JT to Grant Scholarships to 14 Asian Students

Tokyo, April 19, 2010 --- Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) (TSE: 2914) announced today that it will grant scholarships to 14 self-financed students from Asian countries as part of the company's 2010 Asian Scholarship Program.

As a good corporate citizen maintaining harmonious relations with society, the JT Group has established various key areas for social contribution activities in the JT Group Social Contribution Policy, focusing on: Social Welfare, Arts and Culture, Environmental Protection, and Disaster Relief.

Aiming to contribute to human resource development in Asian countries, the JT Asian Scholarship Program was established in 1998 to offer financial support to Asian students and has been conducted for the past 13 years. From fiscal 2010, the application area has been expanded nationwide in order to supply more chances for self-financed students to receive scholarship.

Through this program, self-financed Asian graduate school and doctoral course students currently studying or entering the 37 universities and colleges selected by JT from around the nation, will receive JPY 150,000 each month for up to two years. Each year JT awards scholarships to about ten applicants, and a total of 22 students have been awarded scholarships in this consecutive round of the program.

A total of 147 students from 13 countries, in which 14 (four men and ten women) in fiscal 2010 and 133 in past rounds are included, have been awarded scholarships.

As well as supporting study and research in Japan, JT also offers several opportunities to experience Japanese culture, establish networking with young JT employees and visit JT facilities.