JCIE’s International Philanthropy Project was launched in 1974 because of a need JCIE recognized for Japan to develop truly nonprofit and nongovernmental institutions in order to become a constructive member of the international community. In the initial phase of the project, JCIE strove to provide Japanese foundations and corporations with basic information on private philanthropy. JCIE also provided overseas foundations with information on Japan’s philanthropic development, making the project an exchange activity instead of a one-way flow of information. This phase consisted of several interrelated activities, including overseas study missions, research and survey projects, international symposia, a seminar series, and publication of a newsletter on overseas philanthropy.

As Japanese foundations continued to grow in number in the mid-1970s, they developed an interest in becoming involved in activities in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. The second phase of the project was, therefore, designed to encourage and facilitate cooperative participation by Japanese foundations and other nonprofit organizations in exchange and joint projects involving Southeast Asia. The second phase consisted of the same interrelated activities as the first, but it also included efforts to facilitate grant making by Japanese foundations and corporations in support of development efforts in Asia.

As Japan continued its impressive economic growth, calls for more active contributions by Japan to the international community grew increasingly urgent. The third phase of the project, taking place in the early 1980s, involved efforts to raise awareness in Japan about this need to recognize Japan’s international responsibilities, as well as efforts to bring Japan into private-level international discussions. It was around this time when the promotion of “good corporate citizenship” among Japanese corporations situated overseas became a very important endeavor.