TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program
The TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program provides Japanese high school students from the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami with an opportunity to participate in an intensive three-week leadership program that focuses on global leadership development and community service at the University of California, Berkeley from 2012 to 2019.
During this program, the students explored methods for contributing to their local communities. They were exposed to projects led by young people in the United States to inspire them to take action while gaining a further understanding of American society and culture through homestays and exchanges with American high school students.
The TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program 2.0 -Building Resilient Communities for Future-, starting in 2023, is a program designed for 18 high school and university students who were living in Iwate, Miyagi, or Fukushima prefectures when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Students will study community contribution and leadership at the University of California, Berkeley for three weeks. In addition, students will devise ideas to solve societal issues, learn how to implement them from planning to execution, and create action plans for solving each issue. In December, a debriefing session will be held to announce the process and results hitherto. Mentors who are well-versed in fostering entrepreneurs and revitalizing local communities in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures will provide support throughout the program, from planning to the execution of action plans after returning to Japan.
TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program 2.0: Program Report
You can view the program reports from 2012 to 2024, prepared by the Center for Cities + Schools (CC+S) at the University of California, Berkeley, from here.
TOMODACHI Summer SoftBank Leadership Program Impact Report
The impact report of the ten year’s activity can be found here. (The report is in Japanese.)
TOMODACHI Summer 2019 SoftBank Leadership Program
From July 19 to August 9, 2019, high school students from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures participated in the TOMODACHI Summer 2019 SoftBank Leadership Program in Berkeley, California, and its suburbs.
In the first part of this three-week program, participants learned about Y-PLAN (Youth- Plan, Learn, Act, Now), a project-based civic learning experience that taught them ways to tackle real-world problems in their own communities at the University of California, Berkeley. Then, the students received a request from the City of Richmond and North Richmond in California, and developed and presented action plans to rejuvenate these areas, before implementing one of the action plans. Lastly, each of the high school students developed and shared their own action plans to be implemented in the Tohoku region. In addition, they took part in various workshops, socialized with local Japanese and youth, visited a wide variety of social activity organizations in the Berkeley area, and watched a baseball game. They were greatly impacted by these activities and other cultural interactions.
First, the participants explored the meaning of leadership as they learned about Y-PLAN. They not only learned and explored methods of local community activities, but also shared and considered their own stories, making their group discussions and activities more lively. Read More>>
TOMODACHI Summer 2018 SoftBank Leadership Program
From July 20 to August 9, 2018, 100 high school students from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures participated in the TOMODACHI Summer 2018 SoftBank Leadership Program in Berkeley, California, and its suburbs.
This three-week program consists of three stages. First, the participants learn about Y-PLAN (Youth, Plan, Action, Now!), which is a project-based civic learning experiences to tackle real-world problems in their communities. The participants study Y-PLAN! at the University of California, Berkeley, where Chairman and CEO Mr. Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group Corp., the corporate sponsor of the program, previously studied. Second, the students receive a request from the City of Richmond and North Richmond in California, and develop and present action plans to rejuvenate these areas. Lastly, each of the 100 high school students develop and present their own action plans to be implemented in the Tohoku region. Furthermore, the participants experience homestays over a weekend, and participate in many activities, including a baseball game and other cultural experiences and interactions.
Upon arriving, the 100 students were divided into four groups, and began learning about the Y-PLAN! from the instructors and Field Assistants (FA). Read More>>
TOMODACHI Summer 2017 SoftBank Leadership Program
From July 21 to August 10, 2017, 100 high school students from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures participated in the TOMODACHI Summer 2017 SoftBank Leadership Program in Berkeley, California, and its suburbs. It was a fruitful three weeks in which the students learned about leadership and community service.
The students designed action plans that they will carry out in their respective communities through Y-PLAN (Youth, Plan, Action, 
Now!), a community service-focused, experiential workshop implemented at schools in the U.S. During the program, the students stayed at the University of California, Berkeley, where Chairman and CEO Mr. Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group Corp., the corporate sponsor of the program, had previously studied. In the latter half of the program, the students were joined by six “adult allies,” young professionals from non-profits in Tohoku, who supported the students in their learning process and implementing their action plans.
During the first week, the students were divided into four teams and built solidarity among the team members. Instructors and teaching assistants helped them learn the foundation of Y-PLAN by delving deeper into their stories, and sharing and discussing them with their peers. Read More>>
TOMODACHI Summer 2016 SoftBank Leadership Program
From July 21 to August 10, 2016, one hundred students from the Tohoku region – Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures – traveled to America and participated in the TOMODACHI Summer 2016 SoftBank Leadership Program and learned about the Y-PLAN (Youth, Plan, Learn, Act, Now!), an intensive community revitalization program run by the University of California, Berkeley.
The three-week program commenced with a team building session in which the students were divided into four groups. While in these groups, the students spent the first week exploring their own stories, sharing them with others, and taking an intensive workshop focused on developing a plan for community building and sustainability. Read More>>
TOMODACHI Summer 2015 SoftBank Leadership Program
In the fourth year of this program, one hundred 100 Tohoku high school students from the disaster affected areas of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures were selected to visit the University of California, Berkeley in California for an intensive three-week course that focused on global leadership development and community service. From July 21 to August 12, 2015, the students participated in a workshop called the Y-PLAN (“Youth-Plan, Learn, Act, Now!”) in which they were asked to identify and create solutions for problem areas in the region. Through this problem solving workshop, the students gained leadership skills while learning how to positively impact regional communities. Read More>>
TOMODACHI Summer 2014 SoftBank Leadership Program
Approximately 100 high school students from the Great East Japan Earthquake affected prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima visited and studied at the University of California, Berkeley from July 21 – August 10, 2014. The students experienced an intensive three-week course on global leadership development and community service. Participating students explored methods for strengthening their local communities, while gaining a further understanding of American society and culture through homestays, volunteer activities, and exchanges with U.S. high school students. In addition, this program sent a number of professionals from the three prefectures to enable further support for the students’ activities following their return.
- Read “Tohoku High School Students Return from UC Berkeley After Learning to be Global Leaders on the TOMODACHI SoftBank Leadership Program”
- To read the press release, click here
TOMODACHI Summer 2013 SoftBank Leadership Program
In Summer 2013, the program sent 100 high school students from the disaster-affected prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima to the University of California, Berkeley from July 22 – August 12, 2013. The students experienced an intensive three-week course focused on global leadership development and community service. Participating students explored methods for strengthening their local communities, while gaining a further understanding of American society and culture through homestays, volunteer activities, and exchanges with U.S. high school stunts.
- For more information, read the press release
TOMODACHI Summer 2012 SoftBank Leadership Program
During Summer 2012, SoftBank Corp. sent 300 Japanese high school students from the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures) to the University of California, Berkeley for a three-week program that focused on global leadership development and community service.
In collaboration with UC Berkeley, this program provided a campus-based leadership program concentrated on developing powerful social advocates. Students learned leadership skills, and developed volunteer community service projects to implement in their home communities when they returned. Students were also exposed to inspiring role models and situations focused on motivating and equipping them to assume leadership roles. The program featured extensive contact with Americans through academic programs, a weekend homestay, social and sightseeing activities, and exposure to American culture and values.
- Photos from the TOMODACHI Summer 2012 SoftBank Leadership Program
- University of California, Berkeley March 11 event flyer: Mar2013_YPlanTomodachi-Invite_UC Berkeley
- Discover what Ryo Serizawa learned from participating in this program
The program is administered by Ayusa International, a non-profit educational exchange organization established in San Francisco in 1980 that provides life-changing cultural exchange experiences for high school students around the world.
