherings to informal meetings. After nineteen years, the USJLP network boasts 431 members in both countries. Prominent members of the Program include: Foreign Minister Taro Kono, National Security Council Senior Director for Asia Matthew Pottinger, member of Japan’s House of Representatives Motohisa Furukawa, renowned violinist Midori Goto and pianist Gohei Nishikawa, Claire Chino (Managing Executive Officer, Itochu Corporation), Johnathan Capehart (The Washington Post), Nikole Hannah-Jones (The New York Times Magazine), CNN anchor John Berman, medical journalist Dr. Mona Khanna, newscaster/reporter Tomoko Kubota, composers Todd Frazier and Christopher Theofanidis, racing driver Keiko Ihara, architect Satoshi Okada, NASA astronaut Dan Tani, actor Tetsuya Bessho, U.S. Congressman Michael Waltz (Florida), California State Senator Benjamin Allen, Nevada State Attorney General Aaron Ford, former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski, and Olympic silver medalist Yuko Arimori.
The pool of candidates for seats at the 2019 conference was extremely competitive. In addition to leadership criteria, selections for each class aim to shape the unique delegation of first and second-year participants with a diverse representation of professions, geographic areas and perspectives. In total, 21 new Delegates (8 Americans and 13 Japanese) will join 23 returning second year Delegates for the Program’s 20th Annual Conference in Japan from July 21-28, 2019. The Class of 2019-2020 will convene for their second conference next summer, to be held July 11-18, 2020 in Seattle. Delegates will be joined by Fellows (alumni) on the final two days of each conference, creating new and strengthening existing inter-class bonds.
Click here to view all 44 Delegates to the 2019 Japan Conference
2019-2020 American Delegates:
- Courtney Beale, Consul General and Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate General in Merida, Mexico, U.S. Department of State
- Melissa Boteach, Vice President, Income Security & Child Care/Early Learning, National Women’s Law Center
- Sewell Chan, Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times
- Aisha Fukushima, RAPtivist / Singer / Speaker, RAPtivism
- CDR Micah Murphy, Commanding Officer, USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), U.S. Navy
- Harper Reed, Entrepreneur; Founder & CEO, Modest, Inc.; Director’s Fellow, MIT Media Lab
- Karin Tanabe, Author, St. Martin’s Press
- Andrew Tryba, Founder & CEO, Think3; Founder & CEO, Crossover; Co-founder & CEO, RideAustin; CEO of Engine Yard, DNN Corp, Kayako, Bizness Apps, FogBugz, School Loop, Agemni, and SLI Systems; Board Member, Texas Central High Speed Rail; Founder, Japanese Heritage Academy
2019-2020 Japanese Delegates:
- Ayako Hatano, Associate Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Haruka Horii, Violinist; Composer/Arranger; Educator
- Takafumi Horii, Area Head, Near East, Middle East & Africa (NEMEA), Emerging Markets Business Unit, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Eijiro Imai, Managing Director, Farallon Capital
- Junko Miyazawa, Manager, Strategic Planning Unit, Machinery Group CEO Office, Mitsubishi Corporation
- LCDR Tomoaki Nakano, Lieutenant Commander, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
- Sawa Nakagawa, Founder & Partner, ThreeArrows Impact Partner
- Kunihiro Nishimura, CEO / Founder, Xcoo, Inc.
- Yuko Osaki, Director, Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office
- Manabu Ozato, Creative Producer, Hakuhodo, Inc.
- Dai Tamesue, Sports Commentator; Coach; CEO, Athlete Society; Board Member, J-League
- Emily Wang Fujiyama, Video Journalist, Associated Press
- Mai Yaguchi, Deputy Director, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
The United States-Japan Foundation is pleased to announce grants award during its October 2018 funding cycle. Click here to learn more.