2026 Third Quarter

Led by the American Studies Association (ASA) and the Japan Association for American Studies (JAAS), this project deepens transpacific scholarly exchange and next-generation leadership. Over two years, the initiative sends U.S. faculty and board delegates to JAAS annual meetings in Japan while supporting Japanese graduate students attending ASA conferences in the United States. Through structured mentorship, student outreach, and joint programming on AI governance and higher education, it builds a self-sustaining transpacific scholarly community to address shared global challenges.

Location: Sacramento, CA
Grant Awarded: $25,000

Led by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE), this initiative establishes the strategic foundation for the Japan Fund for Democracy (provisional name), an independent philanthropic effort dedicated to advancing democratic values, fundamental freedoms, and human rights in the Indo-Pacific region. Focusing initially on AI and democracy, the project engages specialized expertise to formulate a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy. Key components include analyzing potential donor demographics, crafting compelling brand messaging, developing tailored engagement channels, and identifying optimal donation platforms to ensure long-term financial sustainability for civil society grantmaking.

Location: Minato, Tokyo
Grant Awarded: $25,000

This one-year initiative by the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) examines how Japan is navigating major geopolitical shifts in its security posture and U.S. alliance dynamics. Through desk research, expert roundtables, and regional consultations in Tokyo, Seoul, and Canberra, the project evaluates Japan’s expanding security partnerships across the Indo-Pacific. By analyzing host-nation support negotiations and potential coordination gaps, the initiative generates actionable policy recommendations to help leaders, policymakers, and U.S. campaign advisors maintain regional stability and modernize bilateral strategic cooperation.

Location: New York, NY
Grant Awarded: $73,000

Led by the Japan Association of New Public, the NPO Management Juku is a practical leadership program that aims to strengthen the organizational foundations of growth-stage nonprofits and support their transition to sustainable management structures. Designed for heads of nonprofits with annual budgets of ¥10 million to ¥100 million, the program supports the development of medium-term management plans that integrate programs, finances, and organization through residential retreats and workshops. Through dialogue with experienced nonprofit leaders and peer learning within a community that includes alumni, the program helps organizations move away from a reliance on frontline operations while building a resilient management ecosystem that supports Japan’s nonprofit sector as a whole.

Location: Minato, Tokyo
Grant Awarded: $25,000

Organized by Service Grant Japan, this project establishes the “NPO Mentoring Program” as a scalable support infrastructure for Japan’s nonprofit sector. To address systemic challenges like a lack of someone to consult, isolation, burnout, and staff turnover, the initiative provides biweekly mentoring over three months to help NPO leaders and staff work through operational challenges and career concerns, and support them in taking their next steps. Key activities include expanding mentor recruitment beyond working mothers to younger and mid-career professionals, defining matching criteria and logic on the GRANT pro bono platform, and conducting outreach to nonprofits to strengthen organizational continuity and growth, and the talent base addressing social issues.

Location: Shibuya, Tokyo
Grant Awarded: ¥3,496,000

Conducted by Old Dominion University, this qualitative research project investigates how older adults in rural Gifu Prefecture, Japan, navigate decisions about driving cessation and voluntary driver's license surrender. Through fieldwork and semi-structured interviews with residents aged 70 and older, this study explores the practical and social consequences of driving cessation, the availability and practicality of alternative transportation, and perceptions of autonomous vehicles as potential mobility solutions. By analyzing participants’ experiences alongside national and local policies, this project seeks to generate policy insights from Japan's experience that may inform approaches to balancing road safety with continued mobility and independence in aging, car-dependent communities in the United States.

Location: Norfolk, VA
Grant Awarded: $12,000

In collaboration with Purdue University, Kyoai Gakuen University’s two-year initiative advances gifted education and talent development across Japan and the United States. Building on momentum from a joint 2024 symposium in Gunma Prefecture, the project connects scholars, K-12 educators, and policymakers to co-design culturally responsive enrichment programming inspired by Purdue’s GER²I model. Key components include teacher training labs on differentiated instruction and AI tools, virtual classroom observations, and a pilot youth program in Japan, establishing a sustainable binational platform for inclusive educational leadership.

Location: Maebashi, Gunma
Grant Awarded: $24,320

In partnership with Safe Horizon, this collaborative initiative brings together NFHCC, an interdisciplinary research group on sexual violence in Japan, and U.S. partners to strengthen Japan’s trauma-informed survivor support infrastructure for sexual violence victims. Following major penal code reforms, the project conducts bilateral practitioner exchanges to adapt a community-based accompaniment model (yorisoi shien). Key components include developing bilingual training curricula, preparing 100 citizen supporters annually, launching an open-access digital knowledge platform, and hosting public educational programs to build a sustainable, multidisciplinary victim-support ecosystem across Japan.

This grant is awarded through the fiscal sponsor, the University of Kansas Center for Research.

Location: Nagoya, Aichi
Grant Awarded: $100,000 over two years

Organized by International Student Conferences, the Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) is a three-week program convening up to 72 American and Japanese university students for intensive, student-led research and bilateral dialogue. This project launches a strategic development initiative to build long-term organizational resilience in supporting JASC now and into the future. The grant will support upgrading donor management infrastructure, expanding alumni giving, and enhancing executive leadership training. These efforts establish a sustainable fundraising framework to ensure institutional self-sufficiency as the conference approaches its 2034 centennial.

Location: Washington, D.C.
Grant Awarded: $25,000

Out of Sight: Okinawa is an eight-episode narrative documentary podcast series produced by journalist Jack McDonald. Centered on an American family’s decades-long journey to return a lost wartime photo album to its Okinawan owners, the project examines Okinawa’s layered history, U.S. military presence, and ongoing struggles for peace. Through bilingual English and Japanese episodes featuring field recordings, expert interviews, and survivor testimonies, the initiative fosters cross-cultural empathy and deepens public understanding of U.S.-Japan relations.

This grant is awarded through the fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas.

Location: Portland, OR
Grant Awarded: $5,000