The donation from Tadashi Yanai will support the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, which was created at UCLA - in partnership with Tokyo's Waseda University -- in 2014 thanks to a $2.5 million donation from the businessman. Yanai in 2020 donated $25 million to the initiative.
The donation will support the initiative to promote the study of Japanese literature, language and culture.
Yanai, considered one of the richest -- if not the richest -- people in Japan, is the founder and CEO of Fast Retailing, the parent company of the Uniqlo clothing brand.
"I am proud to support the study of Japanese humanities at UCLA and around the world because I believe in sharing and valuing the practices and artforms that shape our world," Yanai said in a statement. "The humanities and arts make us who we are -- they enable us as humans to relate to and care for one another. I look forward to seeing how Japan Past & Present will expand and enrich this critical work."
Interim UCLA Chancellor Darnell Hunt said in a statement that Yanai's gift "will substantially advance the study of Japanese humanities, solidify UCLA's position as a leading center for such scholarship and contribute greatly to our global reach and impact."
"Thanks to Mr. Yanai's generosity, UCLA will continue to grow as a nexus for scholars across the world to come together to explore and exchange ideas, transcending political, linguistic and cultural boundaries," Hunt said.
City News Service contributed to this report.