Hersey Shiga Global Named Co-Organiser of Race Against Dementia’s 2026 Charity Gala at Fuji Speedway with Sir Jackie Stewart
Tokyo, 20 August 2026 — Hersey Shiga Global K.K. has been named local co-organiser of the 2026 Race Against Dementia charity gala dinner, taking place on Friday 25 September at the Fuji Speedway Hotel to mark Sir Jackie Stewart OBE’s historic return to Fuji Speedway sixty years after his 1966 victory at the Fuji 200.
The event is co-organised by Race Against Dementia, the FIA World Endurance Championship, and Hersey Shiga Global, opening the 6 Hours of Fuji race weekend at Japan’s most storied circuit. The championship confirmed the appointment in its official announcement, naming Hersey Shiga Global alongside Race Against Dementia and the FIA World Endurance Championship as co-organisers of the evening. Proceeds from the weekend’s charity activity support Race Against Dementia’s global fellowship programme, funding the next generation of dementia researchers.
Building on the success of the 2025 Race Against Dementia Tokyo Charity Luncheon, which brought Formula 1 leadership and Japan’s motorsport community together at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Hersey Shiga Global’s role expands significantly for 2026 — from fundraising partner to full local co-organiser of Race Against Dementia’s most ambitious Japan event to date.
A Return Sixty Years in the Making
In October 1966, a young Jackie Stewart won the Fuji 200 driving a Lola T-90 — the first American open-wheel race held in Japan, staged at the newly opened Fuji Speedway, and one of the landmark events that placed Japan on the world motorsport map. It was the same car in which he had come within ten laps of winning that year’s Indianapolis 500 as a rookie. Sir Jackie still holds the trophy from that day. In September 2026, sixty years on, he returns to Fuji Speedway to open the 6 Hours of Fuji weekend, honouring both his own legacy and the charitable mission that has defined the second half of his life.
His connection to endurance racing runs deeper still. In 1965 he shared the experimental gas-turbine Rover-BRM with fellow world champion Graham Hill at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the pair taking the chequered flag in tenth place. The following year he was due to drive a Ford GT40 at La Sarthe, but was ruled out by a serious accident at the preceding Belgian Grand Prix.
Race Against Dementia was founded by Sir Jackie in 2016 following his wife Lady Helen Stewart’s diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia. The charity, under the patronage of HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh, applies Formula 1 problem-solving methodology to accelerate dementia research through a global fellowship programme. To date it has raised more than £20 million, funded 88 researchers and backed over 50 research projects across five continents. Approximately 4.6 million people in Japan are living with dementia today, in the world’s most rapidly ageing society.
Announcing the appearance, FIA World Endurance Championship CEO Frédéric Lequien said the word “legend” is often overused — but that in Sir Jackie’s case it is entirely deserved, citing not only his record on track but his campaigning off it, from driver safety to dementia research.
FIA World Endurance Championship, 21 August 2026
Hersey Shiga Global’s Role
As local co-organiser, Hersey Shiga Global brings decades of Tokyo-based media, corporate, and cultural network expertise to the event. The company will oversee the full guest experience, partner outreach across the Japanese motorsport and business communities, and the bilingual event production at Fuji Speedway Hotel. Hersey Shiga Global operates across multiple international media brands including Shiga Sports Japan, THR Japan, and Hersey.jp.
A Weekend of Support
The gala dinner opens a broader weekend of activation across the 6 Hours of Fuji, including a Community Track Walk with Sir Jackie for public supporters, a charity auction of motorsport memorabilia and experiences running online across the weekend, and a Memory Wall installation at the circuit — creating a public dementia-awareness moment across Japan alongside the private gala.
Invitations to the charity gala are extended by invitation only, with limited individual seats and corporate table opportunities available. For full event details, sponsorship packages, and enquiries, please visit the official RAD Japan 2026 event page, or contact charity@herseyshiga.com.
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