International Fellowship - Yusuke Matsuda : Studying abroad is a tangible opportunity to change your life, regardless of your career.

“Education” is very important for children who are responsible to build our future. However, some children are unable to receive adequate education due to their economic circumstances and the environment of their communities or families.

On top of this, the Japanese education system faces many other problems as well. It is necessary to develop human resources who can demonstrate strong leadership to solve it.

Yusuke Matsuda, a sixth year Fellow of “The Nippon Foundation International Fellowship Program * ”(external link), one of the scholarship programs developed by The Nippon Foundation, has faced such educational issues in Japan. He aimed to create a society where children can receive an excellent standard of education with growth opportunities regardless of their background or circumstances.

*This program had produced 45 fellows over the course of six cohorts which later got terminated in 2019.

In an Interview, we asked Mr.Matsuda about;

• His efforts & focus to “build a new Japanese education system" 
• The merits of utilizing The Nippon Foundation International Fellowship program.
• What he gained from studying abroad.

After working as a teacher, I had the goal of “creating my own school”

Currently Mr. Matsuda is the president of “Crimson Education Japan” (external link). This is an organization that helps and supports students who want to study abroad at boarding schools, universities, and graduate schools including MBA, instructed by top consultants from all over the world.

Crimson Education supports candidates by giving financial advice on their application strategies. As a result, many young Japanese students have been accepted by prestigious schools around the world such as Harvard University and Stanford University.

Mr. Matsuda points out that the education system in Japanese high schools is not good enough to get accepted by overseas schools for higher education.

“In order to study abroad, it is necessary to work not only on high-level academics, but also on extracurricular activities and essays using self-analysis. Also, the Japanese curriculum guidelines for study do not meet the application requirements and are not accepted by the universities of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Matsuda was born and brought up in Tokyo, and studied abroad twice after he started working.

“As I was not good at reading and writing, the traditional education setting where students have to follow teacher instructions and only read and write in class didn’t fit my learning style. Therefore, I could not find the value and pleasure of learning in the Japanese education system.”

Due to his small stature and poor ability to study and exercise, he was often teased by his classmates. When he was a second year at junior high school student, he got bullied and beaten up by his classmates during the recess time along with his best friend, so once he even thought about committing suicide. 

However, the support of a physical education teacher saved Mr. Matsuda. The teacher watched over Mr.Matsuda during the break time to save him from being bullied. Furthermore he opened the school door at 6:30 a.m and trained Mr.Matsuda to become strong and confident. Thanks to his support, he became stronger and obtained self confidence to overcome the bullying gradually.

“When I became a high school student, I asked my teacher  if  I can do something return for his kindness, but he said ‘Then reach out to a child in a similar situation like you.’"

It encouraged Mr. Matsuda to become a physical education teacher and he entered the Department of Physical Education, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University.

After graduation, he was assigned to an integrated junior and senior high school in Tokyo. He made full efforts to communicate with children and found it rewarding as a teacher.

However, Mr.Matsuda realized gradually that there are many issues that can not be solved alone by himself.

“Some teachers got tired of their busy jobs, they just turned their backs and never faced their students.”

Mr. Matsuda realized that not only children but also teachers have problems.

He resigned and left the school in order to reform the education system from a policy standpoint, and became an analyst at the Board of Education in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture.

Eventually, he came up with an idea that he wanted to establish his own school. Therefore, he decided to study abroad for the first time to learn leadership and management.

He sets out for Harvard-Stanford University to solve educational issues

Mr. Matsuda studied abroad for one year at Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2009.He met Wendy Kopp, the founder of the educational NPO "Teach For America (TFA)" there.

Teach For America was highly regarded for solving educational inequality in the US.Specifically, they recruited graduates from top universities in the United States as full-time teachers to serve (teach) in schools which are located in areas suffering from high poverty.

“I wanted to establish the system like that on a school-by-school basis, but  I  was amazed that they had already introduced this model as a social system.”

After returning to Japan in 2010, he established "Learning For All" (external link）to support children in poor families.

Mr. Matsuda launched the certified NPO "Teach For Japan" (external link) in 2012.
"Teach For Japan" dispatched young people with a passion for education to schools in disadvantaged environments as teachers and worked to solve domestic educational issues in Japan

Eventually, he realized that "It would be difficult to resolve educational inequality and poverty by a single social entrepreneur or NPO." Then he decided to study at Stanford Business School in 2017. That was his second time studying abroad.

I thought I must go to Stanford University to get new knowledge.
Such as;
Investing to scale up non profits organization
Essential qualities for strong leadership
Method to build up an ecosystem to solve social issues

At that time, Mr. Matsuda was supported by The Nippon Foundation International Fellowship program.

