Nippon Foundation
| Founded | 1 October 1962 |
|---|---|
| Founder | |
| Focus | Education, healthcare, maritime industry |
| Location | |
Area served | Global |
| Method | Donations and Grants |
Key people | Takeju Ogata, chairman |
| Revenue | 30,938,893,000JPY (FY2012) |
| Employees | 94 (2012) |
| Website | www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/en/ |
The Nippon Foundation (日本財団, Nipponzaidan) of Tokyo, Japan, is a private organization promoting humanitarian work, industrial maritime development, and diplomacy. Its chairman is Takeju Ogata.
It was established in 1962 by Ryōichi Sasakawa. His son Yōhei Sasakawa was chairman from 2005 to 2025. The foundation's mission is to direct Japanese motorboat racing revenue into humanitarian work, both at home and abroad, focusing on such fields as public health and education. The foundation is also involved in diplomatic activities through the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. It has also been criticized for promoting Japanese historical negationism, particularly in whitewashing Japanese war crimes.
Chairman of the foundation have been:
- 1962–1995 – Ryōichi Sasakawa: suspected war criminal, businessman, far-right politician, and philanthropist
- 1996–2005 – Ayako Sono: novelist and far-right advocate
- 2005–2025 – Yōhei Sasakawa: World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
- From 2025: Takeju Ogata