Established in 2006, Japan Fellowships were supported by the H.S. Williams Trust Fund. Harold Stannett Williams (1898-1987) donated his personal collection on Japan and the West to the Library in 1978.

The National Library of Australia Fellowship in Japan Studies replaces the Japan Fellowship, with the continued support of the H.S Williams Trust. It aims to promote the Library’s collections as a national resource for the study of Asia, and encourage research into and new publications based on the Japanese collections.

The H.S Williams Trust also supports the Library's Asia Study Grants, which encourage intensive research use of the Asian Collections.