TOMODACHI and UNIQLO Announce New Education Fellowship

Oct. 23 - Ambassador John V. Roos and Mr. Tadashi Yanai, the Chairman, President, and CEO of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., announced the creation of an exciting new stage in the TOMODACHI Initiative: the "TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship."

The Fellowship will offer a world-class educational experience to Japan's next generation of business and fashion leaders. Beginning with those who will start studies in fall 2013, eligible students will be able to apply for financial support to pursue graduate studies at three top-notch U.S. educational institutions - the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and Parsons The New School for Design.

UNIQLO's gift of $1.6 million to establish the TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship is in keeping with UNIQLO's international reputation as an innovative company with a keen sense of global corporate social responsibility. Through the financial support of the Fellowship over the next three years, as many as 10 Japanese students will have the opportunity to study global brand marketing, fashion design, and business innovation at the three U.S. schools (at least one student per school per year).

The Stanford Graduate School of Business, FIT, and Parsons are among the best of American education and reflect the core values at the heart of the TOMODACHI Initiative - cross-cultural exchange, education, entrepreneurship, and leadership development. Moreover, the participating educational institutions are located near areas where UNIQLO has anchored its current stores in the United States.

By providing young Japanese citizens with access to global education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, FIT, and Parsons, TOMODACHI and UNIQLO are creating opportunities to contribute to Japan's economic growth and vitality, ensuring that the economic and cultural connections between the United States and Japan will continue to deepen and expand.

As part of his remarks, Ambassador Roos stated: "During my three years here in Japan, I've been fortunate to be able to travel all over this very amazing country, and I've had the opportunity to meet many, many Japanese young people. And I can tell you from my own experiences that all of these young people - all of them - have dreams that they want to pursue in their individual lives. It really doesn't matter where they come from, whether it's from the Tohoku region, Hokkaido, Okinawa, or anywhere else in Japan. They've told me about the dreams they have for their future. And the reason we created this TOMODACHI Initiative was to help them achieve those dreams, while creating a stronger foundation of mutual understanding between our two great nations."

Additional information about the TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship, as well as other TOMODACHI programs, can be found at usjapantomodachi.org.

TOMODACHI is a public-private partnership, led by the United States Government and the U.S.-Japan Council and supported by the Japanese Government, that supports Japan's recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and invests in the next generation of Japanese and Americans in ways that strengthen cultural and economic ties and deepen the friendship between the United States and Japan over the long-term.