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August 2015

Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers―50th Anniversary

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PRIME MINISTER'S DIARY
Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting
Japan-Luxembourg Summit Meeting
Japan-Honduras Summit Meeting

COVER STORY
Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers―50th Anniversary

FEATURES

Volunteer programs that energize both the world and Japan:
An interview with JICA President Akihiko Tanaka

As part of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been implementing the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), one of its volunteer programs. As the JOCV celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year, we spoke with JICA President Akihiko Tanaka about the philosophy and future prospects of the JOCV.

UNHCR Hails Dedication of JOCVs
Interview: Michael Lindenbauer

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1950 to lead and coordinate international efforts to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems. We asked UNHCR Japan representative Michael Lindenbauer how Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) have contributed to the UNHCR's mandate around the globe.

Global First Responder

Masako Hoshino describes her experiences as one of the first generation of JOCV members and her five decades on the front lines of international cooperation.

A Student's Long-Awaited Reunion

The bonds built through the classroom between a JOCV math teacher in her twenties and her students at a boarding school in Kenya remain unbroken even after thirty-five years.

Volunteering Bonds Meet Mutual Needs

The Japan International Cooperation Agency's Private-Sector Partnership Volunteer Program helps Japanese businesses cultivate global talent. Here is one success story involving a young employee dispatched to Indonesia.

Training for the World's Sporting Future

Japan's Sport for Tomorrow Programme is designed to use the country's world-class prowess in sports education to enhance international cooperation through athletics and promote the sporting life throughout the world.

Independent Life Support

A Japanese social worker who has seen the harsh realities of the lives of Rwandan street children up close as a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers is working to support the independence of the disadvantaged in both Rwandan and Japanese societies.

Seeds of Knowledge Transplanted for Recovery

Masaru Kurosawa was once dispatched to the Solomon Islands with the JOCV. Now a high school teacher in Iwate Prefecture, he works with his students to restore the local oyster industry obliterated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

SERIES

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Big Sound Zoom

NTT's new intelligent microphone array technology captures sounds at a distance with consummate clarity and can focus on individual voices and noises as well.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Sunshine Spreads Laughter

The first foreign-born professional rakugo storyteller in a century shares traditional Japanese humor with audiences around the globe.

WOMEN IN THE LEAD
An Ethical Business That Shines

The HASUNA jewelry brand links Japan with responsibly mined and processed materials from around the world.

DELECTABLE JOURNEYS
Konbu Road

Sailing south down Japan's western coast from Hokkaido, ships brought goods that included the edible kelp called konbu to Toyama on their way along the watery route that came to be called Konbu Road, influencing the region's cuisine in delicious ways.