GRANTS AWARDED

Education
Action for a Better International Community (ABIC) - To support a project to improve education about the United States through the development of exchanges between Americans and Japanese and special classes for understanding America. Tokyo, Japan. ¥ 500,000

Children's Museum (Boston) - To support new educational programs for children and educators focused on the Kyo no Machiya, a permanent exhibition of the Boston Children's Museum. Boston, Massachusetts. $50,000

Concordia Language Villages - To support the third year of Concordia Language Village's strategic plan to transform Mori No Ike into a permanent, culturally authentic, Japanese Language Village. Moorhead, Minnesota. $25,000

Five Colleges (Five College Center for East Asian Studies) - To support a third year of the publication of East Asia for Teachers, a newsletter that reaches over 6,000 precollege teachers in the Northeast and provides them with information about events and opportunities related to Japan. Amherst, Massachusetts. $16,000

Japan Society of Boston - To support the first year of a two-year program to strengthen ties between Kyoto and Boston by bringing together little-league baseball players from both cities. Boston, Massachusetts. $30,000

Michigan State University - To support a three-week environmental studies exchange program between high school science students and teachers in the state of Michigan and Shiga prefecture. East Lansing, Michigan. $75,000

Midori Foundation (Midori and Friends) - To support Midori and Friends�f music education programs in underprivileged elementary schools in the New York City area. New York, New York. $35,000

Seattle Public Schools - To support the second year of the next phase of development of a model Kindergarten through 12th grade Japanese immersion program for the Seattle Public Schools as part of their international school initiative. Seattle, Washington. $89,014

The New York Botanical Garden - To support the development and implementation of hands-on activities for children, teachers, and families to be presented during Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum, which will be held in October and November, 2008. Bronx, New York. $25,000

WXXI Public Broadcasting Council - To support a documentary film, and accompanying education materials, that explores how the return of a wartime diary teaches lessons of peace and how the US and Japan have transformed past conflicts into effective partnerships. Rochester, New York. $35,000

Chuo University - To support a program that brings together a bi-national team of leading academics to draw up a grand strategy for Japan with the aim of enhancing the US-Japan alliance. Tokyo, Japan. ¥ 3,917,005

Waterbury Department of Education, Maloney Magnet School - To support the development of an Ipod Learning Station for Maloney Magnet School�fs Japanese language classes as part of the 2008 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award. Waterbury, CT. $5,000

Hulstrom Options School - To support a Japan-focused teacher professional development program for teachers in the Denver metro area, and for a visiting scholar program for students in the Adams 12 school district as part of the 2008 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award. Northglenn, Colorado. $5,000

Friends of the Japanese House and Garden (Shofuso) - To support a family guide for visitors and hands-on educational materials for Shofuso's East Meets West program in honor of Mr. David Murphy, an inspirational educator who serves as a volunteer at Shofuso. Philadelphia, PA. $5,000

Communications/Public Opinion
Community Television Foundation of South Florida (Nightly Business Report) - To support the second year of the production and broadcast of twelve reports on Japanese business / economic topics on public television's Nightly Business Report. Miami, Florida. $22,000

Chicago Council on Global Affairs - To support an in-depth examination of American perceptions of Japan and U.S.-Japan relations as part of the Council�fs 2008 public opinion study. Chicago, Illinois. $35,000

Meridian International Center - To support a symposium titled, Shigeru Ban: Paper Houses and the Architecture of Disaster Relief and the Second Annual Meridian Spring Garden Benefit that will focus on Japan, as well as to honor Ambassador Ryozo Kato for his contributions to U.S.-Japan relations. Washington, DC. $50,000

Shelburne Art Center - To support the production of a book on traditional Japanese boat building by Mr. Douglas Brooks, an American who has apprenticed with four master boat builders in Japan. Shelburne, Vermont. $50,000

U.S. - Japan Policy Studies
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford University) - To support a comparative study of the formation of historical memory of the Sino-Japanese and Pacific wars in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States with the aim of promoting understanding and reconciliation. Stanford, California. $52,798