Today, our entire community came together for a grand spring cleaning ahead of Friends Day. We dusted the walls, cleared away cobwebs, and used shovels to scrape off the ice from the shaded areas on the grounds and the path
One of the most important skills for a team leader of any organization is proper project planning. Considering all necessary resources — including time, money, and labor — and any possible risks that may occur. But even before that: what is the problem your community faces? How can you solve it? And in how much time?
Answering these questions, and making plans from start to finish, was the theme of a 3-part class taught by ARI staff. Using lessons inspired by those taught at the Japan International Cooperation Agency, ARI staff and participants together designed projects to help fix a simple problem: Low vegetable production in the community, one faced by virtually every participant’s home regions.
Divided into groups, participants performed SWOT analyses on this model community, devised a project goal to help achieve vegetable production, then wrote specific achievements and necessary tasks to help produce this project goal.
By creating a trial project to test their ideas, participants could see the importance of a thorough advance project planning session can achieve stronger results. By putting all ideas on the table at once, they can create projects with realistic goals, achievable benchmarks, and with fruitful results for all in their communities.
Once again this year, the rice paddies at the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) ripened to a beautiful golden color. Our entire community—participants, volunteers, and staff from countries across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Japan —came together for the annual rice harvest!
The small seedlings we planted in the spring grew strong under the summer sun, bearing a rich and plentiful harvest.
Under a brilliant clear autumn sky, we all got muddy together, carefully cutting each stalk by hand with sickles.
Songs and dances in many languages filled the air, and the paddies were overflowing with smiles and vibrant energy.
This rice was lovingly grown by our community, completely free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Each and every grain is filled with the warmth of the sun and the heart of everyone who nurtured it.
This year, too, our participants come from many different countries—some where rice is a staple food, and others where it is not.
However, the experience of growing your own food with your own hands is a special one for everyone. Sharing this common understanding, we harvested each and every stalk with a deep sense of gratitude.
May our spirit be passed on to the future community that will be nourished by this rice.
We give thanks for the blessings of nature and for this shared work of building peace.
Environmental pollution caused by economic development, and the role of leaders who confront such issues, is one of the key topics in the ARI training.
On September 18th, the participants went on an observation trip to sites related to the Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Incident, the first major environmental pollution disaster in Japan.
They visited various locations over a wide area, including the former villages of Matsuki and Yanaka, which were abandoned due to air pollution and the making of a basin. They also visited the area of Morita in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, where vast farmland was damaged by the collapse of a dumping site in Ashio.
Their guide was Mr. Tatsuo Sakahara, who served as the secretary-general of the citizen group “Tanaka Shozo College” until 2022. He has also been teaching about the Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Incident and Tanaka Shozo at ARI for over 40 years.
The participants observed and listened attentively, reflecting on their own local environments and communities.
“True civilization does not despoil the mountains, nor the rivers, nor destroy villages, nor kill people.”
These are words of Tanaka Shozo, who dedicated his life to resolving the Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Incident. These words resonated deeply inside the participants throughout the day.
The summer donation campaign, Peace from Food, that started on August 1 has come to an end today.
ARI has had the opportunity to think and share about peace with many people through the familiar theme of “food,” which ARI holds dear to its heart!
We sincerely appreciate your warm support.
At ARI, the rice harvest has begun. And next month on the 18th and 19th, we are going to have the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC).
Please come to ARI and spend a moment with us as we celebrate and give thanks for our daily labor and the blessings of nature!
Peace from Food Campaign in Review: https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025/en
When I heard the theme “Cooking for Peace,” the image that came to mind was “hands.”
Hands sowing seeds in the fields, hands harvesting, hands cooking, hands serving food—
ARI’s self-sufficient lifestyle makes me truly appreciate how our meals pass through so many hands before reaching us.
In Parts 1 through 3, we interviewed kitchen members, hearing their thoughts on “food” and “peace.”
Now, in Part 4, it’s my turn as the writer (Konoha Yamanaka) to share my thoughts.
Actually, I am also a member of the kitchen team. Through my interviews, I was reminded that each member, while bringing their own background and feelings toward the act of “food,” somehow shares a sense of resonance with one another. In the life at ARI, “food” and “peace” are inseparable.
The casual conversations exchanged in the kitchen, sharing our unique experiences —I believe these everyday moments, one by one, form the foundation of a gentle peace.
Written by Konoha Yamanaka (ARI Volunteer)
Click here to read the series of articles
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 1
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 2
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 3
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 4 ← Now, you’re here.
Preamble
In 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Asian Rural Institute hereby reaffirms its commitment to peace.
As the number of war survivors and atomic bomb victims dwindles each year, the responsibility for those living today to convey the horrors of war and nuclear weapons to the next generation grows ever more important. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) in 2024 symbolizes the importance of this task. Furthermore, violence and conflict continue around the world. This includes the home countries of ARI participants and graduates as well as places like Gaza and Ukraine. Amid this situation, we believe that building reconciliation and a culture of peace is an urgent and vital mission entrusted to us.
To further advance the fundamental hopes and aspirations of “Peace from the Soil,” born from ARI’s longstanding pursuit of reconciliation with nature, neighbors, oneself, and God, we hereby proclaim the following Peace Declaration.
Never Forgetting the Mistakes of History, Raising Our Voice Against All Forces that Threaten Peace
Eighty years after the war is not a license to forget the past. We believe that inheriting memory and honestly facing the pains of history is the very foundation of building peace. We will never forget the profound suffering and destruction inflicted by Japan’s wars of aggression and colonial rule upon the peoples of Asia—countless lives lost, and many communities devastated. The churches in Japan, too, failed to raise their voices strongly against war and, at times, even played a role in justifying it. We humbly acknowledge this past, repent deeply, and pledge never again to repeat such mistakes.
