The new lectureships and research positions, which are costing 2.5 million pounds ($3.25million) over a five-year period, will focus on the contemporary aspects of Japanese business and society in an effort to boost the subject's appeal and also cope with growing demand in that area.
The Nippon Foundation and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation decided to inject the funds after years of decline in Japanese studies. Several Japanese courses have closed at Britain's universities over the last 10 years as it was a costly subject to teach relative to other languages. The Japanese courses also attract fewer students than more popular degrees, making the ratio of teachers to pupils higher and leading to a dearth in home-grown experts on Japan. The creation of the new teaching posts, which were unveiled on Monday, means 11 universities can provide new courses spanning Japan's economy and management, modern and post-war history and the Japanese visual media. Stephen McEnally, chief executive of the Sasakawa foundation, said in a statement, "All incumbents possess impeccable qualifications and this timely injection of young Japanese studies scholars into our universities will serve to guarantee a greater depth and diversity of scholarship and research at a time when it is most needed." The earl of St. Andrews said, "Japan matters because it is the second most powerful economy in the world. It is a major overseas investment and trade partner of the U.K." Britain's policy makers, business leaders, scholars and its future leaders "must all be given the tools to better understand Japan's culture, its society and its language," he said. Perhaps as a reflection of the claim that Japanese studies have been underfunded over the last few years, only three of the new lecturers are British. Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation, said, "The many viewpoints that the Sasakawa lecturers will bring to their posts will be a major driving force behind research into Japan at universities in the U.K." The Sasakawa foundation is a charity established in 1985 with an endowment from the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation, now the Nippon Foundation. The Nippon Foundation is a private foundation funding three main areas of activity: overseas co-operative assistance, maritime development and domestic social welfare and volunteer support.
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