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Update from Team TOMODACHI
June 2015
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Mrs. Akie Abe Inspires TOMODACHI-MetLife Women’s Leadership Program Participants at Final Conference in Tokyo
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 On May 30, eighty-two Japanese female leaders gathered in Shibuya to celebrate their accomplishments and to reflect with their peers, mentors, and mentees on their last ten months as participants of the TOMODACHI MetLife Women’s Leadership Program. Several distinguished guests attended the one-day conference, including MetLife CEO Sachin Shah, Kathy Matsui from Goldman Sachs, and Kumi Fujisawa from Think Tank Sophia Bank.The group was honored to welcome Japan’s First Lady Mrs. Akie Abe, who is passionate about women’s rights. She reminded the participants to cherish their valuable feminine qualities, and to aspire to reach their full potential as leaders without sacrifice. The participants felt fortunate to hear from Mrs. Abe and hope to apply her advice to their everyday lives. Further, participants were also provided the last in a series of Leadership trainings from Lumina Learning’s Elizabeth Handover, and heard from Kathy Matsui and Kumi Fujisawa during a panel discussion who stressed the importance of perseverance for a successful career.
At the start of the program last fall, 41 Japanese university women from Tokyo, Naha, Osaka and Fukuoka were paired with 41 female professionals to encourage networking and teamwork. Participants attended group sessions hosted by the U.S. Embassy and consulates to receive training in financial empowerment and develop their leadership skills. On their ten-day trip to the United States in March 2015, student participants visited Washington, D.C. and New York City, where they met many accomplished leaders. This conference provided an opportunity for mentors and mentees to reflect on their journey and hear from professionals from around the world. Read more >>
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The Latest on TOMODACHI Programs and Activities
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TOMODACHI Sumitomo Scholarship Program Award Ceremony and Reception
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On June 12, the TOMODACHI Sumitomo Scholars Award Ceremony brought together scholars and sponsors of the TOMODACHI Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship Program. At the event, the three members of the inaugural cohort, Ayaka Ogita, Kazunari Tanabe, and Yukako Hirakawa, reflected on their study abroad experiences, shared stories of growth and lessons learned, and offered advice to the next cohort. Following the returning scholars’ speeches, the five recipients of the 2015-2016 scholarships were awarded certificates by U.S.-Japan Council President, Ms. Irene Hirano Inouye and Sumitomo Corporation Managing Executive Officer, Mr. Masao Tabuchi. Ms. Inouye and Mr. Tabuchi both expressed excitement about the continued TOMODACHI-Sumitomo partnership to support the growth of young global leaders and to strengthen U.S.-Japan relations. More>>
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Just Released: TOMODACHI 2014 Annual Report is Now Available!
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Find out about all of TOMODACHI's 2014 programs and activities through our newly released annual report. Also available in Japanese.
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TOMODACHI U.S.-Japan Youth Exchange Program Alumni Present in Washington, D.C.
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 On June 3, six American high school students who participated in the TOMODACHI U.S.-Japan Youth Exchange Program gave presentations about their experiences in Japan to an audience in Washington, D.C. that included parents, teachers, coordinators, friends, and program staff. The event marked the conclusion of a successful second year of an exchange program that brings together Washington, D.C. public school and Japanese high school students for a two-week program in each country focusing on leadership, diversity, and social entrepreneurship.
