The Fulbright exchange program was established through the initiative of the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright to promote international educational exchange and mutual understanding between the United States and other countries.
From 1949 to 1951, approximately 1,000 Japanese participants studied in the United States through the GARIOA program. A memorandum concerning the mutual exchange of persons between Japan and the United States was signed in 1951, and the Fulbright exchange program in Japan began in 1952.
The association’s prior official records state that approximately 7,700 Japanese participants studied in the United States from 1952 onward, or approximately 8,700 when the GARIOA participants are included. Alumni have gone on to serve in academia, government, business, medicine, law, journalism and many other fields, contributing to Japan’s postwar reconstruction and international engagement.
In 1979, the program moved to joint funding by Japan and the United States, and the Japan–United States Educational Commission (JUSEC) became its binational governing body. Regional GARIOA and Fulbright alumni associations were organized across Japan in 1982.
On July 6, 2013, following the Fulbright Program’s 60th anniversary initiatives, the national alumni council and the Tokyo Fulbright Association were reorganized into the present nationwide Fulbright Alumni Association of Japan (FAAJ).
FAAJ works to deepen fellowship among members, share alumni knowledge and experience with society, and advance friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.