Noboru Maruyama

Dr. Noboru Maruyama is director-general of the Uehiro Foundation.

He began his career in Tokyo as a marketing specialist for Tokyu Group from 1969 to 1986. In 1985, he proposed the "Ten Million Project" for promoting Japanese tourism, which became national policy encouraging Japanese people to travel abroad. As a result of his proposal, Japan entered a new phase of its tourism industry, with over 10 million overseas tourists.

Maruyama joined the Uehiro Foundation from its establishment in 1986 and remains director-general today. His first Ph.D. thesis was entitled "Master and Disciple Relationship of Traditional Arts in the Japanese Iemoto System." It clarified how Japanese traditional art masters transfer their skills and spirit to the next generation. Maruyama was awarded a Master’s Degree in law with his thesis "Legal issues in cases of public foundation donations to universities." He promoted support to the University of Oxford, the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, University of Hawaii, and Tohoku University to broaden horizons of ethical research and education.

Maruyama's philanthropic and scholarly achievements include appointment as Carnegie Council Senior Fellow. In this role he has directed international projects on Moral Education, The Good Society, Peace Studies, Environmental Ethics, Information Ethics, Tech Ethics, and Bioethics. This work has created a new network of young and established scholars in applied ethics in Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Maruyama was awarded his second Ph.D. in 2021 for his thesis "Philanthropies and Spirituality: Case Study of Eiichi Shibusawa and Magosaburo Ohar." His research focused on the background of Japanese philanthropic traditions, represented by two business leaders of modern Japan. He was very innovative in clarifying the relationship between philanthropy and spirituality.

Maruyama is also a poet, specializing in Japanese Tanka Poems. His poems have been reviewed in the Yomiuri newspaper over many years. He is the author of On Patronage (2006, University of Oxford, Faculty of Philosophy); The Days in Mourning (1996, Toyokan Publisher); and Collected Works of Shigeru Aoyama (2017, Oxford).