The Japan Foundation Arts and Cultural Exchange

The Japan Foundation is Japan’s only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs throughout the world. With the objective of deepening mutual understanding between the people of Japan and other countries/regions, their various activities and information services create opportunities for people-to-people interactions.

The Japan Foundation was established in October 1972 as a special legal entity supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the objective of promoting international cultural exchange through a comprehensive range of programmes in all regions of the world. In 2003, it was reorganised as an independent administrative institution.

The Japan Foundation operates programs in partnership with other organizations in and outside Japan, with a focus on three major fields: arts and cultural exchange, Japanese-language education overseas, and Japanese studies and intellectual exchange.

In the area of arts and culture, the Japan Foundation organises various programs to introduce the rich and diverse arts and culture of Japan to regions across the globe. It engenders deep exchange by communicating the Japanese spirit to people in the world through arts and culture, and creating spaces for empathy beyond the barrier of language, and by providing opportunities to share the joy of creation.