FAAJ AT A GLANCE
Three values FAAJ carries forward
- CONNECT
Connect alumni
Create opportunities for dialogue across generations, regions and disciplines.
- SHARE
Open knowledge to society
Bring the knowledge and experience gained abroad into education, research and public life.
- CARRY FORWARD
Support the next generation
Carry the Fulbright spirit of mutual understanding into the future.
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.
Current figures published by the Japan–United States Educational Commission show approximately 6,800 Japanese participants and approximately 3,100 U.S. participants from 1952 through 2025, for more than 9,900 participants in the bilateral program. 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.
In 1986, alumni established the Japan–United States Educational Exchange Promotion Foundation to help support current Fulbright grantees and carry the benefits of exchange into future generations.
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.
Primary sources: Japan–United States Educational Commission, “About the Fulbright Grant” (opens in a new tab) and the prior official FAAJ website (opens in a new tab) (accessed September 4, 2026).