Japan United States Friendship
/OVERVIEW: This funder is an independent federal government agency that supports projects that highlight the cultural, educational, and intellectual exchange between the United States and Japan.
IP TAKE: The commission makes grants across all artistic disciplines as well as grants in the social sciences and humanities. Arts grant seekers proposing projects that are educational as well as cultural will likely have more success. All proposals must center on some aspect of Japan Studies to qualify. This is an accessible and approachable funder that’s excited about connecting others with its mission.
PROFILE: Established in 1975, the Japan-US Friendship Commission (JUFC) was created to strengthen the cultural, educational and intellectual relationship between the United States and Japan. It is a U.S. federal government agency. It seeks to “sustain the U.S.-Japan relationship by promoting Japan Studies, and collaborative institutional efforts, partnerships, and people-to-people exchanges that advance common interests between the United States and Japan.” It offers institutional grants and fellowships in creative arts and social sciences to individuals and organizations.
Grants for Arts & Culture, Humanities Research and Higher Education
The commission’s Institutional Grants support academic and nonprofit arts organizations working to “support reciprocal people-to-people understanding, and promote partnerships that advance common interests between Japan and the United States.” Institutional grants fund four areas: arts & culture, education & public affairs, exchanges and scholarship, and global challenges. Organizations based in the U.S. and Japan are eligible to apply, and the commission runs a single annual grantmaking cycle with applications due on or around July 1 of each year. Recent grantees include the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, the Japanese Cultural Exchange Program at Bowie State University and the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
The commission’s Creative Artists Fellowships support individual artists with a three to five month residency in Japan and is funded in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. They work to promote cultural understanding between the two countries. JUFC encourages its artist/fellows to collaborate with Japanese artists, and to interact with the Japanese public to “serve as connectors who share knowledge and bring back knowledge.” Application for this program paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, but new application information will be posted at the program page when grantmaking resumes. Find here a list of past grantees organized by year.
JUFC’s Social Science Fellowships are awarded in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities, and are run out of the Fellowship Program for Advanced Social Science Research in Japan. They support and fund research on modern Japanese society, politics, economy, Japan’s international relations and U.S.-Japan relations. “Research,” according to the commission, “should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public’s understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States. Appropriate disciplines for the research include anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, linguistics, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology.” Grant seekers can find more detailed information and fill out an application at the National Endowment for the Humanities website.
Important Grant Details:
The annual proposal deadline for Institutional Grants is July 1, 5:00 p.m. EDT. In past years, grants ranged between $10,000 to $160,000. Find application instructions linked to the program page.
View updates about the Creative Artists fellowship application instructions here and apply for the Social Science fellowships at the National Endowment for the Humanities website.
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