In 1996, the Maruoka-cho Cultural Foundation, with some help from the Sumitomo Group Public Affairs Committee and the postal service began a "A Brief Message from the Heart Letter Contest". Following a successful round of letters to people's mothers, there was then a successor competition for fathers - 73,933 letters were collected.
Down the line, a book was published containing the judges selections - 51 Japanese letters, and 13 English ones. It also contains translations into the opposing tongue for each.
Nearly every school I have taught in has a copy of this book, and I found it quite moving to read in parts, and an interesting insight into the character of the Japanese father. This is quite a feat for me as most of the Japanese I can read at my level tends to be quite dry. Anyway, I was lucky today to receive my own copy - it's a little ripped, and has been replaced. I am going to put the letters up here on LJ, on wednesdays and fridays, tagged with 'japandads'.