Grant News

The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation has announced that the next application deadline for its grant-making programme is the 15th September 2024.

The Foundation seeks to promote mutual understanding and cooperation through financial support for activities in the following fields:

• Arts and Culture
• Humanities and Social Issues
• Japanese Language
• Medicine and Health
• Science, Technology and Environment
• Sport
• Youth and Education

Standard travel grants between the UK and Japan are £2,000, and up to £2,500 for visits of two weeks or more. This also includes travel for PhD students from UK universities wishing to visit Japan for dissertation research or to complete fieldwork. Applications for longer-term fieldwork of six months or more in Japan can be considered, with grants of up to £5,000.

The Foundation’s awards are intended to provide “pump-priming” and not core funding of projects, but even small grants have enabled a wide range of projects to reach fruition, such as:

• Visits between the UK and Japan by academics, professionals, creative artists, teachers, young people, journalists and representatives of civic and non-governmental organisations. 
• Research and collaborative studies, seminars, workshops, lectures and publications in academic and specialist fields
• Teaching and development of Japanese language and cultural studies in schools, Further Education colleges and universities
• Exhibitions, performances and creative productions by artists, musicians, film-makers, writers and theatre groups

Organisations that have successfully applied to the Foundation include:

• Hessle High School and Sixth Form College which received a grant of £3,000 to visit to Japan to create curriculum on Japan in Key Stage 3 Geography lessons.
• Truro College which received a grant of £2,000 for a football exchange programme with Tokai Daigo High School in Japan.
• The Boston & Hakusan City Exchange Programme received a grant of £3,500 for an exchange programme between school children from Boston and Hakusan City.
• Campion School received a grant of £2,000 to support a school trip to Tokyo for students of Japanese.
• Escomb Primary School received a grant of £3,000 for an exchange visit with Ogawara Minami Elementary School.