The FALIA Essay Competition aims to foster an interest in life insurance
among international students studying in Japan
and to raise their awareness of how it can contribute to solving social issues.
We welcome essays on life insurance related themes
from students with diverse cultural backgrounds and academic majors.
The essay theme should resonate with both personal relevance and societal impact. We encourage you to articulate your ideas clearly within the text.
The essay evaluation is not intended solely to measure
the applicant’s level of insurance knowledge.
We welcome applicants of all backgrounds,
whether you are already studying insurance systems
or have never taken an interest in insurance before.
Please take this opportunity to engage in the intellectual challenge
of exploring life insurance from your own thoughts.
Theme
Perspectives on Life Insurance
Submission Deadline
September 3rd, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
Click here to download the leaflet
10 non-prize winners will have a chance to receive a ¥5,000 gift certificate.
FALIA invites essay submissions from international students across all academic fields on themes related to “Perspectives on Life Insurance”.
Please write your essay based on an understanding of the basic principles and mechanisms of life insurance, while developing your ideas freely and creatively.
Potential topics include the dissemination, social significance, economic impact, technological innovation, and international comparisons of life insurance, as well as the relationship between life insurance and families and society.
※Japanese alphabetical order
EVALUATION CRITERIA
1. The essay must comply with the application guidelines.
2. The evaluation will be based on the following criteria:
・Structure(Format/Style)
- Clarity of theme and/or research topic
- Structural development and validity of conclusion
- Analytical strength
- Use of appropriate methodology/approach
- Logic and reasoning.
・Contents
- Originality
- Academic integrity and validity
- Other commendable elements
(such as exceptional insight or significant societal impact)
・Technical
- Proper citations and referencing
- Readability and presentation
(clarity of expression & word choice; language mechanics)
3. Applicants may be interviewed for evaluation purposes.
COMMUNICATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT
Prize winners will be informed directly in December 2026 and publicly announced on our website after the award ceremony.
The awards ceremony is planned to be held in Tokyo in late January 2027.
Details will be announced at a later time.
※Click here to view "The Awards ceremony for 2025"
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. The personal information provided to FALIA by the applicants via this competition will be
used in accordance with FALIA’s privacy policy.
For more details on FALIA’s privacy policy, please visit our website.
2. FALIA will cover the necessary domestic transportation expenses to attend
the awards ceremony.
Submission process
Step1
Decide on a theme
What is life insurance?
What is the life insurance situation in your home country or other places in the world?
How have you and your family been involved with life insurance?
Try collecting information and data on various topics related to life insurance. Then decide on the theme you will write about.
You can check the titles and presentation videos of award-winning essays for the past three years on FALIA’s website.
You can also find “Tips for Essay Writing” on the website.
Step2
Write your essay
Summarize your own ideas and assertions in a logical manner based on the information and data you collected. Using statistical analysis techniques you learned at schools may contribute to write a good essay.
Please also refer to "A sample essay format".
According to the results of a survey conducted with past award winners, it takes couple weeks to couple months to write the essay.
If you have any questions, please inquire directly with us via the inquiry form at the bottom of the page, or contact the FALIA Essay Competition Team at essay@falia.jp.
Step3
Submit your essay via the Application form
You can submit your essay by filling out the required fields on the Application form and attaching your essay as a Word file.
We will notify all applicants of the result of the evaluation by mail by around December 10, 2026.
If you change your address before the notification, please be sure to inform FALIA of your new address.
Q1.
My home country is not on the list of “Countries and regions FALIA have accepted in the past”.
Am I eligible to apply?
A1.
If your country or region is not on the list of “Countries and regions FALIA have accepted in the past”, please contact us to confirm your eligibility. (FALIA Essay Competition Group, essay@falia.jp)
You must be from countries or regions where FALIA recognizes the possibility of contributing to the sound development of the insurance business.
FALIA aims to enlighten and disseminate a sound insurance philosophy through education, guidance, and support activities. Our goal is to widely contribute to the sound development of insurance industry worldwide.
Based on this, eligibility to apply for this competition is limited to certain countries and regions.
A2.
