The Japan Society

Registered charity 1063952 · since 1997japansociety.org.uk·United Kingdom·Updated 31 October 2026

At a glance

Up to £1,000

Grant range

From the funder's website

Invitation only

Unsolicited applications are not accepted

This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. Don't spend time on an approach; the similar funders below support the same kind of work.

Key takeaways

The Japan Society's small grants go to educational and grassroots projects in the UK, including Japan-related programmes run by other organisations, so a project that teaches or engages people about Japan is the clearest fit.
The maximum grant is £1,000, so a modest, specific request suits it best.
The charity states that it takes applications by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so do not send a cold application; approach it only if you have been invited to apply.
Because the scheme runs on a rolling basis with no application deadlines, timing depends on when an invitation arrives rather than on a published date.

Overview

The Japan Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1063952).

The Japan Society is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1063952) that exists to promote learning about Japan, to study Japanese people and culture and make the results accessible to the general public, and to encourage the study of Britain by Japanese people and educational exchange between Britain and Japan. Its small grants scheme supports educational and grassroots organisations in the UK to put on Japan-related programmes, with grants of up to £1,000.

What they fund

Priority Areas

The Japan Society’s small-grants scheme supports educational and grassroots projects in the UK, including local projects and Japan-related programmes organised by others. Its stated objectives are to advance learning about Japan; promote the study of Japanese people and culture and make the results accessible to the general public; and promote study of Britain and its culture by Japanese people, alongside educational exchange between Britain and Japan. It says its grants support projects furthering those objectives and creating opportunities for new audiences across the UK to gain understanding of Japan. Its wider programme combines school-focused education, public events and support for others’ projects.

Themes

Educational projects
Grassroots projects
Japan-related projects

Geographic Focus

The UK.

How to apply

The charity states that it takes applications by invitation only.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to The Japan Society.

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £221k The Great Britain Sasakawa FoundationFixed deadlinesGave £1.2M Japan House London TrustNo public processGave £91,160 The Linnean Society of LondonFixed deadlines The Royal Astronomical SocietyFixed deadlinesGave £321k Animal Welfare JapanRollingGave £203k Alpine Garden SocietyRolling Royal Geographical SocietyFixed deadlinesGave £138k The Jigsaw NetworkRollingGave £1.4M The Arts SocietyFixed deadlinesGave £154k

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 December 2021	£381,396	£380,855	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2021
year to 31 December 2022	£393,145	£439,726	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2022
year to 31 December 2023	£445,853	£428,076	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2023
year to 31 December 2024	£523,183	£604,743	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2024
year to 31 December 2025	£663,695	£570,254	—	Accounts for year to 31 December 2025

— No grants figure for those years.

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.