During the presentations, students shared personal reflections on topics such as food, the places they visited in Japan, cross-cultural differences, and Japanese cultural norms. Throughout the presentations, the students focused on the emotional dimensions that resonated with them during and after their visit to Tohoku. “In Japan, social responsibility is considered a huge part of daily life, and it was something that really stayed with me,” said Gabrielle Towson. More >>
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Hotel Okura Tokyo Donates Proceeds from 15th Annual World Gardening Fair
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 On June 10, Akira Nishimura, General Manager of Hotel Okura Tokyo, generously donated proceeds in the amount of 759,479 yen from the 15thAnnual World Gardening Fair to Irene Hirano Inouye, U.S.-Japan Council President, and Marc Lassman, TOMODACHI Initiative Executive Director, at the Hotel Okura Tokyo. The Gardening Fair at the Hotel Okura Tokyo took place on May 2-6, 2015. More>>
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TOMODACHI Social Entrepreneurship Award Post-Program Presentation
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 On May 28, DREAMPHAROS, the recipient of the TOMODACHI Social Entrepreneurship Award at the University Venture Grand Prix in December 2014, along with two other distinguished start-up teams, shared their updated business plans, newfound insights, and lessons learned from their March 2015 Silicon Valley trip. This was the culminating event of a program that was designed to help young Japanese entrepreneurs further develop their passion for innovation by providing insight and experiences about how to realize their business visions. With a particular emphasis on entrepreneurial thinking and the concept of “thinking on a global scale,” DREAMPHAROS presented their transformed plan for “Yume-chou,” an interactive real-time communication tool between parents and preschools. More>>
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Register Now for the 2015 U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference!
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 The 2015 U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference will be held from November 9-10, 2015 in Tokyo at the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel (with select programming before and after these dates). The conference will highlight the importance of the enduring partnership of our two countries and of working across sectors and generations to envision and achieve a more vibrant and dynamic U.S.-Japan relationship that benefits both countries as well as the greater Asia-Pacific region. For more information on the conference, click here
- To register for the 2014 U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference, click here
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Two Nursing Specialists from the United States Attend Part One of the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Program
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 “Through this program, I look forward to broadening my horizons to find new ways to look at Japan and the disaster-stricken areas in hopes of finding further opportunities for improvement.”
-- Nao Onodera (Kessennuma, Miyagi Prefecture)
On June 13, eight nursing students from Miyagi prefecture attended part one of the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program in Sendai, in which two disaster medicine specialists from the United States visited Japan to speak about disaster nursing, intensive care, and curriculum development in the United States. A Tokyo Seminar was held in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy Speaker Program on June 11 and the Sendai Seminar was attended by students, educators, doctors, and nurses from all three prefectures affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The second part of the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program will take the Japanese nursing students to New York and Washington, D.C. in August 2015, and for part three of the program, the students and mentors will present their findings and lessons learned to their colleagues in Tohoku.
The program has been created in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, and will support capacity building of nurses in the Tohoku region by focusing on the field of disaster medicine. More>>
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TOMODACHI Alumni Supporting Nepal
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 On April 25, Nepal suffered a 7.8M earthquake in the east district of Lamjung, killing close to 9,000 people, injuring thousands more. When the news hit international media, TOMODACHI alumni immediately went into action, from high school students to young professional leaders in the field.
“I just learned about the disaster in Nepal and although the news we receive in India is not clear, I want to see if there is anything I or the TOMODACHI alumni can do,” wrote Soru Hiratsuka, a TOMODACHI alumnus studying in India to the TOMODACHI Initiative the day after the earthquake. A week after Hiratsuka returned to Japan from India, he left for Nepal to help build emergency shelter homes for a week.
