Akari Takahashi
University of Tokyo / Humanities and Social Sciences
Excerpts from her experience at Columbia University:
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Hsun Kwei & Mrs. Aiko Takizawa Chou and Friends of UTokyo, Inc. for the continuous support in making this dream of mine come to life. In this first year, I have acquired various knowledge ranging from clinical social work skills to experience of organizing communities towards a more humane world. None of this learning would have been possible without the support, and I am endlessly thankful.
In this academic year, I have been lucky to meet wonderful people from my cohort and faculty members who have enhanced my learning experience at Columbia. Through classes, events, and extracurricular projects, I have been able to connect with those who also have similar interests in bridging social work with social justice. Together, we have organized study groups, teach-ins, and newsletters that focus on social injustices and measures to fight them.
Utilizing these experiences, I intend to learn how to adjust and expand the skills I learn at the School of Social Work in serving my future clients with different cultural backgrounds, as I hope to work in the field of social work in Japan.
Suvan Agarwal
Oberlin College / Physics
Excerpts from his experience at UTRIP (The University of Tokyo Research Internship Program):
I was born in Tokyo, but have been living in the United States ever since my family and I moved there when I was a baby. My six-month study abroad program in the fall of 2022 at Waseda University was my second time living in Tokyo.
During this time, I began to enjoy my life in Tokyo, and I was eager to participate in a research internship in Japan. I knew that UTRIP was the only research internship program in Japan where international university students could apply and that competition is tough, so when I received an email from the University of Tokyo telling me that I had been accepted into the program, I was surprised, but this was soon replaced by great joy and excitement when I learned that I would also receive a scholarship from FUTI.
This summer in Tokyo provided me with a very enriching experience, and because of my extremely positive experience at the ERI (Earthquake Research Institute), I have been inspired to pursue graduate studies at the University of Tokyo. Not only do I like the interesting research, but I also like living in Tokyo. I enjoyed the practice of taking off my shoes in the lab, the delicious food in the cafeteria, and the convenient public transportation in the city. Thanks to the kindness and guidance of the professors I studied with, I have grown as a scientist.
I am also extremely grateful to FUTI for providing me with this scholarship. All the important experiences I had are thanks to this scholarship, and because of FUTI I have a goal and a vision for the next step in my life.
Support the Global Leaders of Tomorrow!
Iwao Ojima
President and CEO, Friends of UTokyo, Inc.
Dear Supporters of Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI):
I hope this message finds you well. Since its inception in 2007, Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) has been providing excellent opportunities to a number of highly talented students from the US and Japan through FUTI’s short term (summer) scholarships, as well as to many promising UTokyo alumni through mid- to long-term scholarships. These scholarships have undoubtedly made substantial impacts on the lives and career development of outstanding UTokyo students and alumni, as well as students of leading US universities in science, technology, arts, economics, the humanities, etc., as potential next-generation leaders in the world. As I reported last year, FUTI added a new scholarship, “Hsun Kwei & Aiko Takizawa Chou Scholarship”, for mid- to long-term studies, as the first scholarship fund, established with the UTokyo New York Office (UT NYO), to fulfill our mission this year. We awarded this new scholarship to 5 UTokyo graduates.
The world is facing many serious problems, e.g., natural disasters induced by climate change, exemplified by very recent devastation by hurricanes in Florida, North Carolina, etc., pandemic diseases, rise of autocracy, brutal wars in Ukraine/Russia, Israel/Palestina, Israel/Lebanon-Iraq, etc., increasing number of migrants, a widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, etc. Th-erefore, the cultivation of the next-generation leaders, who are resilient and can find solutions to these issues, is evermore essential for us, which is exactly the mission of FUTI.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all those who have supported FUTI’s mission to foster the global leaders of tomorrow, and ask for your continued support. I also would like to call upon each and every friend and patron who endorse FUTI’s mission for continued support in order for us to sustain and enrich FUTI’s Programs through 2025 and beyond. For the various activities of FUTI, please take a look at our 2023 Annual Report here.
Please visit friendsofutokyo.org/donate for online and postal donations. In the donation form, you are encouraged to specify to which program your donation will be applied.
Best regards,
Iwao Ojima, President
Support the Global Leaders of Tomorrow!
Junji Takegami
Vice President and COO, Friends of UTokyo, Inc.
Greetings from the COO
I am certain that many of you are aware that, your contributions to FUTI, a 501(c)(3) organization in the US, will be deductible from your “gross income (AGI)” in your US federal tax filing. However, do you know what kind of benefits are available in Japan?
Unfortunately, contributions to FUTI do not have tax merits under Japanese tax law. However, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) counts them as contributions to the University and counts them cumulatively under the name of the donor over their lifetime. This is because the University of Tokyo recognizes FUTI as a closely related non-profit organization, even though it is an independent entity.
Benefits for FUTI donors in Japan include invitations to special seminars and activity briefing sessions at UTokyo, as well as conferment of donor titles according to the amount contributed. Furthermore, for those who have contributed a total of 300,000 yen or more, a nameplate with the donor’s name is displayed at the Yasuda Auditorium. Additionally, the University recommends donors with a cumulative contributions of more than 5 million yen to the Japanese government for a “Konnju Houshou” (Dark Blue Ribbon Award). When I recently returned to Japan for a visit, I was pleased to find a plaque with my name on it in the Yasuda Auditorium’s Donor Appreciation Section. I ended up taking a photo of the plaque. It was a moment of ultimate satisfaction for me, as I realized that I had marked my name in the Yasuda Auditorium of my alma mater.
For more information, please visit the link to the UTokyo Foundation on the FUTI donation page.
Junji Takegami, COO
