財団概要
Established
December 5, 1981
About the Hashiya Scholarship Foundation
The Hashiya Scholarship Foundation was founded in December 1981 by Ryosuke Hashiya to provide scholarships to Indonesian students studying in Japan, and to “deepen mutual understanding through contributions to the educational, scholastic and cultural developments in both nations”. This year marks the 31th year of the foundation.
During the Second World War Ryosuke Hashiya was dispatched to Poso in central Sulawesi (known as Celebes then) in Indonesia from 1942 to 1945 by Nanyo Takushoku Co., Ltd. Thanks to the fact that his birthplace, Ibaraki Prefecture, was the center of Japan’s agriculture industry, Hashiya possessed thorough knowledge of rice cultivation. Upon assumption of his new post in Indonesia he immediately investigated the state of the local food supply, and realized the region was behind in the know-how of rice cultivation. To help improve the situation, he set up a technical agriculture school in Tenun near Lake Poso in March 1944. Young people around 15 years of age who had been recommended by the district chief were given instructions on rice cultivation techniques. They showed enthusiasm and studied diligently, and were said to have shown promising results within a short time.
Following the end the Second World War, the school was closed in August 1945. Although the school was open for a brief period, Hashiya could not forget the sincere gazes of the diligent Indonesian youths, and he returned to Japan still thinking about them.
On returning to Japan, in December 1948, Hashiya set up a company called Tsukishima Foods Industry Co., Ltd. with his colleagues who worked in Poso. The company went on to expand and celebrates its 64th year this year. After founding, the company faced management difficulties for a while, but the situation stabilized in 1981. That was when Hashiya set up the Hashiya Scholarship Foundation with funding from his private funds and his bonds of Tsukishima Foods. The foundation is funded mainly from dividends of Tsukishima Foods stocks, and has seen 678 scholarship recipients so far.
The Hashiya Scholarship Foundation sincerely hopes that with the scholarship every Indonesian student studying in Japan will be able to overcome difficulties, acquire necessary knowledge without trouble, and most of all, contribute to the development of Indonesia.
