Celebrating Our Selection: Toyota Foundation 50-Year Anniversary Grant Ceremony

On April 9, 2025, we attended the presentation ceremony for the Toyota Foundation 50-Year Anniversary Grant Program, where our project was officially recognized as one of the selected proposals.

The program, launched in celebration of the Foundation’s 50th year since its establishment in 1974, invites bold and forward-looking research under the theme: “Envisioning Human Society 50 Years Ahead.” Against the backdrop of accelerating technological innovation, demographic shifts, environmental changes, and evolving global dynamics, the Foundation calls for ambitious and unconventional projects that reimagine what human society should look like half a century from now.

Our project, titled 「人々の適応力を高めるアジア型統合的流域管理アプローチの構築：次世代に負担を残さない環境の実現」 (Development of Asian-oriented Integrated Watershed Management Approach Enhancing Adaptive Capacity with No Burden for Future Generations), is led by Dr. Taishi Yazawa and brings together partners from Universiti Malaya, Management and Science University, Barbaza Municipality in the Philippines, and Fukuyama City University. This project aims to create a future where environmental burdens aren’t passed on to the next generation. In Malaysia and the Philippines, we will combine scientific research on river pollutants with participatory workshops, where locals and researchers work together to explore future risks and solutions. We hope to build practical, sustainable models that can be shared widely.

We’re honored to be part of this initiative that envisions a more resilient, adaptive, and equitable human society in the face of long-term environmental and social challenges.