Theme
Perspectives on Life Insurance

FALIA invites you to write an essay on the theme related to Perspectives on Life Insurance.
The essay theme should resonate with both personal relevance and societal impact. We encourage you to articulate your ideas clearly within the text, demonstrating how life insurance intersects with your own experiences and aspirations, while also addressing broader social issues.
We welcome essays from students who have no background in insurance. Please take on an intellectual challenge by applying for our essay competition.

Submission Deadline
September 2, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

1. The contest is open to an International student currently living and studying in Japan.　
   Your status of residence shall be 留学 (RYUGAKU) and you shall be in an undergraduate or graduate
   program at a Japanese university (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 accepted in the past.　
   If your country or region is not on the list, please inquire us directly.

3. You must still be with a university when we hold the awards ceremony, which you must attend at 
   the venue. (The awards ceremony will be held in Tokyo in late January or early February 2025)

GUIDELINES

1. The essay must be written in English or Japanese.
2. The essay must be original and unpublished.
3. Co-authored essays will be accepted, but each member must satisfy the applicant eligibility
    requirements explained above. If selected, the co-authors will share the prize.
4. Only one entry per student or per one co-author team per year.
5. The essay must not exceed 5000 words in English, or 12000 characters in Japanese.
6. Each essay must follow the guidelines as below. A sample essay format is available for your
    reference.
    - The first page must include the essay title, author’s name, name of university,
    and the total number of words/characters.
    - The second page must be an abstract of the essay.
    - The second and subsequent pages must not include the author’s name and any other information
    which can be used to identify the author.
7. An application form must be sent with the essay. (Word file only)
8. When quoting others, please be sure to properly acknowledge the source.
    Also, if you used so-called generative AI, please indicate how they were used, and the sections
    written by such usage. (For more details, please refer to the FAQ section on our website.)
    Your essay should be plagiarism free. If unequivocal plagiarism is detected, your essay will be
    rejected and, if applicable, you will be required to reimburse the prize.

9. The copyright for all essays entered will be assigned to our foundation.
10. We may publish winning essays, including details about the authors (name, nationality,
      university) on our website or by some other method.

SELECTION COMMITTEE

Emeritus Professor Takau Yoneyama【Chair】
Hitotsubashi University

Professor Haruko Amano
Japan Women’s University

Associate Professor  Jin Abe
Hitotsubashi University

Professor Motokazu Ishizaka
Chuo University                     

EVALUATION 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
-Citations and referencing
-Readability and presentation (clarity of expression & word choice; language mechanics)

＊Candidates may be interviewed for evaluation purposes.
 

COMMUNICATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT

Prize winners will be informed directly in December 2024 and publicly announced on our website after the award ceremony in the beginning of 2025.

*Click here to view ""The Awards ceremony in 2023""

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. The personal information provided to us 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. For the awards ceremony, we will cover the transportation expenses in Japan.