Founded on July 1, 1955, Yamaha Motor celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. That year, a variety of commemorative projects were launched and celebrations held in countries around the world. One of the projects was the establishment of the Yamaha Motor Foundation for Sports (YMFS).

Yamaha Motor has a long and rich history of involvement in sports, from motorsports and marine sports to football and rugby. That history brought Yamaha a wealth of success and knowhow in the promotion and development of sports. The reason the company had been considering establishing a sports foundation as it approached its milestone 50th anniversary was because of the belief that supporting the common public asset that sports represent would be a uniquely Yamaha way to return something of value to society.

These uniquely Yamaha values and knowhow were included as core elements of the Foundation project from the start. Taking the key phrase of the “Spirit of Challenge” that is ingrained in Yamaha Motor’s corporate culture, the guiding vision chosen for YMFS was to “support the challenges of people to realize their dreams through sports.” Regardless of the level or event (field) of competition, or whether the person is an athlete, instructor or researcher, YMFS supports the spirit of people who set their goals high and work with passion to achieve them, all towards its goal of helping to create a society that recognizes and praises people that take on challenges.

A number of athletes who received YMFS support grants have gone on to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics.

Since its official launch in November 2006, the main role of YMFS is to provide support across three categories: “Sports challenge aid” that aims to develop and ready candidates for competing on the world stage, “Sports culture and education” that recognizes and awards the work of those in sports, and includes the Foundation’s own surveys and research into sports, and “Sports promotion support” that supports youth development programs helping children to be healthy in mind and body. Among the athletes that have received YMFS “Sports challenge aid” grants are ones who have competed in the Olympics and Paralympics.

YMFS also supports academic research that contributes to the development of sports, such as sports medicine and science.
There are also youth development/education programs aimed at helping children grow up healthy in mind and body.

.