The Nippon Foundation
The Nippon Foundation is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1962. Committed to philanthropic activities, the Foundation supports both domestic and international projects toward the alleviation of human suffering, the advancement of human welfare, and the promotion of world peace. All activities are carried out beyond political, ideological, religious or racial boundaries. The Nippon Foundation receives 3.3% of revenues from motorboat racing in Japan, and has the largest operating budget worldwide among organizations of this nature.
In 1998, approximately 51.6 billion yen (£269 million) were made available for disbursement in support of various projects, of which 8.5 billion yen (£44.3 million) were earmarked for overseas assistance. The Foundation's overseas support covers a wide range of fields including advancement of human welfare, human resources development and network building, primary health care, agriculture, promotion of world peace, environment, hunger relief, refugee aid, disaster relief, and even extends to areas of academic education and cultural exchanges.
Some of the overseas activities that The Nippon Foundation is currently committed to include： developing agriculture in Africa to foster self-sufficiency in staple food production (since 1986); establishing fellowship funds at major universities around the world (59 universities in 38 countries) which support post-graduate studies; supporting leprosy control - a project which has been held in collaboration with WHO since 1975.
