TOMODACHI Honda Cultural Exchange Program Participants Return After Life Changing Experience in the U.S.

From December 25, 2014 to January 8, 2015, twenty high school students from Miyagi prefecture participated in the TOMODACHI Honda Cultural Exchange Program in Los Angeles, California. While practicing their musical instruments in preparation for their performance at the Rose Parade, the students were able to experience many American cultural activities.

The students kicked-off their stay in Los Angeles by participating in several community projects that are supported by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., which enabled them to experience first-hand the importance of public service in American culture. Later that evening students were welcomed by their host families, Steve Morikawa of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and several U.S.-Japan Council members including Henry Ota and Dr. Susumu Ito, a member of the all Japanese-American 442nd Regiment during World War II.

The 12-day program consisted of many cultural activities and community service components, such as serving meals to disadvantaged residents, assembling disaster relief kits for the Red Cross, visiting the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), and exploring the UCLA campus and networking with UCLA students. Participants also visited Disneyland, attended a musical, and enjoyed seeing an Anaheim Ducks game.

Prior to the Rose Parade, students were able to visit the main office for the Rose Bowl. They learned about the history of the Rose Parade and provided input for the Honda float’s design (the float included a bridge of LCD screens showing videos of Operation Tomodachi and messages from the TOMODACHI Initiative).

Watch KTLA 5s new coverage of the float here (starting at 00:09:46)

While the float was being built, the students met with several American military officers who took part in Operation Tomodachi, a disaster relief and humanitarian assistance mission to support Japan in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

On January 1, 2015, the students participated in the two-hour Rose Parade which usually draws 700,000 onlookers and more than the 55 million television viewers from around the world, smiling and waving, to express their gratitude toward the United States for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This experience was the highlight of the program for the students.