We hosted the first Y-E-S Award for Vietnam ceremony on December 15, 2006 in Hanoi, in which a total of 10 students received the certificate.

The first year Y-E-S Award program was launched in Vietnam which enjoys rapid economic growth driven by high national understanding of education. From next year, we will add one country each year to the list of the beneficiary countries.
The initial program reviewed applications from undergraduates attending science and engineering schools in the top four universities of Vietnam, and awarded 10 most brilliant students based on the results of their essays and the interviews with them. Each recipient received a grant of 3,000 U.S. dollars and a motorcycle as the extra prize. If any one of these recipient continues to study at one of the designated graduate schools in Japan, he/she will be entitled to receive an additional grant of 10,000 U.S. dollars.
A few decades earlier, Soichiro Honda and his associate Takeo Fujisawa※２ developed a grant system named Sakkokai, which is the predecessor of the Y-E-S Award program. Sakkokai anonymously provided grant aid for promising young researchers in Japan. By the time it completed its mission in 1983, Sakkokai had helped over 1,700 people. With the Y-E-S program, we go after the legacy of Sakkokai on a wider scale, and will support as many hopeful, ambitious young people in emerging countries as possible.

※2：Takeo Fujisawa managed Honda Motor both as Executive Vice President to the company and the irreplaceable partner for Soichiro Honda. Their partnership was the driving force behind the company’s growth into a global enterprise.