Aomori Elementary Schoolers Go Global; Project to Deepen Kids’ Understanding of Internationalization Takes Off

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:36 JST, August 7, 2024

AOMORI — About 30 fifth and sixth graders played games and spoke with foreign nationals as a program designed to foster elementary school students’ understanding of internationalization kicked off at the Yanagawa building of Aomori City Hall on July 6.

The children learned about cross-cultural communication through playing cards and talking with coordinators for international relations and assistant language teachers. Events in the program will continue every month until December and will include welcoming foreign visitors arriving by cruise ship at Aomori port and visiting the elementary school on the U.S. military base in the prefecture’s Misawa City.

A sixth grader at Sannai-Nishi Elementary School, 11-year-old Shunta Mitsuhashi, said, “My dream is to be a soccer player. I participated because I want to be able to speak a foreign language. I’m glad to meet with people from many countries.”