We are thrilled to announce that ARI has been awarded the “Grand Prize” in the General Category of the 15th Kubota-Mainichi Earth Future Award.This award honors organizations and individuals tackling the 21st-century global challenges of “Food,” “Water,” and the “Environment.”
Why not enjoy your “first climb of 2026” in the rich forests of Nasushiobara at ARI?
On 1/17(Sat), during ARI Friends Day, we will hold a “Tree Climbing” experience where you can climb safely using specialized ropes and saddles!
The world viewed from the treetops is sure to be full of new discoveries! You will wear professional safety gear and receive a lecture on how to climb, so beginners can participate with peace of mind.
With the cooperation of the local “JUN TREE SERVICE Co., Ltd.,” professional Arborist® instructors will teach you carefully, so first-timers and children can take on the challenge safely!
This activity is part of the “Chokotto Farm Forest” program, which nurtures a sustainable environment and shared learning.
We have also prepared special “Wooden Name Cards” for all participants!
These are actually made from cedar trees grown right here in the ARI forest, crafted by local manufacturer in Nasushiobara. They were processed by Shimakura Sangyo, the manufacturer of “Kyogi” (thin wood shavings), which are also famously used for the packaging of Yokohama’s shumai dumplings. They are the only Kyogi manufacturer in Tochigi and one of the few left in Japan.
Excellent in breathability and antibacterial properties, this eco-friendly material returns to the soil. It recently became a hot topic after being adopted at the “Deeper Learning Japan” educational conference.
Come touch the local nature at ARI and play to your heart’s content in the winter forest!
“Let’s meet people, let’s touch the forest.” We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Date Jan 17 (Sat) – during ARI Friends Day
Create your application for Tree Climbing here: https://ari.ac.jp/friends-day-2026/
On January 17, as part of ARI Friends Day, ARI will host a screening of a recent documentary about Native American rights and protesting nuclear proliferation.
Ways of Knowing is a 25-minute immersive documentary about Navajo resilience to protect health, tradition, and land after enduring extensive uranium mining by the United States government, beginning in the late 1940s and lasting until the 1970s. Eight decades after the Manhattan Project which birthed the nuclear-industrial complex, Navajo and other Indigenous communities of the American Southwest continue to suffer from contaminated land and waterways, and scores of people sickened and killed by toxic exposure. But since long before this region became the epicenter of uranium extraction and nuclear weapons production, the landscape and its elements – including uranium – have been considered sacred.
Happy New Year! After our students completed their programs and returned to their home countries late last year, the campus has become quiet. However, there are no holidays for the lives on our farm. ☀️
Currently, our small team of dedicated volunteers is taking full responsibility for caring for the goats, pigs, and chickens. Even on this freezing New Year’s morning, we are deeply encouraged by the lively sounds of the animals and the devotion of the volunteers. 🐐🐖🐓
Though our numbers are few, the spirit of celebration is as strong as ever! At dinner last night, we all showed up in “secret costumes” and enjoyed a “mystery game.” It was a special time filled with laughter and excitement, wondering who would appear in what costume and using our wits to solve the game together. 🎭🔍
While our graduates are busy sowing seeds in their own communities, we are taking our first steps into the new year here at ARI with warmth and joy. We look forward to your continued support for ARI and our global family throughout 2026!
Since our last year-end update received so many “Likes,” we decided to add a special alternative version!
🎥 Year-End Update (1): “Gift of Hope” Reel + This Year’s ARI Song!
We have uploaded a new version of the “Gift of Hope to Bring Back to the Community” Reel to Instagram and Facebook, now featuring a special soundtrack. The song is “Monene,” an African Gospel song that became the “Song of the Year” for ARI. The participants sang it during their Study Trip and at the commencemnet ceremony to share with supporters. Please check it out on our Reels!
💻 Year-End Update (2): Messages from Graduates + New Year Illustration
On our Winter Donation Campaign page, in addition to the messages of gratitude from our graduates, we have updated the main illustration from the Christmas to a New Year version!
Both of these heartwarming illustrations were created by Ms. Kasumi Kataoka. She has been a long-time supporter of ARI, and we were so moved by the warmth of the Christmas cards she sends us every year that we asked her to create the main art for this campaign.
👇 Read the graduates’ messages and see Ms. Kataoka’s art here: https://ari.ac.jp/en/donate/winter2025?ari=news
Once again, thank you for walking alongside ARI throughout this past year! May the coming year be a wonderful one for all of you. 🥰
Thank you so much for supporting the Asian Rural Institute throughout this year!
For our final post of the year, we have two special updates for you.
🎥 End-of-Year Update (1) New Reels on Instagram and Facebook! We have posted a special compilation of the daily Stories we shared throughout December. This video brings together all the smiles of our 2025 graduates as they share “the gift of hope they want to take back to their communities.” Please don’t miss it on our reel!
💻 End-of-Year Update (2) Christmas & Winter Donation Campaign Page Updated! Our landing page now features messages of gratitude from our graduates to everyone who has supported them.
👇 Read their messages here: https://ari.ac.jp/en/donate/winter2025
May the coming year be a wonderful one for all of you🥰
On December 24, the online news site Catholic Japan News published an article titled “A Community that Cultivates the Soil and Shares the Table: Asian Rural Institute – Training Servant Leaders for Rural Communities.”
The piece warmly and carefully portrays the daily life of participants nearing graduation, their classes, and the final presentations at ARI, accompanied by photographs. It is written in a way that is accessible even to readers learning about ARI for the first time.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the journalist who created such a wonderful article.
The full article is available on the Catholic Japan News website: https://cj-news.org/domestic/coexistence/4977/
The series we’ve been sharing every day on Facebook and Instagram Stories—featuring our graduates’ brightest smiles and the “gift of hope” they wish to bring back to their communities—comes to an end today.
We’ve also started releasing a reel that includes all of their messages, so please take a look at that as well.
After the graduates had left, the now smaller ARI community held its traditional Christmas celebration.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men in His favor!”
Luke 2:14
On Tuesday, December 16, an interview with Osamu Arakawa, Director of ARI, and Debora, a graduate from Indonesia who now serves as a volunteer, was published in the morning edition of Shimotsuke Shimbun. The article appeared as the seventh and final installment of the series “Forms of Peace: Tochigi 80 Years After the War – Lingering Scars, Inherited Pain.”
We deeply appreciate that the newspaper chose to focus not only on Japanese perspectives but also on the voices of people from countries once invaded by Japan, and that they selected ARI in Tochigi Prefecture as a place worthy of coverage.
This year, on the occasion of our Foundation Day in September, ARI issued its own Peace Declaration and centered the theme of peace in the latest issue of our newsletter “Ajia no Tsuchi”.
“I wish to oppose war itself from the standpoint of protecting life and dignity, against the prevailing atmosphere of war and arguments justifying nuclear deterrence. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict; we must face each other’s differences and pain, and build relationships with sincerity. I believe this attitude is the basis for a society where may we live together.” (Osamu Arakawa)
As we enter a new year, we remain committed to engaging with these issues with sincerity and resolve.
Shimotsuke Shimbun digital article: https://www.shimotsuke.co.jp/articles/-/1249037
Article on the Peace Declaration (posted September 19, 2025): https://ari.ac.jp/en/foundation-day-20250916/
Full text of the ARI Peace Declaration: https://ari.ac.jp/en/asian-rural-institute-peace-declaration/
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