Opening the Door to Giving: How Japan’s Cultural Sector Is Adapting to a New Funding Era
For many countries, it’s a familiar problem: shrinking government funding that has left arts, cultural, and educational institutions struggling. For Japan, the challenge is no less daunting. However, leading institutions are now taking steps to harness the private funding needed to support the country’s vibrant cultural life.
The financial challenges facing Japanese cultural institutions should not be underestimated. First, the country’s heavy debt burden and aging population have created a fiscal crunch that is prompting the government to cut budget allocations for arts and culture. Japan is now pushing institutions to diversify their fundraising sources. Over the next decade, museums must become fully independent of national funding, generating sufficient exhibition revenue to cover 100% of costs, including curatorial staff, preparation, and maintenance.
Yet unlike the United States, which has a sophisticated private philanthropy sector (including donors who provide much support for the arts, culture, and education), Japan has a limited history of private giving.
Katsuhiko Hibino, president of Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) explains that in Japan, the culture of fundraising is practically non-existent. “There is a sense that money is somewhat unclean or tainted,” he says. “And there is a psychological hurdle to converting things into monetary value. Even terms like ‘social contribution’ or ‘volunteering’ have only recently taken root in Japan.”
Japanese cultural institutions also lack fundraising infrastructure, whether that is a development department and fundraising experts or an online channel facilitating charitable gifts.
But Japan is not alone in this. A couple of decades ago, European museums and universities faced something very similar: diminishing public funding at a time when giving was not part of the culture. Few raised funds domestically or had a person in charge of fundraising, let alone a fundraising department.
“Many European cultural institutions once relied almost entirely on public funding and had little experience engaging private donors,” says Axel Rüger, a Myriad USA board member who currently serves as the Director of the Frick Collection in New York, and previously led the Royal Academy of Arts and the Van Gogh Museum.
As funding gaps widened, particularly after the 2008 global financial crisis, European arts, cultural, and educational institutions developed their fundraising capacity and started seeking funding from private sources to complement shrinking public funds.
“Building accessible pathways for U.S. philanthropy was essential to their long‑term sustainability,” says Mr. Rüger. “It transformed not only how these institutions fund their work but also how they deepen relationships with supporters worldwide.”
While initially some European institutions did little more than hire a fundraising director and hope for the best, efforts to professionalize fundraising have been increasing. With the help of Myriad USA, many European museums and universities have developed channels through which to receive funds from US donors.
Today, some of Japan’s leading cultural institutions are starting to follow a similar path. At the Tokyo National Museum (TNM), for example, additional internal resources are being put behind fundraising. The museum has created a new management planning department, whose responsibilities include securing the museum’s financial base. It has also hired a number of staff with experience in management and marketing.
As importantly, says TNM executive director Makoto Fujiwara, the museum is encouraging new ways of thinking, including focusing on financial sustainability. “Moving away from past museum management, all staff members must have the mindset of managing a museum like a private company,” he told us.
Investing concerted effort in fundraising infrastructure led to TNM receiving a large-scale gift in 2025 by a U.S. donor. The donation enabled the museum to renovate the sculpture exhibition facilities of its main building to accommodate the museum’s two massive thirteenth-century Kongo Rikishi (guardian gods) standing statues, which had long awaited a suitable display environment. The growing cohort of international visitors to the museum presents new opportunities for TNM to connect with prospective donors.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo University of the Arts has become an anchor member of NEW INC, the cultural incubator of the New Museum, New York’s leading contemporary art center. In its year-long program, NEW INC offers members business education, mentorship, and opportunities to showcase their work. Together, they aim to strengthen Japan’s cultural presence in the U.S., support the global careers of Japanese artists, and foster cross-cultural collaboration with New York’s creative industries. Building on this momentum, the University is also preparing its first fundraising event in New York City this July, in partnership with Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
Another factor working in favor of institutions like TNM and the Tokyo University of the Arts is that new government requirements for greater financial independence have been accompanied by looser rules on fundraising. Restrictions that once prevented cultural institutions from soliciting and managing their own funds have begun to ease. Japanese universities, for example, are now allowed to use crowdfunding.
As Japan’s arts, cultural, and educational institutions enter this new era, Myriad USA is well positioned to support their efforts. Our teams help organizations access U.S. philanthropic funding through an American Friends Fund, a flexible, cost-effective way to receive gifts, while leveraging regional expertise to connect with diverse donor networks and build long-term supporter relationships.
Already, U.S. donors can support TNM and the Tokyo University of the Arts through their American Friends Funds at Myriad USA. Later this year, at an event in Japan, Myriad USA will convene fundraising and philanthropic experts to share insights and experience with their Japanese counterparts.
As Japan’s cultural sector heads in a new direction, there are plenty of fundraising hurdles to be overcome. The good news is that the plans institutions are now putting in place will not only provide additional support for their programs and operations but could also foster new partnerships that will leave the entire sector stronger and more globally connected.
For further information on supporting Japanese cultural institutions, please contact Ly Tran, Director, Asia Pacific, at [email protected].