Unleash the Potential of Young Changemakers

Dear everyone,

Hello! This is Nanami from Ashoka Japan.
There are many young changemakers who are challenging to solve social problems in Japan. 102 teams of Youth Venturers are in action now. Let us introduce a couple of them today!!

1. Michael

Currently, 2.7 million non-Japanese are living in Japan, and the number is expected to grow as the country shifts its immigration policy while the Migrant Integration Policy Index shows that Japan is one of the worst countries in the world in terms of treatment for immigrants. Many children of the immigrants struggle with their identity not being able to blend in the Japanese community and some choose to go back to where their parents immigrated from. I believe those at-risk youths including myself need an environment that is safe and secure since schools and families cannot provide safety. This belief motivated me to start a program to gather Japanese and non-Japanese around the crafting “Paroll” (lantern for Christmas in the Philippines) using local resources like bamboo and Japanese paper together. This is my third year since I started this program and I can see it is helping mutual understanding and trust between the Phillipino immigrants and Japanese.

2. Shun

Non-spin ping pong is a new sport I invented that everyone can enjoy regardless of the experience, gender and age. Ping pong has always been my favorite sport since I was small but I noticed not everyone can enjoy it therefore I tried to figure out how everyone, the elderlies or small children who do not have enough physical strength, could enjoy the sport. I came up with the idea of glueing a piece of soft felt on the rubbers of a racket that slows down the speed. Since the ball does not spin too much It takes relatively small space like an office or a dining room using a regular table. It can serve as a tool to promote health among office workers and elderlies not to mention small children. I have organized several competitions to promote this sport in Japan and beyond.

3. Shu

Veganism is a lifestyle which abstains from using animal products. More and more vegan restaurants and products are accessible in developed countries, but it is still not accepted in Japan. We, Japan Vegan Community, teaming up with 80 members all over Japan, are aiming at turning Japan into where everyone can practice veganism. There are mainly three projects that we are working on: 1) V-cook, a website where people can post and share their vegan recipes; 2) Hitsujino., a web media to share stories of vegans; 3) Vegan Summit, an event for creating vegan society in collaboration with like-minded people. In addition to these three projects, we are also working for raising awareness of veganism and promoting vegan options and products among restaurants as well as advocating veganism among the general public.

Hope you enjoyed reading about their projects!

Thank you for your donations and support for projects Youth Venturers are passionately working on!

Kind regards,

Nanami on behalf of Ashoka Japan team