On 6 May 2026, H.E. Mr. Ryotaro Suzuki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Independent State of Samoa, attended the 2026 Scholarship Awards Presentation Ceremonies hosted by the Yazaki Kizuna Foundation and delivered congratulatory remarks.
In the morning, the ceremony for scholarship recipients from the University of the South Pacific (USP) was held at the USP Alafua Campus. In the afternoon, another ceremony was held at the National University of Samoa (NUS) for NUS scholarship recipients.
This year, 15 students from USP and 24 students from NUS were selected as scholarship recipients. The awardees included not only students in their teens and twenties, but also mature students, including those raising families while continuing their studies, and working adults pursuing higher degrees. The ceremonies highlighted the strong motivation and commitment to learning shown by students across a wide range of generations. It was also noted that many of this year’s recipients demonstrated particularly strong academic performance.
The ceremonies were attended by representatives of the respective universities, the Yazaki Kizuna Foundation, the JICA Samoa Office, and other distinguished guests. Certificates were presented to each scholarship recipient. In his remarks, Ambassador Suzuki expressed his respect for the students’ hard work and commitment to learning and stated his hope that the scholarship would help broaden their future opportunities and contribute to the development of human resources for the future of Samoa.
The Yazaki Kizuna Foundation was established through a donation from Yazaki Corporation and has continued to provide scholarship support to students in Samoa since 2018. This initiative has made an important contribution to strengthening the friendship between Japan and Samoa, as well as promoting people-to-people exchange and human resource development through education.
The Embassy of Japan in Samoa will continue to work towards further strengthening the friendly relations between Japan and Samoa through education, human resource development, and grassroots-level exchanges.
Congratulations to all the 2026 scholarship recipients.
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