CWAJ’s Scholarship program has continuously evolved to meet the needs of society. Established in 1949 as a travel grant program to assist students who had already been invited to study at universities abroad but lacked the means to get there, CWAJ has awarded scholarships annually since 1972.

CWAJ’s Scholarship program initially awarded scholarships to Japanese women to study abroad, then branched out to provide scholarships to non-Japanese women to study in Japan and to Japanese with visual impairments to study in Japan or overseas.

Responding to the Great East Japan Earthquake, CWAJ established the Fukushima Relief Scholarships to students at Fukushima Medical University School of Nursing in 2011 and continued the program for nine years. Our nursing student scholars have overcome hardship and become excellent nurses who contribute to their local communities.

Facing a new crisis, CWAJ began awarding Pandemic Response Scholarships for Nursing Students to nursing students in Fukushima and the Kanto area in 2021. While COVID-19 dealt a serious blow to Japan’s medical system, CWAJ supported nursing students who were facing financial diffculties, such as being prohibited from working part-time to prevent the spread of infection in medical facilities.

Thanks to support from members and the general public, we were able to support 17 nursing students in the three years from 2021 to 2023. Japan and the world are changing dramatically, and there is an even greater need to raise global citizens who will benefit all of society. In particular, there are high expectations for women to play an active role in society. CWAJ launched the CWAJ Cartier Scholarship in 2023 in collaboration with Cartier Japan, which has a long-standing commitment to empowering women. This scholarship to nurture future changemakers is for a Japanese woman who has the potential to contribute to society through entrepreneurship and business.

To date, CWAJ has supported a total of 876 scholars from 50 different countries, with a variety of backgrounds and fields of study. Many of these scholars have pursued their dreams and become leaders in a variety of fields including public policy, education, human rights, medical research, media, and environmental science.

CWAJ would not have been able to fulfill its core mission of offering scholarships for 75 years without generous support from donors, artists, and　our customers who purchase our prints and products. In addition to Cartier Japan, we are especially grateful to anonymous donor Grandma-Short-Legs who fully funded our 2024 Scholarships for the Visually Impaired. We also thank the Japan Foundation for supportin the CWAJ Cultural Exchange Graduate Scholarship for Japanese Women to Study Abroad and Non-Japanese Women to Study in Japan.

Meet the inspiring and talented people who join the CWAJ community as our newest scholars. We wish them the best as they continue their studies, and hope their work will be productive and innovative with the goal of making the world a better place.

Please click HERE for more information about our Scholars.