The “research/analysis reports” that our Institute has been developed through its membership service “Takeo Harada Gemeinschaft” are investigations and analyses of the global macroeconomy (the international flow of funds) and the context (narrative) of the domestic and international circumstances. The series of these events is called “world history,” and the ability to perceive this history is called “information literacy” or  “entrepreneurship”.

“Information literacy (entrepreneurship)” is essential for the realization of our vision of “Pax Japonica”. Because, it means that all of us must hone our ability to create a future-oriented roadmap to confront the daily challenges that arise in individual situations, based on an unbiased and correct understanding of the past and the historical laws derived from them.

Our Institute has been developing its own educational activities in Japan and abroad to provide a place for the young generation that will lead the next generation. In this blog, I would like to look back on the history of our educational activities. This blog will be divided into two parts (Part 1 and Part 2). For further information about the term “information literacy”, please jump to the blog “Deepen public information through ‘Entrepreneurship Education.’” (Click on the title to jump to the article).

“Please share this with the juniors in our university! This was the first time I was told this kind of request by a first-year student while I was working as an assistant section chief at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Why are they so different when articles are published about the same things on Newspapers and magazines? What is the intention and what is the movement? The beginning was a small room in the Komaba campus at the University of Tokyo. It all started there. ”(Takeo Harada, Founder and CEO of the Institute)

The Institute’s educational activities for young people began 19 years ago, in 2005.

The “Information Literacy School” began in a small room that was virtually “occupied” by students at the Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo. The positive rumor spread, and the “Information Literacy School” was held not only at the University of Tokyo, but also at Hitotsubashi University and ICU as an independent seminar called “Terakoya”. Many students gathered at these seminars. At the time, the Institute had just been established as a voluntary organization (now a corporation).

(Photo 1: Prep School in 2008)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

(Photo 2: Prep School in 2008)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

(Photo 3: Prep School in 2011)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

The “Information Literacy School,” which was originally intended for students, eventually developed into a social contribution project that became the core of the Institute, the International Institute for International Strategy and Information Analysis, Inc. (IISIA). The tuition-free school ran from 2007 to 2015, and was called the “IISIA Prep School”.

When the IISIA office was located in Kunitachi City, students commuted to the office once every two weeks, and up to 100 students attended the school. The students visited the office after reading at least three books in English and Japanese, which were assigned each time. “They were all very enthusiastic!” says Takeo Harada, President of the Institute. (Perhaps one of the readers may had been a student from those programs!)

　

The Institute’s educational activities have not been limited to Tokyo. Takeo Harada, President of the Institute, had also given lectures in Nagoya and Fukuoka. We have been provided education to a total of more than 250 students throughout Japan. I have heard that the graduates are currently active in the forefront of various fields.

（The IISIA Alumni Network is the name for graduates of the program of “Terakoya”, “IISIA Prep School”, and “Global Human Resource Prep School”. In other words, they are one force that has received the same education. Their “power” is immeasurable.)

(Photo 4: Prep School in 2012 in Nagoya)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

(Photo 5: Prep School in 2012 in Nagoya)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

(Photo 6: Prep School in 2013 in Fukuoka)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

The Institute’s educational programs and educational support activities have been carried out under different names (Terakoya, IISIA Prep School, Global Human Resource Prep School, Global Human Resource Scholarship, IISIA Summer School, IISIA Reading Club, etc.). Since 2008, 50% of the profits from the Institute’s membership service “Takeo Harada Gemeinschaft” have been used to implement the program. Since 2012, the Japan Institute for Globalization Studies (RIJAG: officially recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in December 2022 as having Special Consultative Status, a consultative status, and granted “UN NGO status” with advisory status to the Economic and Social Council) has been the host organization and has been held jointly with the Institute (in 2014, the educational program was held in the form of a workshop).

The Institute believes that the abilities and elements necessary for leaders of the next generation to survive and thrive in an ever-changing world and in Japan are mainly (1) global, (2) innovation, and (3) leadership, and has offered these courses to students who are currently enrolled at universities and graduate schools in Japan. The Institute’s unique “information literacy” education is a place to cultivate knowledge and sense of global standards, which is hard to acquire at universities.

In 2015, the Institute held regular evening lectures and exercises at the Ark Hills Sengokuyama Mori Tower in Roppongi, Tokyo. Some of you may have heard about this. After the implementation of the above-mentioned major IISIA educational programs up to 2015, the IISIA Prep School was revived in October 2018 for the first time in two years, and the Prep School was also offered in May 2019.

(Photo 7: Prep School in 2019 in Tokyo)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

(Photo 8: Prep School in 2013 in Tokyo)

(Reference: Photo by the staff)

A unique feature of these educational programs is the form of school; tuition-free school. In addition to membership fees for our membership services, our Institute has been able to develop sustainable activities through the support of companies, organizations, and groups that have a strong interest in the “early development of global human resources” in Japan. For example, when we held the 2012 Global Human Resource Prep School in Fukuoka, we were able to borrow the Biz Communication Library (BIZCOLI) as a venue thanks to the kindness of the Kyushu Institute of Economic Research. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to everyone who have been involved.　

Our Institute provides students the opportunity to learn, and students get a chance to acquire “information literacy” without thinking about economic disparities. These talented students will then go out into the world in the future and will definitely raise the bottom of Japan. Furthermore, the economic prosperity that results from the success of the next generation will lubricate the activities of more members, corporations, and grant foundations, and the circle of social contribution projects will expand even further as we receive the support of many more people. This is the consistent concept of the Institute. This is the realization of “triple win”, which creates a positive cycle for the students, the sponsors, and the society.

The Institute’s unique educational activities have continued from its inception to the present day, in 2024. In this blog, we looked back on the educational history of IISIA from 2005 to 2019, and I hope that you have saw some sense of our enthusiasm for education over the past 19 years. In the next blog, I will talk about the recent “information literacy” and “entrepreneurship” education. Please look forward to it.

Chancellery Unit, Group for Project Pax Japonica, Maria Tanaka

※The statements in this blog are not the official views of the Institute, but rather the personal views of the author.