GKA Student Speech at the JICA Volunteer 60th Anniversary Ceremony

On Thursday, November 13, 2025, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held the 60th Anniversary Ceremony of the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers at the Tokyo International Forum. From our school, Riho Otsu, a Grade 11 student, took the stage as a representative of the next generation and shared her thoughts on the JICA Volunteer program.

You can view His Majesty the Emperor’s remarks and Riho Otsu’s speech from the links below. We encourage you to watch them.

Remarks by His Majesty the Emperor:
https://www.youtube.com/live/X2i3hT12jEg&t=1022s

Message from the Next Generation – Riho Otsu (GKA Grade 11):
https://www.youtube.com/live/X2i3hT12jEg?t=2160s

Below is a message from Ms. Otsu.

“I was truly honored to have the opportunity to deliver a speech in front of 3,000 people in the presence of Their Majesties. Following the ceremony, I was further humbled to be invited to a private audience with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, where I shared my experiences from the JICA Takasaki Office workplace program and my study abroad in Rwanda as a Tobitate! scholar. I am deeply grateful for Their Majesties’ warm and encouraging words.

My interest in JICA began in Grade 6, when I joined Pre-MYP, an after-school class led by senior students, and researched SDG 17: Partnerships. My concern for the education of foreign children in my community began in Grade 8 through a geography assignment. Although I once felt frustrated at knowing about local issues but not being able to help, I later found something I could do: teaching the violin and enjoying music with Brazilian children in Oizumi-machi. Later, a school lecture by Ms. Mami Rudasingwa, a prosthetist and orthotist working in Rwanda, inspired me to plan my own study abroad in Rwanda. I will continue to deepen my learning at GKA.”