ARI

A December Visit to Japan: Reflections on Impact, Community and Partnership

Paul Hastings ARI, grant, ICU, Nelson Ranch Scholarship, othmer research fellowship, reception, SDG Projects December 19, 2025

In early December, I traveled to Japan for a ten-day visit to International Christian University (ICU), with additional meetings in Tokyo and Tochigi Prefecture. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen relationships across the ICU community and to deepen JICUF’s longstanding partnership with the university. Throughout my time on campus, I met with students, faculty, staff, and members of ICU’s leadership. These conversations—both formal and informal—created space to reflect together on the values that undergird both ICU and JICUF: a shared commitment to liberal arts education, thoughtful engagement with the world, and the belief that learning carries with it a responsibility to contribute to the common good. One especially […]

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JICUF Supports Collaboration between ICU and Asian Rural Institute

Sachiko Tokai agriculture, ARI, Asian Rural Institute, Hügelkultur, ICU Farm Project, Nature and Food, rural development, Study Camp September 2, 2025

With support from JICUF, ICU is implementing a program titled “Learning and Practice on Nature and Food in Collaboration with the Asian Rural Institute.” Located in Tochigi Prefecture, the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) is a school where participants from around the world come together to learn and live in community, cultivating leadership for rural development through a life centered on agriculture. Sharing a common history rooted in Christian ideals, ICU and ARI have built a longstanding relationship through ongoing exchanges. At ICU, momentum has been growing to make greater use of the campus’s rich natural environment in education—for example, through the Farm Project launched in 2024. This new collaboration with […]