Japan-US Friendship Commission Grant Programs

The summary for the Japan-US Friendship Commission Grant Programs grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Japan United States Friendship Commission, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Japan-US Friendship Commission Grant Programs: PROGRAMS: Japanese Studies in the United States The Commission believes that American public understanding of Japan, as well as the close friendship between Japan and the United States, require the development and strengthening of the next generation of American area specialists on Japan, trained to a high level of linguistic and disciplinary competence, and adequately represented in both the scholarly and non-academic professions. The Commission therefore devotes a large portion of its annual program budget to Japanese studies in American higher education. The Commission's mandate, however, also specifies a broad internal distribution of Japanese studies funds among faculty development and research, language training, library support and general education. The Commission has sought to identify the most important areas of need, and to emphasize projects of unusual significance and maximum impact nationwide. The Commission will leave to other federal agencies those activities that are expressly and adequately funded in statutory programs of those agencies. The Commission wishes to assure the continued growth and vitality of basic national resources for the study of Japan. In its library support, the Commission supports projects and institutions that help organize acquisitions of research materials on a national scale and help expand access to them through both printed and electronic format. In its program of support for language training, the Commission funds those institutional activities that promise the greatest national or regional return. The Commission will consider proposals for the maintenance of the current infrastructure and the development of new infrastructure for the field. Infrastructure building involves identifying areas and niches of activity with national scope that would benefit from the attention of a small professional staff, located within a stable organizational environment, under the oversight of an expert advisory committee. Such a staff, composed of as small a number as one officer, would devote full- or part-time attention to providing back-up, facilitation, continuity, initiative and leadership for that area of activity. It would also be involved in such efforts as fundraising, marketing where necessary, and particularly development of a self-sustaining base. Commission support would be used to provide salary, benefits, rent and other administrative necessities during the period of staff-up and take-off, for a maximum of five years, until this base reaches financial self-sufficiency and professional recognition from the area it serves. The Commission provides support for scholarly research in Japanese studies through grants to academic associations that can organize peer review panels to review and select individual research project proposals for support with Commission funds. Normally the Commission will not accept applications in this category directly from individuals. All grants will be made or entrusted to universities, academic associations or other appropriate organizations that will also be responsible for such individual selections as may be required. Potential applicants with an individual research project proposal they wish to present to the Commission are strongly urged to consult with Commission staff before submitting an application. The Commission will also consider on a case-by-case basis support for group research, conference and workshop projects dealing with topics ranging from policy issues to cultural affairs. The Commission will give higher priority to collaborative projects with some or all of the following features: an interdisciplinary approach to the research agenda; opportunities for cross-training among research team members in regional/cultural studies on the one hand and disciplinary studies on the other; opportunities for interaction of scholarly research and policy dialog; and a high degree of resource-sharing among a variety of funding organizations. Public Affairs/Education The Commission believes that new and imaginative efforts are required to broaden understanding by the American public of the culture, society, history and institutions of the Japanese people and of current and future issues in the broad political and economic relationship between the two countries. Such understanding and the opportunities for creating it remain seriously underdeveloped when measured against either the Japanese people's general knowledge of the United States, or the facilities for study of Japan at American universities. The Commission therefore will consider proposals along these lines from organizations promising a major national impact in the United States. Programs fall under the following sub-areas: * Media * Counterpart Exchanges Media The Commission will consider requests for the research and development of individual documentary films on Japan and for support of their direct production costs. In terms of content matter, the Commission will give preference to those films that reflect the Commission's priorities in its other areas of programming. Priority will be given to media projects that have gained substantial support from other funding sources and demonstrate high professional standards combined with long-lasting impact on a broad audience. Counterpart Exchanges Under this program, the Commission will consider support for exchanges among a broad range of counterparts in the political, policy, professional and cultural communities of the United States and Japan. Priority will be given to counterpart exchanges of national scope and of maximum substantive impact, and to programs where the Commission is asked to fund the US-side costs of the exchange. The Commission