Sir Tim Hitchens appointed Chair of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation announces that Sir Tim Hitchens has been appointed Chair of the Trustees with effect from 9 July 2020. He succeeds Sir Peter Williams CBE FRS FREng, who has served in this role since 2012.

Sir Tim has had a long professional and personal association with Japan, first visiting in 1977. He was British Ambassador in Tokyo from 2012 to 2016, and is currently President of Wolfson College, Oxford.

The Foundation expresses its gratitude for the immense contribution that Sir Peter made as a Trustee since 2008 and Chair since 2012. Among the initiatives launched under his leadership are the Daiwa Scholarships in Japanese Studies (a scheme for Japanese Studies graduates funded by Daiwa Securities), and the annual Daiwa Ichiban Lectures given by leading British figures, held in Tokyo in collaboration with the British Embassy.

Sir Tim Hitchens said, “I am delighted and honoured to become Chair of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, building on Sir Peter’s outstanding legacy. The work of the Foundation has never been more important, strengthening understanding between the UK and Japan, and supporting study and knowledge of the two countries.”

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation makes grants available to individuals, institutions and organisations to promote links between the UK and Japan across all fields of activity. Under its flagship Daiwa Scholarships programme, 182 young British graduates have been studying Japan and its language since 1991. The latest group of five Daiwa Scholars are expected to leave for Japan in March 2021.

Background information:
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation is a UK charity, established in 1988 with a generous benefaction from Daiwa Securities Co Ltd. The Foundation’s purpose is to support closer links between the UK and Japan. It does this by making grants available to individuals, institutions and organisations to promote links between the UK and Japan across all fields of activity; awarding scholarships to young British graduates to study Japan and its language; and by organising a year-round events’ programme at Daiwa Foundation Japan House in London to increase understanding of Japan in the UK. The Foundation is represented in Japan by its Tokyo office.

In 2018, the Foundation was awarded the Japanese Ambassador’s Commendation for its accomplishments in fostering closer links between Japan and the UK. In 2019, the Foundation received the Japan-British Society Award for its contributions to furthering UK-Japanese relations. The Daiwa Scholarships programme in particular was highlighted for its success in this regard.

The flagship Daiwa Scholarships programme was established in 1991. Aimed at British graduates with the potential to become future leaders in their fields, it was inspired by the belief that contact between young people would foster mutual understanding and support the long-term relationship between Britain and Japan. 

Daiwa Scholars are given the opportunity to spend 19 months in Japan including a 12-month period of Japanese language study at the Center for Japanese Language at Waseda University Language in Tokyo, a 1-month homestay and a 6-month work placement. By the end of the programme, they can expect to attain a reasonable command of spoken and written Japanese (upper intermediate level).

The programme goes from strength to strength; Six more Daiwa Scholars completed their stay in Japan in March 2020, bringing the total number of alumni to 182.

Alumni include Liz Davidson, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy Brasilia, Professor Edmund de Waal OBE, ceramicist and author, Hugo Dobson, Professor of Japan’s International Relations, Sheffield University, Dr Chris Harding, Senior Lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh and one of AHRC/BBC’s ten New Generation Thinkers in 2013/14, James Harding, co-founder of Tortoise Media, and formerly Head of BBC News and Current Affairs, Dr Vic James, documentary maker and author, the author Natasha Pulley, Dr Carl Randall, figurative painter and winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s 2012 BP Travel Award, Merryn Somerset Webb, Editor in Chief of MoneyWeek and columnist for The Financial Times. Anna Strongman, recently appointed CEO of Oxford University Development Ltd., and Dr Victoria Tuke, Head of the Japan, Korea and East Asia Team at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Further information about the Foundation and its activities is available at http://armanios.co.uk/dev/daiwa2.