Nurturing the Next Generation Leaders Connecting Japan and the United States: the TOMODACHI Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship Program Selects 10 Students for its 8th Cohort

The U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) (Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, Suzanne Basalla) and Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer Masayuki Hyodo) have selected 10 Japanese students to participate in the 2021 TOMODACHI Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship Program (hereafter referred to as 'the program').

The program, which was launched in 2014, is one of the educational programs supported by the TOMODACHI Initiative (*1), led by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the U.S.-Japan Council. With the support of Sumitomo Corporation, the program provides a scholarship of 1.8 million yen per student who will participate in exchange programs at universities across the United States for a year. In addition, students are also offered various opportunities to broaden their global horizons and develop leadership skills, including the opportunity to participate in training sessions hosted by Sumitomo Corporation of America's head office in New York. Furthermore, Sumitomo Corporation Group employees with international experience will serve as mentors (*2) to the students in order to help them execute their plans and achieve their goals while studying abroad.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, the program was unable to be offered in 2020. However, thanks to the progress of the vaccination rollout this year, the program will resume for the first time in two years. Masayuki Hyodo, Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sumitomo Corporation, awarded scholarship certificates to all 10 students during the award ceremony held on July 27. All of the students delivered acceptance speeches in which they shared the goals they hoped to achieve during their time as exchange students, such comments including their desire to contribute to the further development of U.S.-Japan relations in the future.

As of 2020, 47 students have studied abroad through this program. Those who have already established their careers continuously contribute to the program as alumni (*3), providing guidance to subsequent exchange students. The U.S.-Japan Council and Sumitomo Corporation continue to support university students through the program in order to help foster the next generation of global leaders connecting the United States and Japan.