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Professor Furuta Motoo, who calls himself a "foreign scientist made in Vietnam," just donated over VND1 billion (US$38,440) to support student scholarships in Vietnam, adding to his multiple contributions in previous years.
Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU Hanoi), announced this week that Professor Furuta, 76, the rector of Vietnam Japan University, recently donated VND1 billion from his Bao Son Prize award to the university's student scholarship fund.
The Bao Son Prize recognizes exceptional scientists and inventors whose research has significant practical and humanitarian impact. This year, Professor Furuta was among four recipients. His winning research project, titled "The History of Ethnic Policy of Vietnamese Communists," brought him a cash prize of VND3.1 billion in the field of social sciences and humanities.
Previously, Furuta has donated nearly VND700 million ($26,900) from various prizes and book royalties to fund scholarships at the university. The "Professor Furuta Scholarship," established at Vietnam Japan University, supports students facing financial hardship as well as those participating in research and academic exchanges with Japan.
In 2020, he contributed 2 million yen ($82,630) from the prestigious Daido Seimei Prize, awarded by the Japanese government, to support the university's inaugural cohort of Japanese Studies students.
The professor has also mobilized scholarship funding from various Japanese scientific, business, and academic networks, including grants worth $15,000 from the Azabu Fund and $7,700 from the Mr. Takehara Fund, and other sources.
"Vietnam has been my first and lifelong love for the past half-century," Furuta once shared. "I can truly say I am a foreign scientist made in Vietnam."
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Professor Furuta earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Tokyo in 1974 and completed his Ph.D. in 1990.
Fluent in Vietnamese, he is widely regarded as a leading Vietnam studies scholar in Japan and a respected expert on Vietnamese history and politics.
Before taking on his current role in Vietnam, he served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo (2001–2002), Vice President (2004–2006), and Director of the University of Tokyo Library (2009–2015). He has been the Rector of Vietnam Japan University under VNU Hanoi since 2016.
His numerous contributions have been honored with awards such as an honorary doctorate from VNU and the Friendship Medal, granted by the Vietnamese government to foreign nationals who significantly contribute to the country’s development.
Notably, Furuta is the first foreigner to receive Vietnam’s prestigious State Award for Science and Technology, honoring his research on the 1945 famine alongside Professor Van Tao.