The scholarship program is geared towards people who have high qualifications and expertise to tackle social issues. It provides opportunities to further study at overseas research institutes and educational institutions.

I was able to concentrate on learning without any financial issues.

Mr. Matsuda had two main reasons for choosing The Nippon Foundation International Fellowship program.

The first was " financial support," which is a huge burden while studying abroad.

“When I first studied abroad at Harvard University at my own expense, I was suffering from a shortage of money. Although the dormitory served meals on weekdays, I was not able to buy even a cup of coffee. On the other hand, thanks to The Nippon Foundation, I could receive a grant-type scholarship including tuition, living expenses, and rent at Stanford University.”

The second was that Mr. Matsuda had already been supported by The Nippon Foundation for his activities in Teach For Japan.

“The Nippon Foundation is an organization that works on various social issues in Japan.
I wanted to do something return to The Nippon Foundation in a different way from NPO.

After studying abroad in 2017, Mr. Matsuda became a visiting researcher at Stanford University in 2018. He engaged in research on impact investing and social innovation, which aims to solve social issues through investment.

“It required me to fight in a global environment at Stanford University. Although I had to work hard to reach high goals among the top leaders around the world, it was a healthy stress and a good stimulus. The scholarship helped me to focus on my studies and supported me mentally without any financial hardship.”

Mr. Matsuda talks about the real pleasure of studying abroad. "It gives me a new world and a wonderful encounter."

Instead of remaining a physical education teacher, I studied at Harvard University, where I could attract attention and resources from others and make it easier to develop the business I envisioned.

In addition, although he obtained plenty of practical experience in NPO, he was always struggling with funding. His current sound and profitable business are the result of his study at Stanford University.

“Studying abroad is an opportunity to make tangible changes in your life, regardless of your career.”

For his dream of many years; the opening of a boarding international school

After returning to Japan in 2019 from studying abroad at Stanford University, Mr. Matsuda has been involved in the management of several education-related organizations, including Crimson Education Japan, "because I can't achieve my vision in one organization.”

In 2020, Mr. Matsuda opened an online international school, “Crimson Global Academy “(external link). Four years later, in 2025, he plans to open an international boarding school, which has been his dream for many years.

“As there were people who sympathized with my dream, I got the chance to make a dream I've had for 10 years come true.”

In the end , Mr. Matsuda gave some advice to young people who are planning to study abroad.

“Before studying abroad, it is important to think about the mission you want to achieve and the value you want to create. It is hard to make it through without a vision. It is important to work with a vision and passion by trial and error without fearing failure.”

Since his second studying abroad, Ms. Matsuda has been working under the nickname "Ed Matsuda".

“The ‘Ed’ is the first two letters of the word "Education" and represents my passion for education.”

Mr. Matsuda believes that it is important to continually express one’s vision verbally. By sharing your dreams and goals with someone else, your inner vision will be strengthened and take shape. He tries to talk to everyone about his ideal thoughts on education. This way, even if that person is not interested in education, they can connect him to someone who is.

“The more you tell people about your vision, the more opportunities and resources you obtain to connect with others”

If we continue to act with conviction like Mr. Matsuda, the passion will spread.

 Profile     Yusuke Matsuda

Mr. Matsuda was born in Chiba in 1983, he is the President of Crimson Education Japan. After graduating from Nihon University, he worked as a physical education teacher at a junior high school. After graduating from Nihon University, he worked at a junior high school as a physical education teacher. After that, he engaged as an analyst in the Education Policy Division of the Ichikawa City Board of Education in Chiba Prefecture. Then, he entered the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.
After graduating from Harvard Graduate School of Education with a master's degree in Educational Leadership, he worked in human resource strategy at PwC Japan, and retired in July 2010. Then he founded Learning For All that provides learning support for children in harsh environments across Japan.
Since 2012, he has been working to solve educational issues in Japan as the founder of Teach For Japan, officially recognized as an NPO corporation, and stepped down as the president in June 2016.
He went on to Stanford Business School in July 2017 and received his master's degree. In July 2018, he was appointed as a visiting researcher at Stanford University, and he also became the president of Crimson Education Japan that supports Japanese students to study abroad at top schools in the US and the UK.
He is also an associate professor at Kyoto University (2013-2017), a board member of Teach For Japan, a board member of Ashinaga Scholarship Foundation, a board member of Hashadai Social, a board member of Learning For All.

He was selected as one of the Nikkei Business "100 Leading Actors of the Year" (2014), and in 2017 he was selected as an International Fellow of The Nippon Foundation. He is a member of the Central Council for Education, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2019-). 
He is the author of The Classroom where people would rather work in than Google or Disney (Diamond Inc.)