The Ability to Inspire

At ASIJ, our mission is to foster a community of inquisitive learners and independent thinkers, inspired to be their best selves and empowered to make a difference. During the months of February and March, the high school student clubs COSA (Community Oriented Student Action) and SAGE (Students Advocating for Gender Equality) partnered with the Japan Center to live out our mission and learn from those who are differently-abled. Through these informative experiences, many of our students now feel more empowered to promote and initiate inclusivity, kindness and a more accessible community for all.

Hibakusha Visits ASIJ

The Japan Center together with the high school Japan Seminar class and all of grade seven recently developed and participated in a two-day program called “Hibakusha Stories of Survival,” aimed at understanding the impact of the Hiroshima atomic bombing on hibakusha (survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings). The program also served to prepare seventh-grade students for their trip to Hiroshima at the end of January. While the hibakusha survived the immediate effects of the blasts, they suffer from the effects of radiation sickness, loss of family and friends, and discrimination.

High School SAGE Visits Elementary School

High school SAGE (Students Advocating Gender Equality) students began hosting workshops for fourth and fifth-graders last May and throughout the month of November. SAGE focuses on advocacy activities within our community and the workshops, titled Breaking Barriers, largely focused on gender equality.  SAGE members Anna Milstein (grade 12), Zen Suzuki (grade 12) and Cora Eaton (Grade 11) write on their visits to the elementary school.

Students Learn Soup from the Master

Tomoko Nakai’s HS Japanese 9 classes recently began their unit on traditional new year’s food and traditions are exploring traditional new year’s ozoni and how the soup differs in every region. Renowned Chef Hajime Kimura visited ASIJ to help introduce students to the world of washoku,  and to introduce the techniques and ingredients used in making ozoni. Head chef at Takehashi Japanese Restaurant in Otemachi’s KKR Hotel Tokyo, Chef Kimura has more than 22 years of experience and served an apprenticeship for four years to legendary “Iron Chef” Koumei Nakamura. The Japan Center arranged Chef Kimura’s visit to help introduce this unit, at the end of which Japanese 9 students will present their research on a specific region’s ozoni soup.

Panetta Inspires with Call for Leadership

On Tuesday, October 30, Secretary Leon Panetta made a visit to the Chofu campus. Panetta’s long career in politics has spanned over half a century, and seen him serve in Congress, as the Chief of Staff for President Clinton, the Director of the CIA and the Secretary of Defense under President Obama. But when he came to speak to our high school students this week, what they saw was not so much a well-regarded, high-ranking official, but a humble, public servant who has dedicated his life to the betterment of his country and fellow citizens.