Theme
Perspectives on Life Insurance
Submission Deadline
September 2, 2025, 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.
There may be no winner for each prize based on the judging process.
THEME
Perspectives on Life Insurance
FALIA invites international students from various academic fields to write an essay on the theme related to Perspectives on Life Insurance.
Whether you are currently studying life insurance or have never been interested in it before, we encourage you to take this opportunity to submit your original and creative ideas. Please take on the intellectual challenge of exploring the role of life insurance in today’s society, drawing on your cultural background and a variety of viewpoints.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
September 2, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY
1. The competition is open to international students currently living and studying in
Japan.
Your status of residence shall be "Student" (留学/RYUGAKU) and you shall be in an
undergraduate or graduate program at a Japanese university or graduate school
(大学・大学院 / DAIGAKU・DAIGAKUIN) at the time of application.
2. You must be from countries or regions where FALIA recognizes the possibility of
contributing to the sound development of the insurance business.
Please refer to the list of the countries and regions which we have accepted in
the past. If your country or region is not on the list, please contact us for
inquiries. (essay@falia.jp)
3. You must still be with a Japanese university or graduate school when we hold the
awards ceremony, which you must attend at the venue.
(The awards ceremony will be held in late January or early February of 2026.
A confirmed date will be announced later.)
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
1. The essay must be written in English or Japanese.
2. The essay must be original and unpublished work to which the applicant holds
all rights.
3. Co-authored essays are welcome. All co-authors must meet the eligibility
requirements. If the essay was co-authored, please declare it at the time of
application.
If a co-authored essay is selected for a prize, the prize money shall be shared
among the co-authors.
4. Each applicant may submit only one essay, whether it was individually authored or
co-authored.
Those who applied in previous years are welcome to apply again this year.
5. The main text of the essay must not exceed
5,000 words in English, or 12,000 characters in Japanese.
Strict adherence to the limit is required.
Please note that this limit applies only to the main text, such as the introduction,
main body, and conclusion.
The cover page, abstract, figures and tables, footnotes, and references are not
included in the word count.
6. Each essay must follow the guidelines below. A sample essay format is
available for your reference.
- Page 1 must include the essay title, name of the author, name of the Japanese
university or graduate school, and the total count of words or characters.
If the essay was co-authored, please indicate all the co-author's name and school.
- Page 2 must include an abstract of the essay.
- Page 3 and onward must include the main text, such as the introduction,
main body, and conclusion.
Please also include references appropriately.
※Personal information of the applicant(s), such as the name and university name,
shall appear only on Page 1. Please do not include such information on Page 2
or any subsequent pages.
7. Please submit your essay as a Word file, by attaching it to the Application form.
Be sure to fill in all required fields on the Application form.
8. Clearly distinguish between your own opinions and any quotations from reference
materials. When citing from references, you must indicate the source. In doing so,
please ensure that citations are properly formatted according to the method used,
such as direct or indirect quotations.
If you use generative AI in writing the essay, please specify how they were used
and indicate the sections written with the use of AI.
(Please also refer to the FAQ below.)
If any misconduct such as plagiarism is discovered after a prize has been awarded,
the prize may be revoked and the prize money will be required to be reimbursed.
9. The copyright for all submitted essays will be assigned to FALIA.
10. FALIA may publish the prize winning essays, including details about the author(s),
such as name, nationality, and name of the university, on our website or by other
means.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
【Chair】Emeritus Professor Takau Yoneyama
Hitotsubashi University
Professor Haruko Amano
Japan Women’s University
Associate Professor Jin Abe
Hitotsubashi University
Professor Motokazu Ishizaka
Chuo University
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 (no plagiarism)
- Intangibles (e.g., societal relevance)
・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 2025 and publicly announced on our website after the award ceremony. The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in Tokyo in late January or early February 2026.
※Click here to view "The Awards ceremony for 2024"
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 15, 2025.
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 scheduled to be held in Tokyo between late January and early February 2026.
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
- 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 December 15, 2025.
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.