We remember the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strongly call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Security doctrines based on nuclear deterrence do not bring true peace. We declare a clear “No” to nuclear weapons, which threaten all life.
Building a Society of Peace Rooted in Freedom, Justice, and the Overcoming of Discrimination
Today, the world faces global crises: cycles of war and violence, the threat of nuclear weapons, climate change, food insecurity, and spiritual disconnection. Yet we believe in the possibility of creating a society based on freedom, justice, and the overcoming of discrimination.
We seek to overcome discrimination based on physical and social attributes, and we aspire to a world where harmony, coexistence, and cooperation replace military power and domination by force. The Asian Rural Institute places importance on peace beginning in the family and resolves to be an instrument of peace. Cultivating peace within ourselves, our households, and our communities – this is the work of advancing peace and justice in the world.
Even in the face of political exclusion, gender-based violence, and the pressures of militarization, we will raise our voices in solidarity at the local level. We will promote peacebuilding, conflict resolution, mediation, and nonviolent communication, encouraging people to make peace the foremost priority in their lives. We believe that new technologies must be used for the cause of peace, striving for the free and fair flow of information so that it may contribute to peace at both the community and individual levels.
Nurturing Leaders Who Serve Their Communities, Becoming Vessels of Peace Together
Through the training of grassroots leaders, the Asian Rural Institute pledges to address inequality, injustice, and the challenges faced by vulnerable communities. We uphold land and food rights and community-led development as pillars of peacebuilding, fostering resilience and disaster preparedness in the face of economic instability and climate change. We are committed to providing holistic educational opportunities for all, contributing to societies that are physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy. Furthermore, by sharing the values of the Asian Rural Institute through a global network, we will broaden our contribution to peace.
Peace from the Soil
When we till the soil, produce food, and gather joyfully around the table, we learn that all life is sustained by mutual support. We become deeply aware that we live as part of the natural ecosystem, and we earnestly desire to live together with all of creation.
A self-centered way of life that exploits and destroys nature threatens life itself and even leads to the extinction of species. War, too, arises from this same self-centeredness that disregards the dignity of life. Both environmental destruction and war share the same root. That is why those who seek peace must be reconciled with nature, with their neighbors, with themselves, and with God.
Peace begins within ourselves. When there is food on the table, peace and happiness become possible in the community. Protecting seed sovereignty and cultivating food without destroying the soil form the foundation of peace and security. A way of life in harmony with nature is the firm basis upon which peace can grow.
The Asian Rural Institute seeks to sow and spread this seed of “Peace from the Soil.”
Conclusion
Peace is not something given, but something built through daily choices and practices. Guided by our founding vision, the Asian Rural Institute will continue walking the path of creating peace—from the soil, from community, and from the depths of the human heart. On this 80th anniversary of the end of the war, we renew our pledge of peace: to repent of the past and to pass on hope for the future.
On September 16, the 54th anniversary of ARI’s founding, a commemorative service was held at ARI. Following a program featuring stories from the early days by Mrs. Shinko Takami, a wife of one of the founders, Toshihiro Takami, the ARI Peace Declaration was presented by our director, Osamu Arakawa.
After lunch, we held a community event at a nearby park, where we divided ourselves into groups to express peace through music, poetry, dance, and drama. To deepen mutual understanding and our friendships, we also enjoyed playing games together.
The Asian Rural Institute Peace Declaration was drafted based on the joint resolution and declaration on peace presented at the 2007 symposium themed “Peace from the Soil.” It incorporates the views of this year’s community members and reflects recent global circumstances. The declaration clarifies ARI’s stance on war responsibility by adding perspectives on “Peace from the Soil”—one of the Institute’s core themes—and responsibilities regarding nuclear weapons.
For ARI, which annually accepts participants from areas invaded by Japan during World War II, war responsibility is a theme from which we cannot escape with any reasons.
25 years ago, Osamu got a big shock by the words of an Indonesian participant. While visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum with participants, he told to an atomic bomb survivor, “Because the atomic bombs were dropped, my country was saved.” These words came from the memory of a family deeply scarred by the Japanese invasion. For that participant, the war’s end meant the restoration of life and dignity.
Justifying the atomic bombings is never permissible, yet we must never forget the tragedies experienced by all sides nor the historical truth. Therefore, we believe it is of great significance for ARI, where members from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds gather, to clarify its approach to confronting the history of war.
Arakawa says;
“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.”
Read the ARI Peace Declaration — On the 80th Anniversary of the End of World War II : https://ari.ac.jp/en/asian-rural-institute-peace-declaration/
Peace from Food Summer Donation Campaign – Special Gift
Until Sunday, September 21, anyone who signs up as a new monthly supporter through the campaign site will receive a limited-edition T-shirt
This year’s design features a corn motif on a golden harvest background. It’s an original design that reflects the season here at the Asian Rural Institute.
Its natural tone makes the T-shirt easy to wear in everyday life and is suitable for all ages!
Available sizes: S, M, L, XL
In the photos…
We invite you to join us as a monthly supporter and help us cultivate “Peace from Food” together.
Learn more here:
https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025?ari=news
※ For those who are already monthly supporters, the T-shirt is also available at ¥1,500 + shipping.
Please contact us at:
[email protected]
Please note: We are unable to ship internationally.
Watch all our online events again!
Join the ARI life with family and friends!
We're looking for on-campus volunteers
Tsukinukizawa 442-1
Tochigi, Nasushiobara
329-2703 JAPAN
[email protected]
+81-287-36-3111 (tel)
+81-287-37-5833 (fax)
Campus & Facilities
Access Info
Downloads
ARI Becquerel Center (ABC)
Employment
Opportunities
Privacy Policy