looks for counterpart funding from other, preferably Japanese, sources both for cost-sharing purposes and as a statement of the importance both nations attach to the proposed exchange. Potential applicants are urged to consult with Commission staff before submitting a proposal. The Study of the United States in Japan Through their educational system and media, the Japanese people have achieved a level of general knowledge and interest about the United States that considerably exceeds the information most Americans possess with respect to Japan. English language is taught far more widely in Japan than Japanese language is taught in the United States. Nevertheless, the formal or integrated study of American history and civilization and of its economic, social and political institutions has been a relatively recent development in Japanese universities. Moreover, opportunities for Japanese scholars to track major developments and changes in contemporary American society need to be expanded. The Commission therefore has committed itself to the development of both institutional and individual expertise on the study of the United States in the Japanese academic community. The Commission will consider support in the following project areas: * Exchanges between Academic Organizations in the Two Countries * Research Projects on the Study of the United States * Research Center Development * Faculty Development * Curriculum Development * Conferences and Seminars The Commission supports programs of bilateral exchanges at the highest institutional levels of scholarly expertise in order to contribute to an understanding in Japan of important aspects of current American cultural and intellectual life, and of social, political and economic conditions in the United States. Such exchanges should foster as well an understanding of the current interdisciplinary and theoretical approaches to these subjects as practiced in the American academic community. The Commission will consider research projects that investigate the study of the United State itself, particularly on how the Japanese acquire basic knowledge about the United States, its politics, society and economy, through both formal and informal channels, such as classroom instruction or the popular media, and how to increase that knowledge and its accuracy. The Commission will also consider proposals for assessments of the field of the study of the United States in Japan. The Commission will also consider proposals for the main-tenance of the current infrastructure and the development of new infrastructure for the field. Infrastructure building involves identifying areas and niches of activity with national scope that would benefit from the attention of a small professional staff, located within a stable organizational environment, under the oversight of an expert advisory committee. Applicants with an interest in the infrastructure-building support program are referred to its full description above, under Japanese Studies in the United States. In general, priority is accorded to projects that have gained substantial additional support from other funding sources and demonstrate strong prospect of being sustained once the Commission's initial funding is expended. The Arts The Commission believes that the arts are at the heart of a people's creative genius. It is therefore pleased to see the rapidly growing demand in both countries for expanded artistic exchange. The Commission notes, however, that the presence of American artists in Japan has been limited in terms both of diversity and geographical coverage. American performing and visual arts presentations in Japan have often been conducted on a limited and sporadic basis, frequently decided by commercial interests of individual promoters. To counteract this trend, the Commission has determined that, until further notice, it will give priority to sending American visual and performing arts to Japan, especially to venues outside Tokyo. After determining the most significant objectives in terms of artistic standards of quality, critical funding needs, and previous neglect, the Commission has established the following categories in the arts: * Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship Program** * Performing Arts Exchanges * Exhibition and Visual Arts Exchanges * Infrastructure Support for Arts Exchanges **Each year the Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts jointly select five leading contemporary and traditional artists from the United States spend six months in Japan as part of the United States/Japan Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship Program. Cultural understanding is at the heart of this program. The Fellows are free to live anywhere in the country to pursue activities of greatest relevance to their creative process. For more information, see the full Program description at www.jusfc.gov. Present arts policy calls for support to the highest quality endeavors with the following elements: * Contemporary forms of art * Collaborative projects, both in terms of interdisciplinary forms and among artists from the two countries * Projects reflecting the breadth and depth of American cultural diversity * Projects including public outreach activities, as well as sites and venues in Japan that historically have not had a tradition of exchange with the United States The Commission will not consider projects in the arts in the following areas, as stated on pages 9-10: * Touring of symphony and other strictly musical groups or of solo performing artists. In the field of music, only those projects that are interdisciplinary artistic collaborations in nature will be considered. * Amateur and university groups * Support for American museums for regular staff, acquisition of objects, or cataloging of existing collections * Japanese performing arts groups and exhibitions traveling to the United States Potential applicants are urged to consult with Commission staff before submitting an application.