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[2026] ARI Annual Event Schedule Announcement

Thank you for your continued support!

We are excited to announce the main event schedule for Academic Year 2026 (April 2026 – March 2027). We look forward to sharing the joy of “Living Together” with you again this year through encounters with Rural Leaders from around the world.

AY 2025 is not over yet! Don’t miss these upcoming opportunities to visit ARI:

Jan 17 (Sat): ARI Friends Day (Next week!)

Feb 7 (Sat): JOCS Report Session (Details coming soon)

AY 2026 Annual Schedule

Spring March: Arrival of New Participants April: Opening Ceremony / Used Book Fair May: English Farm Camp

Summer August: Used Book Market

Autumn October: Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration November: Used Book Market / West Japan Caravan

Winter December: Commencement Ceremony January: ARI Friends Day February: Overseas Graduate Study Tour

Regular Programs

– Campus Mini Eco Tour (Bi-monthly from May) A guided tour of our organic farm and environmental initiatives.

– Chokotto (Casual) Farm & Forest (Monthly) Experience farming and forestry work. (*Sessions may be skipped in April or August due to heat. Details to be announced.)

Now Accepting Applications for Rural Leader Training Program at ARI

The Asian Rural Institute (ARI) opens its doors to Japanese participants through the Rural Leader Training Program, offering a unique opportunity to learn together with people from around the world.
At ARI, participants learn side by side with farmers, social workers, pastors, priests, and others from around 15 countries across Asia and Africa. Through hands-on experience, participants explore servant leadership, sustainable agriculture, and community building.
Living and learning together for nine months while sharing differences and perspectives becomes a journey of self-discovery.
 What is community?
 Why does organic agriculture matter?
 What does leadership mean?
 What does it mean to live together?
The Rural Leader Training Program invites you to reflect on these questions and discover your own answers.
At ARI, people from diverse cultures, religions, and values come together to develop the ability to serve their communities as true leaders, learning to live together while respecting one another’s differences.
In this diverse learning environment, Japanese participants play an important role as representatives of Japan within the international community.
Why not challenge your own potential at ARI, a place that reflects the diversity of our world?
―――――

Application Deadline: February 10 https://ari.ac.jp/jp-admission/

Campus Tour: January 24 https://ari.ac.jp/entry-form-eco-tour2025
If you would like to experience life at ARI firsthand, we warmly invite you to join our campus tour.
Visits on other dates are also available. Please feel free to contact us! Now Accepting Volunteers for 2026! – Asian Rural Institute

Next Week Saturday is ARI Friends Day! Tree Climbing in the Winter Forest! 

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/

Just announced! Film Screening from the USA at ARI this January 17!

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.

\\ A new dawn of 2026 has arrived at the Asian Rural Institute in Nasu. //

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!

🙌We are deeply grateful for your support throughout 2025! Vol.2

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. 🥰

We are deeply grateful for your support throughout 2025

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🥰

An article featuring ARI has been published on Catholic Japan News

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.