Honorary Fellowship

In 2020, Mr Tadashi Yanai pledged donations to Kyoto University's two active Nobel laureates: Professors Tasuku Honjo and Shinya Yamanaka, directors of the Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunobiology (CII) and the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), respectively.

The Honjo donations will establish a Yanai Fund, focused on promoting research on cancer immunotherapy based on PD-1 inhibition, and on fostering the next generation of researchers. The fund is thus anticipated to help CII advance its cancer immunotherapy research while also expanding its capabilities for human capital development.

The Yamanaka contributions , meanwhile, will support his novel coronavirus research project, which seeks to curb the spread of the virus by applying iPS cell technology to building an infection screening system, conducting infection surveys, and developing therapeutics and vaccines.

With these far-reaching benefits, the support pledged by Mr Yanai is expected to significantly enhance the University's education and research capabilities as well as its contributions to society. It is in appreciation of these "outstanding contributions to the operation and management of the University" that Kyoto University decided to award Mr Yanai with an Honorary Fellowship.

In 2005, Mr Funai made a donation to fund the construction of the Funai Tetsuro Auditorium and Funai Center to Kyoto University for the purpose of contributing to the further development of academic research and enhancement of Japan's industrial competitiveness by enriching the environment for research and education. Since their completion in 2007, these facilities have served as venues for numerous academic conferences, lecture presentations, and symposia, and have provided space and equipment for various collaborative research projects. Through these activities, the facilities have enabled the university to share its intellectual assets and traditions with the general public. As a platform for intellectual exchange and interdisciplinary research, these facilities have also contributed to stimulating research activities and promoting top-level, cutting-edge research.

Furthermore, in appreciation of the aims of the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (Shishu-Kan), Mr Funai made a donation to support the construction of its residential college in 2012.

The residential college is anticipated to lead to the development of a creative learning environment, one in which students living together can encounter different ways of thinking and nurture their capabilities through interaction with other students and teaching staff with diverse cultural and academic backgrounds. This is expected to lead to the realization of Shishu-Kan's overall goal of fostering global leaders who can play active roles in the international community.

All of the contributions made by Mr Funai have provided Kyoto University with new fora for international academic exchange and for the dissemination of research achievements, which in turn have led to the development and advancement of the university's academic research capacities. The Honorary Fellowship has been awarded to Mr Funai in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Kyoto University's operations and management.

Inamori Foundation built and donated to Kyoto University "Inamori Center " in 2007 (completed in 2008), with an intention to contribute to the further development of science and culture in the international community in the 21st century. Housing among others the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the facility has become a global center of research on areas including Asia and Africa.

Since the creation of a new international arena of research exchange and publication of research products to the university has led to the development and advancement of the university's research activities, recognizing him to have made outstanding contributions to the operation and management of the university, the university has decided to award him an honorary fellowship.

Mr Yamauchi donated to Kyoto University Hospital a fund for "constructing a ward suitable for the university hospital's mission" in 2006. Thanks to his donation, the Sekitei Ward was completed in 2010 as a field for the practice of advanced medicine at the leading edge of research.

The completion of the new ward propelled the qualitative improvement of the hospital's medical activities and consequently helped strengthening the hospital's financial position. For these reasons, recognizing him to have made outstanding contributions to the operation and management of the university, the university awards him an honorary fellowship.

Dr Aung San Suu Kyi worked at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies between 1985 and 1986 as a foreign researcher, where she studied her father General Aung San under the guidance of Professor Yoneo Ishii.

After her study at Kyoto University as researcher, her achievements earned high international and domestic esteem including the award of Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to the nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights. Recognizing these achievements, the university awards her an honorary fellowship.