Ceremony Celebrates TOMODACHI Initiative’s 15th Anniversary

By Akiko Inoue / Japan News Staff Writer

2:00 JST, March 20, 2026

A ceremony celebrating the 15th anniversary of the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership to support young people, launched by the U.S. Embassy in Japan and the U.S.-Japan Council, was held at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence in Tokyo on Wednesday.

At the ceremony, Aaron Snipe, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, praised the TOMODACHI Initiative and Operation Tomodachi, in which the U.S. military in Japan and JSDF worked together to provide relief after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. That event inspired the establishment of the Initiative.

He said “More than 11,000 young Japanese Americans were pursuing their dreams … and that makes … the U.S. -Japan relationship stronger.”

U.S. – Japan Council President Audrey Yamamoto said, “amid these uncertain times, the partnership must continue to be a pillar of stability, peace and progress,” and expressed appreciation for the initiative’s corporate sponsors and other supporters.

Two former participants in the initiative, Haruka Noguchi from Fukushima Prefecture and Bryson Torgovitsky, a PhD candidate at Tohoku University, gave speeches about their experiences.

Attendees included former initiative participants and officials from Tohoku areas, as well as representatives of corporations that sponsored the initiative’s programs.