Bonds between Japan and the U.S. formed by students of the Keio Academy of New York

At the Keio Academy of New York (High School), the only Keio-affiliated school located abroad, students engage in active exchange with local high schools and people in the community through volunteering.

When the Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, the Academy received many donations to its relief fund from the community and neighboring high schools with which we had relationships through club activities. Local media also introduced students’ fund-raising activities and other support efforts.

Meanwhile, when Hurricane Sandy brought massive damage to the coastal areas of New York State at the end of October 2012, volunteering members of the Academy collected emergency relief supplies such as baby diapers and blankets and sent them to the damaged areas. Furthermore, after the terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon in April 2013, members of the Academy’s National Honor Society held a charity run event. Funds raised were donated to a non-profit organization which provides support to attack victims. These support activities were initiated by students out of gratitude for the support they received from the neighboring community for Japan at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Volunteering does not only happen in times of disaster; Academy students are regularly engaged in volunteering activities in the same manner as local high school students, reflecting the nation’s volunteer spirit. Such activities include participating in food drives at supermarkets to collect food donated by shoppers and clothing drives to donate clothing to children from poor families, and managing a breast cancer fund-raising event as volunteer staff.

Students who belong to clubs such as kendo, chorus, karate, hip-hop dancing and sado (Japanese tea ceremony) also participate in many local events which introduce Japanese culture. Such willingness towards Japan-U.S. cultural exchange has won the appreciation of the community, and for the last two years, Academy students have been invited to an event to introduce Asian culture at MasterCard Worldwide, whose headquarters are located adjacent to the Academy’s campus. Also, at the Harumatsuri (Spring Festival) of the Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese, an event hosted by the United Nationals International School to bring together high school students from the region, Academy students serve as the overall hosts, a result of recognition of their bilingual skills. This is the largest Japan-U.S. cultural event held in New York for high school students, and more than 400 students who learn Japanese attend every year.

Academy students actively participate in local community activities and at times serve as ambassadors of cultural exchange in order to develop strong bonds between the two countries.