News
Two Sylff Institutions Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Program
Update. Jul. 19,2011
In June 2011 Massey University in New Zealand and the Australian School of Business of the University of New South Wales in Australia commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Sylff program at their respective institutions. The celebration brought together the four Sylff stakeholders in these countries: The Nippon Foundation, Tokyo Foundation, Sylff steering committees, and Sylff fellows. Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, the Tokyo Foundation’s Director for Leadership Development Takashi Suzuki, and representatives of the Sylff institutions offered messages to commemorate the 20-year milestone. (more…)
Sylff@Tokyo: Japan’s Response to Free-Trade Agreements
Update. Jul. 8,2011
Christina Davis, associate professor of politics and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, and a member of Princeton’s Sylff steering committee, visited the Tokyo Foundation on July 5, 2011.
Davis is a specialist in trade policy and is investigating the historical process by which countries become members of international trade organizations. Her current focus is Japan’s accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1955 and China’s joining the World Trade Organization in 2001. On her visit to the Tokyo Foundation, she exchanged views on trade policy with several Tokyo Foundation research fellows. (more…)
Sylff@Tokyo: UCSD Sylff Chair, Tokyo Foundation Fellows Discuss Japan’s Economy
Update. June 30,2011
On June 27 and 28, 2011, Professor Takeo Hoshi of the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego, visited the Tokyo Foundation. Professor Hoshi is the chairman of UCSD’s Sylff steering committee.
He met with Tokyo Foundation Senior Fellow Shigeki Morinobu—an expert on tax and financial policies and local finance—and Senior Fellow Yutaka Hara, who is a specialist on the Japanese economy and financial policy. They exchanged views on Japan’s economic outlook following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, approaches to reconstruction, American views of how Japan has dealt with the disaster. (more…)
Sylff@Tokyo: Bangladeshi Fellow Becomes Full-Time Researcher for Japanese Research Institute
Update. June 24,2011
Sylff fellow Abu Shonchoy of Bangladesh visited the Tokyo Foundation office on June 8, 2011, after becoming the first non-Japanese to be hired as a full-time researcher by the Institute of Developing Economies of the Japan External Trade Organization.
Shonchoy has been assigned to the Microeconomic Analysis Studies Group of IDE-JETRO and will conduct research into development economics, labor economics, public finance, and applied econometrics.
JETRO is a government-affiliated organization that promotes mutual trade and investment. Established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports, JETRO’s core focus in the twenty-first century has shifted to promoting foreign direct investment in Japan and helping Japanese SMEs to maximize their export potential. (more…)
Sylff News: UC San Diego Donor Event
Update. June 22,2011
University of California, San Diego, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this year, and its School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), a recipient of a Sylff endowment, will soon be marking its twenty-fifth year. To mark these milestones, a “Tribute to Friends” event was held on May 26 at the UCSD Faculty Club to honor three early founding donors for IR/PS, including Sylff.
The event, held on a sunny, balmy day typical of Southern California, attracted some 100 donors, faculty members, and students who have received fellowships, including Program Officers Mari Suzuki and Tomoko Yamada from the Tokyo Foundation. Participating Sylff fellows noted that the fellowship they received at IR/PS was instrumental in enabling them to pursue their studies and has made a valuable contribution to their careers.
Dean Peter Cowhey opened the event with a warm welcome message, which was followed by performances by two student groups. (more…)
Re: Sylff Connect Version 2 Using Facebook
Update. June 22,2011
Today we announce the transformation of “Sylff Connect”–the social networking service for Sylff fellows–into a version that utilizes Facebook. We have been witnessing the increasing prevalence of Facebook, both in the private and public life of individuals. We believe that there is great potential in Facebook to facilitate communication and networking within the Sylff community. Based on this notion we created the Sylff Group page in Facebook.
The Sylff Group page is an exclusive membership site aiming to facilitate multiple interactions among all members of the Sylff community. In order to use the Group page, you are kindly requested to become a member by clicking “Ask to Join Group” button of this Group page; we will verify your status as a member of Sylff community (Sylff fellow or Sylff administrator) and register you as a member of the Group. Once you become a member you can view the Wall, and share and tag “like” on the Wall. (more…)
Howard University Graduate School Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Sylff Program
Update. June 9,2011
On April 12, 2011, the Howard University Graduate School celebrated 20 years of endowment from the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff), donated by The Nippon Foundation and administered by the Tokyo Foundation. SYLFF fellows and alumni, as well as faculty and staff from across the Howard campus, participated in the event.
Anita Nahal, acting director of the International Affairs Program and director of the Sylff program at the Howard University Graduate School, delivered a welcome address, noting the significance of the event and emphasizing the evolution of the program, both internationally at the Tokyo Foundation and locally at Howard University. In this past year, 11 fellowships were awarded, an unusually high number due to the availability of additional funds. Also, over the last nine years, the Sylff program at Howard has held an Annual Sylff Fellows Research Seminar and published an online newsletter, Frontline (www.gs.howard.edu/financial/Sasakawa/news.htm), to increase the visibility of the fellowship on Howard’s campus. The university has awarded 65 Sylff fellowships since the inception of the program in 1991. (more…)
Earthquake-Tsunami Update and Appeal for Donations
Update. May 11,2011
The Tokyo Foundation is very grateful for the warm words of sympathy and support that have been conveyed to us from our friends and colleagues around the world in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11. They have given us the strength and courage to carry on with our activities.
Aftershocks have largely subsided in Tokyo, where our office is located, and the transportation network has returned to normal. But the situation in the Tohoku region near the quake’s epicenter remains grave; nearly 25,000 people have lost their lives or are missing, and over 115,000 people whose homes were destroyed have been forced to move into temporary shelters, often far from home.
The crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant is still ongoing, and radiation levels continue to be a cause of concern for area residents. It has also caused a severe power shortage in eastern Japan, and people in the Tokyo metropolitan area are doing everything they can to save energy. The recovery and reconstruction effort is likely to become a very long process owing to the vast geographical scale and severity of the damage. (more…)
Proceedings of the 2010 Sylff Administrators Meeting is now available in PDF format
Update. May 11,2011
From November 2 through 5, 2010, the Sylff Administrators Meeting was convened at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Beppu, Oita, on the southern island of Kyushu. APU, the newest member of the Sylff community, hosted this gathering, which was attended by some 100 administrators and faculty members representing 62 (out of 69) Sylff-endowed institutions in 40 countries, as well as 11 Sylff fellows from 8 countries.
The proceedings includes the minutes or summaries of all sessions in Beppu—plus photos—and the dialogue with cabinet ministers during the Tokyo field trip. The Appendix contains a List of Participants, and there is also a group photo taken in Beppu at the end of the file. Please click on the name of the session to view the file. (more…)
Environmental Justice in Arizona and Beyond
Update. Apr. 12,2011
Two Oregon Sylff fellows were selected for a Sylff Leadership Initiatives award in fiscal 2010. Linda Richards is a Sylff fellow studying the history of science, and co-project leader Shangrila Wynn, also a Sylff fellow, is researching environmental sciences, studies, and policy.
Their project involves organizing a forum entitled “Environmental Justice in Arizona and Beyond” in April 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. It will address environmental justice for the Navajos, whose habitats have been contaminated by uranium mining practices. In October 2011 Richards and Wynn will organize similar forums on the campuses of Oregon Sylff institutions, including Portland State University, University of Oregon, and Southern Oregon University. (more…)
