Japan’s richest man donates $31 million to UCLA humanities program

Japanese executive and philanthropist Tadashi Yanai has donated $31 million to University of California, Los Angeles’s College Division of Humanities, marking the largest gift in the program’s history.

About the donation: The donation will support the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, which was created in 2014 through an earlier $2.5 million gift from Yanai and later boosted by a $25 million gift in 2020. The initiative, in partnership with Tokyo’s Waseda University, promotes the study of Japanese literature, language and culture, with a focus on fostering global collaboration through the web-based project, Japan Past & Present. “Adding to his already considerable past support, Mr. Yanai’s new gift will substantially advance the study of Japanese humanities, solidify UCLA’s position as a leading center for such scholarship and contribute greatly to our global reach and impact,” said UCLA Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt.
About Yanai: Yanai is currently Japan’s wealthiest individual with an estimated net worth of $47.6 billion. The billionaire inherited his father’s men’s tailoring business in the 1970s, and he expanded it into Fast Retailing, the parent company of global brands such as Uniqlo, Theory and Helmut Lang. “I am proud to support the study of Japanese humanities at UCLA and around the world because I believe in sharing and valuing the practices and artforms that shape our world. The humanities and arts make us who we are — they enable us as humans to relate to and care for one another. I look forward to seeing how Japan Past & Present will expand and enrich this critical work,” Yanai said in a statement.

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