Ashinaga Group Asia: International Student Programs

Giving orphaned students abroad the chance to study in Japan

While Ashinaga originally only supported Japanese students who had lost parents, as time passed it became increasingly clear that we had the experience and means to assist orphaned students outside Japan as well.

This first took the shape of fundraising for international humanitarian crises, but eventually grew into various financial aid and scholarship opportunities to benefit orphaned students from around the world.

Why study in Japan?

Japan is a global leader in higher education, with its universities consistently ranking among the top in Asia and featuring in lists of the best universities around the world. Through the Global 30 University initiative, Japan’s universities are also more open and international than ever.

Japan is also considered a forerunner in technology, sustainability, and the drive for global peace. Students studying here will benefit greatly from seeing how this country is able to attain high levels of development, while still maintaining relative harmony among its population as well as a balance between globalization and tradition.

Our student support team

Moving far away to a country quite different from one’s own can be daunting, which is why all of our students who study in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are looked after by our experienced student support team. They are there to ensure you get the support you need to make the most of the university experience, and also so that you have someone to turn to with any problems or questions.

Ashinaga Uganda and Senegal

Since 2006, Ashinaga has been providing support and financial aid to students in Uganda, so that they can pursue their undergraduate studies in Japan. Typically, we have supported two students per year, who then are offered housing at our Ashinaga Kokoro-Juku in either Kobe or Tokyo.

Previous students have studied at Waseda University, International Christian University, Sophia University, Meiji University, Doshisha University, Kyoto University, and many others.

Ashinaga has also begun giving scholarships to high school students from Uganda and Senegal to study at senior high schools in Japan. This intensive, immersive program allows students to quickly excel in their Japanese language skills.

Learn more about Ashinaga’s activities in Sub-Saharan Africa

Ashinaga Africa Initiative

Students on the Ashinaga Africa Initiative are also encouraged to undertake their studies in Japan. The Ashinaga Africa Initiative hopes to contribute to the continued development of Sub-Saharan Africa through providing a high-quality education to ambitious orphaned students who want to use that education to make a difference.

One-year Programs

Ashinaga currently runs a one-year exchange program for orphaned students from Indonesia and Vietnam currently studying at our partner institutions, Airlangga University and the Sakura Japanese Language School. Interested students should contact their school directly.

Rainbow Exchange

In exchange for accepting our Japanese students at their institutions as part of our Overseas Training Program, Ashinaga invites students from Kocaeli University and Airlangga University to Japan every year. Invitees spend the summer interacting with Ashinaga students, learning Japanese, and learning about Japanese culture.

Learn more about the Overseas Training Program for Japanese students

Past Programs

International summer camps

From 2000 to 2005, Ashinaga held annual international summer camps, or international tsudoi, in which students from 15 different countries gathered and shared memorable experiences with one another. These gatherings brought together orphaned students from Afghanistan, Algeria, Colombia, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Maldives, Serbia Montenegro (Kosovo), Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and the USA.

Through these camps, students were able to discover that despite the national and linguistic barriers tht divided them, they shared the pain of losing a parent and becoming orphaned.

Tsunami Orphan Scholarship Program

A number of students from Sri Lanka and Indonesia were invited to undertake their undergraduate studies in Japan with a scholarship from Ashinaga, having been affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami.

This program was made possible in part by student-led fundraising conducted by Ashinaga students in Japan.

Learn more about our student activism in Japan

Haiti Program

Following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, Ashinaga secured funds for four students to study at a university in Japan on an Ashinaga scholarship. All of these students have since graduated and are now either pursuing further studies, working, or contributing their skills back in Haiti.