The TOMODACHI alumni network is funded by The Prudential Foundation through the TOMODACHI Alumni Leadership Program. More>>
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Upcoming Programs and Events
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Jun 27 – Jul 12 Twenty high school students from the United States will travel to Sendai, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto for fourteen days on the 4th TOMODACHI MUFG International Exchange Program
Jul 3 – 11 Ten delegates from the United States will travel to Sendai and Tokyo on the TOMODACHI Mitsui & Co. Leadership Program 2015
Jul 6 – 13 Fifteen high school and college students from Granada, Colorado will visit Oita to attend the 25th Japan-America Grassroots Summit in Oita
Jul 6 – 15 Students from Seattle, Washington will take part in a cultural exchange program and will visit Fukushima on the TOMODACHI NAJAS Grassroots Exchange Program
Jul 6 – 27 Ten high school students will travel to Japan for leadership development, homestay, and cultural activities on the TOMODACHI Japan Society Junior Fellows Program
Jul 7 – 15 Six high school and university students from Hawaii will visit Tohoku on the TOMODACHI Aloha Leadership Program (TALP)
Jul 11 – 12 The Keio SFC TOMODACHI Entrepreneurship Seminar will be held in Miyagi Prefecture
Jul 15 – 31 Six students from Washington D.C. public schools will participate in the TOMODACHI U.S.-Japan Youth Exchange Program
Jul 17 The Keio SFC TOMODACHI Entrepreneurship Seminar will be held in Kanagawa Prefecture
Jul 18 The Keio SFC TOMODACHI Entrepreneurship Seminar will be held in Kyoto
Jul 18 – 31 Up to five students and three faculty members from each of the two campuses selected for the Randolph-Macon College summer undergraduate research program (SURF) will spend two weeks in Japan on the TOMODACHI Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund Research Exchange Program
Jul 19 – 28 On the TOMODACHI Rainbow Kids Program, participants will experience firsthand the devastation wrought by the tragic events of 3/11 and reconnect with past Rainbow for Japan Kids (RFJK) participants
Jul 28 – Aug 25 Seventy-two American and Japanese university students will visit Hiroshima, Kyoto, Tokyo, and Shimane on the 67th Japan-America Student Conference
Jul 31 – Aug 16 Six high school students from Keio Shonan Fujisawa High School and two TOMODACHI alumni from Tohoku will travel to Washington, D.C. as part of the TOMODACHI U.S.-Japan Youth Exchange Program (ACIE)
July 22 – Aug 12 One hundred high school students and six adults from Tohoku will travel to California for leadership training at UC Berkeley on the TOMODACHI Softbank Leadership Program
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Recruitment for Upcoming TOMODACHI Programs
Please forward and share these opportunities with people who may be interested.
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Apply Now for the 2015 TOMODACHI Emerging Leaders Program
 Applications are now open for the 2015 TOMODACHI Emerging Leaders Program! The opportunity includes a leadership orientation and participation in the USJC Annual Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Selected applicants will receive transportation, hotel accommodations, and complimentary conference registration.
In its sixth year, the Emerging Leaders Program plays an important role in building the “TOMODACHI Generation,” a generation of driven doers, thinkers, and creators who are invested in the future of U.S.-Japan relations. Applicants must reside in the United States or Japan, and must be available to travel to Tokyo, Japan from November 6 to 11, 2015.
Application Deadline: July 12, 2015. For more information, click here
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Residents in California: Support Japanese Students on the TOMODACHI SoftBank Summer 2015 Leadership Program
 Help Japanese high school students from Tohoku have a meaningful and life-changing experience on the TOMODACHI SoftBank Leadership Program by being a resident advisor (RA), camp director, program coordinator, mentor, homestay host, and/or homestay manager between July 22 and August 12, 2015. These include paid and volunteer positions. For more information, click here
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TOMODACHI Career Opportunities
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U.S.-Japan Council, TOMODACHI Initiative
External Communications Specialist, Tokyo Office
Working under the direction of the Executive Director of the TOMODACHI Initiative in Japan, the External Communications Specialist will assist in developing and implementing a comprehensive strategic marketing strategy, and will play a critical role in creating a strategic social media plan that promotes the brand and impact of the TOMODACHI Initiative among a diverse audience, including senior corporate executives, government leaders, recipients of support, other donors and the press. The External Communications Specialist will interact closely with donors and corporate executives to market programs, while working closely with teams from the U.S.-Japan Council in the United States and Japan, and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in the implementation of this mission. More>>
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Special Thanks to Our Newest Donors!
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Sponsors (contributed $100,000 to $1 million)
Supporters (contributed $10,000 to $100,000)
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