Iwao Ojima
President and CEO, Friends of UTokyo, Inc.
Dear Supporters of Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI):
I hope this message finds you well. The Covid-19 virus pandemic has finally subsided this spring and normal activities are back. However, brutal Russian military invasion to Ukraine is continuing and keeps threatening the world peace based on democracy. Also, worrisome inflations are continuing, which led to aggressive interest rate hikes by Federal Reserve in the US, but recent bankrupts of good size banks in the US sent alarms to financial systems. Climate change is causing various natural disasters, while the world is dealing with pandemic, war and economic problems. Time and time again, one thing that has become clear is the critical importance of leadership in politics, business, science, technology, arts, etc., to properly deal with this unprecedented huge crisis on a world scale. Also, it is evident that rapid and coordinated information sharing and international collaborations are the only way to solve such a crisis. In this regard, the cultivation of well-informed and capable next-generation leaders is extremely important for us, which is FUTI’s mission.
It has been more than 15 years since the inception of FUTI. We are full of gratitude to all the generous contributions we receive every year in support of our primary mission, the FUTI Scholarship programs. Alumni organizations such as the Akamonkai and Ichokai provide various opportunities in New York and around the world for UTokyo alumni. Also, the newly renovated UTokyo NY Office is a very important overseas franchise of the University of Tokyo. FUTI has been closely working with these organizations to reach out and nurture our younger-generation UTokyo students and alumni in order to cultivate future global leaders. For FUTI’s organization and various activities, please refer to the 2022 Annual Report.
We are currently in the middle of the spring campaign which will end on June 30, 2023. We greatly appreciate your support in any amount suitable for you.
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
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
Support the Global Leaders of Tomorrow!
Jonas Hansen
Harvard University, Junior
Engineering Physics and Computer Science
2022 FUTI Global Leadership Award Recipient
UTokyo International Research Center for Neurointelligence (IRCN)
Looking back on this research, I am extremely pleased with how things turned out, and had one of the best internship experiences I have ever had. Not only was the research fun and engaging, but also challenging in a way that pushed me to think creatively and apply my past knowledge and experience in a completely new way. It is refreshing to think about how this research truly was unique and original, which I did not expect to accomplish at this early stage in my educational career. … After embarking on such an incredible journey at the University of Tokyo, I most certainly see myself returning there in the future to pursue similarly enriching research and to engage with some of the most brilliant minds in the world of engineering and robotics.
Mariko Kanegae
University of Tokyo, 5th year
Faculty of Medicine
2022 FUTI Global Leadership Award Recipient
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Visiting Medical Student Elective
In this internship, I realized that the breadth of the internship was wider than what I experienced in Japan, and that the independent thought processes were very much expected of the students. After examining a new patient by myself or with a professor, I was frequently asked, “What do you think?” With presentations, it also became a realistic training exercise where I had to give my own plan or assessment from the standpoint of the doctor in charge. I would like to thank everybody who has helped me, in particular, FUTI whose Global Leadership Award supported my internship, those at the UTokyo Medical School international exchange department, and my professors and colleagues who kindly advised me in the preparation of the scholarship application.
