Lighting towns with forgotten bamboo.💡
Across Japan, local communities are turning neglected bamboo into beautiful Take-Akari lanterns.Working with Kumamoto Prefecture's CHIKAKEN they are transforming an environmental challenge into community pride—and a new local tradition.🏮✨
Flipping Unwanted Darkness into Starriest Success! 💫
Facing a tourism decline, SHIRASAWA Yuji & Achi Village turned absolute darkness into a starry asset. Partnering with locals, they showed how a shift in perspective turns challenges into lasting value. ✨
Where Tradition Finds New Light. 🏮
Fukuoka Prefecture's Ito Gonjiro Shoten weaves traditional lanterns into modern hotels and movie sets. Long illuminating Japanese nights, this single-spiral craftsmanship now beautifully lights up contemporary spaces worldwide. 🌍
#PhotoOfTheMonth: A nameless pond that captivated the world. 🪷
Summer brings Japan's nameless pond to life. Once an irrigation pond in Gifu Prefecture, it became an iconic landscape by the care of locals—showing how communities can rediscover the value of everyday places. 🌍
Where Nature Becomes the Classroom. 🏫 In Ogatsu, Miyagi Prefecture, the former Kuwahama Elementary School was reborn as MORIUMIUS after the 2011 earthquake. Here, children experience nature’s cycle and learn to live in harmony with it through the local community.
Time to pick our July #PickaHeader! 🎋
Waterfront fireworks, wind chimes in the summer breeze, morning glories in full bloom, festive Tanabata(a star festival in July) decorations.
Which speaks to you most? Comment your pick by June 29. Winner revealed the next day!
Discover places that become part of you. 🚞 Otetsutabi connects travelers with short-handed rural communities that need extra help during busy seasons. More than work it’s a chance to build lasting bonds with locals. Turning temporary help into lifelong friendships! 🤝
What do 1 in 4 people still lack? The answer is safe water. 💧Yamaha Motor's Clean Water Supply System delivers safe water using sand and microbes. Requiring no chemicals or large power, it lets locals manage it. In 15 countries, it boosts quality of life through safe water.🌱
🚜 Cultivating the Land with Eyes in the Sky. ✨
Powered by Japan's Michibiki satellite system, Ezowin's Reposaku helps farmers track machinery, reduce waste, and improve efficiency across vast fields. A space-age solution helping shape the future of sustainable farming ! 🌱
Could plants one day light our cities? 💡
A Japanese startup, LEP, created glowing trees, even exhibiting a glowing bonsai at Expo 2025 Osaka. This sustainable lighting innovation could reduce CO2 and energy use, offering a natural solution to global warming. 🌱✨
A woodblock print from a collection of illustrations by Kawasaki Kyosen, an artist who drew traditional toys from all around Japan. How many dogs can you find? #ndldigital#ndlnewsletter
https://t.co/mE9cwY58Ff
An open second "home" to learn and grow together. 🌍✨
At Cambodia's House for Youth, Japan's NGO Kokkyo naki Kodomotachi (KnK) provides a safe home and community. Since 2000, more than 500 young people have taken their first steps toward independence.
Passed on through experience.✨ WheeLog! is a map application where wheelchair users share routes and accessibility information.🗺️ Founded by wheelchair user ODA Yuriko, it helps those who once relied on information support others by sharing their own experiences.
Can fans reinvent a historic Sento ♨️ (Japanese bathhouse)? At Tokyo's Kosugiyu, regulars—not the business—lead local revitalization.
By launching "Kosugiyu Tonari"—a shared space next door offering a cafe and coworking—regulars reinvent tradition for civic life. ✨
Hibiya Park is a lush green space in the heart of Tokyo where you can feel the changing seasons. In early summer, fresh greenery fills the park, making it perfect for a walk.
The park also offers a pleasant, accessible space for everyone through its barrier-free initiatives.
What if the video you just watched was fake? 🎭
Frontria, a Fujitsu-led global consortium, brings together 76 organizations across finance, media, entertainment, and law to address misinformation and disinformation—helping to build a trusted foundation for the age of AI.💡
Where water was once scarce, hope and self-reliance now grow. 🌍
In Uganda's semi-arid Karamoja, Japan's Terra Renaissance launched irrigation in 2023. Today, crop sales have grown into an income source, advancing self-reliance and autonomy. 🌱
From fishing floats to art? 🌊
Aomori's Tsugaru Vidro is a maker that pivoted from glass fishing gear to crafts. Artisans shape glass softly using only breath, blending 100+ colors to express nature. This technical pivot drives regional industry. ✨