The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and became an Independent Administrative Institution in 2003. The foundation promotes international cultural exchange between Japan and the rest of the world, and provide financial support for a range of international cultural exchange programmes. The activities are financed by annual subsidies from the Japanese government, capital gains accrued from the management of the original endowment fund, and contributions and donations from the private sector.

The foundation works principally in the fields of Arts and Culture, in Japanese language education and in Japanese studies. The activities are coordinated through the headquarters in Tokyo as well as through the offices, language centres and cultural centres in over 20 countries outside of Japan.

The Japan Foundation London is the Foundation’s only office in the UK, and one of the first overseas offices to be established, opening in 1972, and gaining a language centre in 1997.

The Japan Foundation London coordinates all of the Foundation’s programmes within the UK. It also offers grant support to small projects under the Local Project Support Programme, which is designed to help with the costs of UK-based projects that may not be eligible for funding under our annual programmes. In addition to these central activities, it organises lectures, workshops, seminars, courses, exhibitions and performances.