The TOMODACHI Initiative was born under the leadership of the U.S.-Japan Council and the U.S. Embassy to support reconstruction efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. It is aimed at fostering the next generation of Japanese and American leaders. Agreeing with its purpose, Honda started participating in the initiative in fiscal 2015 and has been conducting the TOMODACHI Honda Global Leadership Program since fiscal 2018.
Until last year, the program had been targeted at high school students in the Tohoku region. Starting this year, however, eligibility has been expanded to include applicants from all over Japan. Through the program, the participants experienced Honda’s corporate slogan, “The Power of Dreams.”
This was the first overseas experience for a majority of the 20 high school students who participated in this year’s program. What awaited the students when they left Japan were sceneries they had never seen before, new experiences, and strong emotions.
What was the “Power of Dreams” that the students coming from all over Japan—spanning Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south—felt this summer in this foreign country? Below are the details of the two-week program centered on their thoughts.