Summer in JAPAN (SIJ): Where Global Minds Meet

People gather where they are truly and safely welcomed and their worth is recognized.

Hello, I’m Mari Hirotsuru, Founder and Executive Producer of Summer in JAPAN (SIJ). In 2012, I co-founded the nonprofit educational organization Summer in JAPAN together with my daughter, Sumire Hirotsuru, then a student at Harvard University. We had a single conviction: talent and potential exist in every child, everywhere, but too few are given the opportunity to discover and act on it. SIJ exists to be that opportunity.

To make this happen, SIJ invites undergraduates from Harvard to Japan, where we run a summer school helping elementary, middle, and high school students discover and develop “what they love and what they’re good at,” all in English.

Since our first summer school in 2013, SIJ has grown on the connections forged on mutual respect. We don’t bring the world’s brightest minds to Japan simply to stand at the front of a classroom as “teachers.” We bring them here to build genuine mentorship.

What we’ve come to realize is that this mentorship is a two-way exchange of learning. The children discover their own “voice” and build unshakable confidence. At the same time, our global mentors find a renewed sense of purpose, and return home carrying a deep respect for Japanese culture. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that develops them intellectually and personally.

SIJ’s Impact: Connecting Regional Potential with World-Class Intelligence

Bridging Local Potential with Global Excellence

SIJ connects the world and brings diverse talents and expertise to Japan. We bridge the distances, making sure that the exchange of ideas, cultures and learning is continuous and seamless. 

SIJ develops and implements workshop curricula that have a meaningful impact on younger generations’ future and their communities. Since the inaugural year 2013, we have been a platform where the youth can grow as future leaders for the good of society and personal fulfillment.

Action-Driven Curricula

We develop and implement workshop curricula designed not for the world of yesterday, but for the complex society of tomorrow. Whether it is coding dynamic solutions in our Tech Hackathon, pitching civic revitalization strategies in our Public Speaking symposium, or building creative synergy in the Performing Arts, our programs force students out of their comfort zones. We pivot youth from being passive consumers of information into active creators of real-world solutions.

A Legacy of Future Leaders

Since our inaugural year in 2013, SIJ has grown from a local summer camp into a premier global platform. With over 8,300 lives impacted, our alumni have gone on to study at top universities abroad, innovate within their local communities, and tackle global challenges head-on.Ultimately, our impact is measured by a dual promise: equipping the youth with the critical skills needed for the good of society, while ensuring they never lose the joy of personal fulfillment. We are architecting a generation that is not only ready to survive the future, but ready to invent it.

ーMari Hirotsuru Summer in JAPAN Founder/President/ Executive Producer


Q. How is SIJ funded?

A. Founder Mari Hirotsu and co-founder Sumire Hirotsu have run the program as unpaid volunteers since 2012, simply because it’s something they wanted to do. From planning the program, to recruiting students, to supporting them on the day and staying in touch afterward, it’s all volunteer work.

Mari Hirotsu has spent 36 years running her English school with one belief: every child deserves an education suited to who they are, and learning English can help students find and choose, from anywhere in the world, the kind of school where what they want to pursue matches what that school is looking for in a student. Then in 2012, Sumire was accepted to Harvard College straight from public school in a small city in Japan. Rather than keep that experience to themselves, Mari and Sumire wanted to share it with young people across the world. That desire is what led them to start SIJ.

Educational charity can take many forms. Some organizations fund scholarships to cover tuition, while others run free community schools. What matters most to SIJ isn’t financial support, but creating a space where students can encounter learning itself. Regardless of where they’re from, their background, or their financial circumstances, Mari and Sumire want to offer motivated young people a safe institution where their differences, their authenticity, and their inner voice are recognized and embraced, and where they can freely discover a new world That hope is what continues to drive this work today.