JICA’s Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025. To date, approximately 58,000 people have been dispatched to a total of 99 countries, contributing to the development of developing countries in a variety of fields, including education, health and medical care, and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. On the other hand, few people know the fact that these volunteers are now using their careers to help solve problems in Japanese society after returning to their home countries. This report looks back on the history of the Japan Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and reports on the activities of former JOCV members to “give back” to society.
Overseas Cooperation Volunteers working in Papua New Guinea
A major step forward from postwar reconstruction
December 24, 1965.
The first group of five members of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), the predecessor of JICA’s Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, took off from Haneda Airport to Laos. It was a memorable moment for Japan, which had been promoting postwar reconstruction with support from overseas, to take a new step forward in the arena of international cooperation.
1964, a survey conducted on the possibility of sending Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) 1966, 12 first term JOCV members leaving for the Philippines
In the first year, a total of 29 participants were dispatched to five countries: Laos, followed by Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Kenya. The number of countries to which volunteers were dispatched was gradually expanded, and by 1990 the cumulative total of dispatched volunteers exceeded 10,000. In 2018, the system was changed so that the previous age-based system was abolished, and those between the ages of 20 and 60 could participate in the program, In 2018, the system was changed to “JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers,” a new generic term for JICA overseas volunteers.
In 2016, JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers were awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Prize, also known as “Asia’s Nobel Prize,” for their contributions to the development of the Asian region.
JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers are a bridge between Japan and the world and a symbol of international cooperation.
Returning home to give back to society through experience
Overseas Cooperation Volunteers have three main objectives.
The first is “contribution to economic and social development and reconstruction in developing countries.
The second is “deepening mutual understanding and coexistence in a cross-cultural society.
And the third is “giving back to society the volunteer experience.
Giving back to society” means to make use of the experience of working in developing countries to solve problems at home and abroad. In 2023, JICA launched the “Returned Member Social Recognition Award” to recognize the activities of former Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) members who have returned to their home countries.
There will be seven recipients in 2025, the third year of the program. The themes they will tackle after their return to their home countries vary from issues related to truancy, sports for the disabled, and support for disaster-stricken areas. In the final judging, each prize was selected after the presentations by the seven winners.
Recipients of the 2025 Returned Corps Member Social Redress Award (excluding the Grand Prize)
The grand prize this year went to Yuka Aoki, president of Alesse Takaoka, a non-profit organization in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, that provides educational support for children with foreign roots. In the 15 years since Alesse began its activities, it has supported approximately 270 children.
Mr. Aoki’s presentation began with these words
My current activities are directly related to my experience in Brazil when I was a member of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV). The Nikkei community accepted me, even though I was still a novice, and helped me make the most of my time there. I grew a lot there. At the same time, I was given a big homework assignment.
Yuka Aoki giving a presentation at the 3rd JICA Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Returned Member Social Redress Award
The “big homework” from the Japanese-Brazilian community
Aoki became interested in the Brazilian Nikkei community as a student and was dispatched to a Nikkei Japanese language school in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná as a Nikkei youth volunteer for two years starting in 2005. The local Nikkei community was facing the issue of passing on Japanese culture and language to the younger generation, and Aoki taught Japanese to the children, who were fourth-generation Nikkei.
The Japanese language that the Nikkei community has developed uniquely in Brazil differs in some respects from the language used in Japan today.
I kept wondering, “Will the Japanese I bring as a teacher lead to the denial of the language of their community? I kept wondering, “What did I come here for?
However, the local people, who are proud of their homeland and community, warmly accepted us as friends who are thinking about the future of the region together.
On the other hand, he also felt that there was another issue.
I was asked by first- and second-generation Nikkei, “What is the state of education in Japan today? I was asked by Issei and Nisei Nikkei, ‘What’s going on with education in Japan today?
We must support children’s learning in Japan.
This was Mr. Aoki’s “homework.
With children she met in Brazil = Courtesy of Yuka Aoki
A place for children with foreign roots to learn and stay
After returning to Japan, Ms. Aoki began a job visiting schools in Takaoka City to support children with foreign roots. Takaoka City has many manufacturing plants, which are supported by workers from Brazil and many other countries. Their children also attend schools.
What I witnessed was the serious situation of the children. Children who do not understand Japanese and just stare at the blackboard every day. A child who despises himself/herself because of discrimination and prejudice. …… Everyone had given up on entering high school.
With a wide variety of nationalities and languages, they felt that they could not face the challenge alone, so they established an organization, the predecessor of Alesse Takaoka, in 2010 together with their friends who shared the same awareness of the problem. Volunteers supported children’s studies and provided information on higher education to students and parents who did not understand Japanese.
A scene from a learning support class at Alesse Takaoka = courtesy of Yuka Aoki
Change from the community.
However, working out of sight does not change the gaze of the community.
At the same time, the region is experiencing a declining birthrate, an aging population, and an increasingly serious economic decline.
Everyone must change.”
What we came up with was a “Citizenship Education Project” to solve local issues together. Young people of foreign roots took the lead in organizing workshops on art, disaster prevention, and the SDGs. Over the course of the events, people met each other beyond the barriers of their roots and positions, and new connections were formed.
Everyone helps make Tanabata decorations for the community (courtesy of Yuka Aoki).
Social change is one step at a time
Yukie, who is now an office worker at Alesse and a mother herself, said.
I was conflicted about what kind of name to give my child and decided to name him only in Chinese characters so that he would not experience the same difficulties in life that I did. I hope these conflicts will disappear in the future.”
Hidehiko Murao, who runs a construction company in Toyama Prefecture, is one of the residents connected through the “Co-Creating the Future Toyama” project, which was initiated by JICA Hokuriku and others as part of a citizenship education project.
I have accepted foreigners at my company for some time now, but I have learned that the younger generation sometimes feels torn between the culture of their roots and the culture of Japan. I wanted to help create a new symbiotic society in Toyama so that young people and children can live happily.”
Aoki says.
Brazilian society was inclusive of Japanese immigrants, and the presence of Nikkei made society rich and strong. I believe that such flexibility is now required in Japanese society. It may not be easy. But step by step, we must not stop. I believe this is what we must do for the next generation.
I want to change the community through activities that transcend nationality and age barriers. His experience as a cooperative worker will continue to guide Aoki’s activities in the future.
Careers are a force for change in Japan
JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers have been in existence for 60 years and are now widely recognized both in Japan and abroad. The sweat, tears, and insights gained from working with people in foreign lands are invaluable assets for life.
At the same time, their passion and careers have been a great source of strength for Japanese society, which faces numerous challenges such as low birthrates, aging society, inequality, and multicultural conviviality. Former members of the program, who struggled with the harsh realities and faced difficulties in the countries to which they were sent, are active in a variety of social activities, and many of them have gone on to found NPOs or become social entrepreneurs.
The catchphrase of JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers is “Life is just one trigger. The catchphrase of the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers is “Life is just one trigger.
The stage for those with cooperative experience to play an active role will further expand.
© Source JICA