The theme of the essay shall be related to Perspective of Life Insurance. We encourage you to choose a theme that has social significance and is based on issues familiar to you, keeping in mind how life insurance can contribute to solving social issues.
A deep knowledge of insurance is not necessarily required. Essays from students who have never studied insurance before are also welcome.
On our foundation's website, you can find the titles of essays from the past three years under 'Prize Winner Announcement' Videos from Award Winners' Presentations for the past three years are also available.
Please also refer to the tips for essay-writing.
Is there a specific template designated by FALIA for writing the essay?
A3.
There is no designated template. Please follow the instruction in the SUBMISSION GUIDELINES.
Please also refer to the “Sample Essay Structure”.
We recommend submitting the essays in the following format.
>English essays: Double spaced, 12-point font size
>Japanese essays: 10.5-point font size, 36 lines of 40 characters each per page.
It is advisable to refer to standard formats such as the "APA style."
Q4.
Are the title page, abstract, table of contents, and references included in the total word/character count?
How about figures and graphs?
If the essay exceeds the word/character limit, will it still be accepted?
A4.
The title page, abstract, table of contents, and references are not included in the word/character count.
Figures and graphs are also not included in the word/character count.
However, the main content of the essay shall be primarily composed of written text.
Please use tables, figures and graphs to supplement the main body of the paper.
The essay must not exceed 5,000 words in English, or 12,000 characters in Japanese.
If your essay exceeds this limit, it may be disqualified from evaluation.
Please be sure to show the total number of words/characters on Page 1.
Do I need to indicate references and citations?
Yes, all references and citations must be clearly indicated. Improper or incorrect indication may be considered plagiarism.
This applies not only to published essays and books but also to information from the internet.
If you use generative AI, please verify its content with reliable sources and clearly state how the AI was used along with the sources you referred to.
Submitted essays will be checked by plagiarism detection application and other methods.
If any misconduct such as plagiarism is discovered after the prize was awarded, we may revoke the prize and request the return of the prize money.
Is it possible to submit an essay co-authored by a group?
Yes, co-authored essays are welcome. Please declare that the essay is co-authored at the time of application.
Please note that all co-authors must meet the eligibility requirements.
Each co-author must understand the Terms and Conditions of the essay and apply from the Application form by the deadline, and submit the same essay.
The essay submitted by the representative of co-authors will be considered valid.
Please also describe the roles among the co-authors in the form.
If a co-authored essay is awarded a prize, the prize money shall be shared among the co-authors.
Why do I have to write the name of my supervising professor or advisor who supervised my essay in the application form?
If you are selected as the award winner, such person will be invited to the award ceremony as a guest, in addition to yourself. If no name is on the form, other university-related individual, such as the seminar class advisor or staff members from the international student office, will be invited as a guest.
If the invited guest needs to travel by airline or Shinkansen, or needs accommodation to attend the award ceremony, FALIA will cover such expenses.
Do I have to attend the award ceremony if I become a prize winner?
Yes, all prize winners are required to attend the awards ceremony in person at the venue.
The awards ceremony is planned to be held in Tokyo in late January 2027.
Details will be announced at a later time.
If you cannot attend the award ceremony, you may not be eligible for the award.
The domestic transportation costs within Japan (such as airline, Shinkansen, and local trains) and accommodation expenses necessary for attending the award ceremony will be covered by FALIA.
If I am selected as a prize winner, what procedures will be required?
A9.
If you are selected as a nominee for one of the prizes after the evaluation process, you must submit the following documents for the verification of your eligibility.
FALIA will directly contact those nominees sometime between mid-November and early December.
- Student Registration Certificate (original copy)
- Copy of Residence Card (both sides)
- Written Oath and Consent Form
- Prize money bank account information
- Copy of My Number Card
- Any other documents deemed necessary by FALIA
When will the evaluation results be announced?
A10.
We will notify all applicants of the result of the evaluation by mail by around December10 , 2026.
If you do not receive the notification by that date, please contact us for confirmation.(essay@falia.jp)
If you change your address before the notification, please be sure to inform FALIA of your new address.
Inquiries
If you have any questions or concerns about the FALIA Essay Contest, please contact us using the inquiry form below.
