Japan Foundation

The is a Japanese foundation that spreads Japanese culture around the world. Based in Tokyo, it was established in 1972 by an Act of the National Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture. It then became an Independent Administrative Institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 October 2003 under the "Independent Administrative Institution Japan Foundation Law".

The Japan Foundation aims towards comprehensive and effective development of its international cultural exchange programs in the following categories:

Promotion of (Japanese) arts and cultural exchange Promotion of (overseas) Japanese-language education (the JLPT exam) Promotion of (overseas) Japanese studies and intellectual exchange – Japan Foundation Information Centers collect and provide information about international exchange and international cultural exchange standard bearers.

Prince Takamado served as administrator of the Japan Foundation from 1981 to 2002.

Japan Foundations worldwide

The Japan Foundation is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and has a subsidiary office in Kyoto. There are also two domestic Japanese-Language Institutes in Saitama and Tajiri, Osaka.

Internationally, the Japan Foundation maintains 25 overseas branches in 24 countries:Japan Foundations Worldwide, retrieved 13 March 2019

Asia and Oceania (Sydney) (Phnom Penh) (Beijing) (New Delhi) (Jakarta) (Vientiane) (Kuala Lumpur) (Yangon) (Manila) (Seoul) (Bangkok) (Hanoi)

The Americas (São Paulo) (Toronto) (Mexico City) (Lima) (Los Angeles, New York City)

Europe, Middle East and Africa (Cairo) (Paris) (Cologne) (Budapest) (Rome) (Moscow) (Madrid) (London)

Activities

Let's Learn Japanese – educational Japanese-language learning series, produced 1985, 1995, and 2007 JF Nihongo - Japanese language classes offered using the Can-do evaluation system Japanese Language Proficiency Test – Japan Foundation co-proctors exam overseas

Asian Cartoon Art Exhibition From 1995 onward regularly inviting leading cartoonists from various Asian countries to conduct Asian Cartoon Exhibition and Conference at The Japan Foundation Asia Center, Tokyo as an annual event. Later on the same exhibition travels to the various Asian countries. In the process, it has employed the friendly medium of cartoons for introducing Asian societies to those who would like to know more about them and appreciate people other than their own kind.3rd Asian Cartoon and Art Exhibition : Manga Hai Kya, Comics by Shekhar Gurera10th Asian Cartoon Exhibition at Kualalumpur : National Library of Malaysia : November 14, 200611th Asian Cartoon Exhibition at New Delhi : The Hindu : February 28, 2008

Wochi Kochi Magazine The Wochi Kochi Magazine (をちこちMagazine) is a Japanese website designed by the Japan FoundationJapan Foundation(English) to enhance the strength of information transmission about Japanese culture to the world. It replaced the paper magazines Kokusai-Kouryu (International Exchanges) (1974–2004) and Wochi-Kochi (Far and Near) (2004–2009). Those were the only domestic paper magazines which were especially published for "international cultural exchanges". The word "wochi-kochi" itself is a pronoun from ancient Japanese "Yamato" language meaning "here and there" or "the future and the present". As the web magazine title, "wochi-kochi" demonstrates places and times, and it expresses the desires to spread Japanese language/culture overseas, moreover, play a role as the cultural bridge among countries and people. Keeping those aspects from previous magazines, the Wochi-Kochi Magazine website carries interviews, contributed articles and serialized stories written by the experts from various professional fields each month.

Japanese Film Database (JFDB)

The Japanese Film Database (JFDB) (日本映画データベース) is an online information directory of films made in Japan. The database is co-produced by the Japan Foundation together with UniJapan, and exhibited bilingually in Japanese and English.

JFF Theater

The JFF Theater (short for Japanese Film Festival Theater) is a free online streaming platform launched by the Japan Foundation, aimed at distributing Japanese films and other works worldwide, free of charge. It was launched in August 2024, though it is a permanent version of a previous seasonal service called Japanese Film Festival Online, which had its first run in 2021, motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Films are available with multilingual subtitles. The service's catalog of works is dynamic, with new titles being added and some removed after some time; additionally, not all titles are available in all regions.

By September 2024, the platform had reached 20,000 registered users; two years later, in August 2026, that number had grown to 240,000.

Japan Foundation

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