Help 2000 students from US & Japan connect online!

From September 2024 to February 2025, Kizuna Across Cultures successfully completed the 13th year of Global Classmates, a six-month bilingual online exchange program connecting high school students across the United States and Japan. This year’s program brought together 2,100 students from 79 high schools—39 in Japan and 40 in the U.S.—spanning 21 U.S. states and 24 Japanese prefectures.

The Global Classmates program goes beyond traditional language learning. Its core mission is to foster intercultural competence—the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with people from different cultural backgrounds, form meaningful connections, and collaborate across cultures. Through a combination of asynchronous written communication and real-time video exchanges, students shared their thoughts, asked questions, and explored differences and similarities in daily life. Over 57,000 comments were exchanged during the program, and post-program surveys showed that 97% of students and 99% of teachers were satisfied with the experience.

This year, many school pairs participated in multiple live video sessions, which deepened student relationships and enhanced engagement in the written exchanges. These interactions not only strengthened language skills but also built empathy, patience, and adaptability in cross-cultural dialogue. As technology like AI translation tools continues to evolve, Global Classmates remain committed to nurturing the uniquely human skills that machines cannot replicate—curiosity, trust, and emotional connection.

A U.S. student reflected on the experience:

“The interaction of learning from a Japanese person is valuable. Many high schoolers studying Japanese are taught by teachers who aren’t native speakers. Our teachers are experienced; however, learning from someone who is Japanese can lead to additional cultural insights and understanding.

To me, Global Classmates means interaction. Interacting with a student who understands the struggle of learning a new language—and who I can not only teach but also learn from. Through this experience, I’ve learned that these students in Japan are no different than we in America. We have similar hobbies, favorite foods, and experiences. But we also have many differences, like the style of our houses and school structures. Acknowledging those differences and similarities is a beautiful thing, and I’m lucky to have experienced that.

My most memorable part of the program was opening the gifts they sent us, which showed me more of their character.”

A Japanese student also shared this reflection:

“Through the Global Classmates program, I was able to learn about different ways of thinking and seeing the world. Reading posts on each topic, I found so many interesting perspectives, and I was often inspired by opinions that made me think, ‘I never would have come up with that!’

It was also a joy to come across thoughts and ideas that aligned with mine. In history class, when I studied about the world wars, or when I saw news about the war in Ukraine or the conflict in Gaza, I used to think, ‘People from different countries must inevitably have different ways of thinking.’

But through exchanging opinions with American high school students in Global Classmates, I realized that’s not necessarily the case. I learned that no matter where someone is born and raised, ideas and feelings can be understood and shared.

I was also impressed by how the American students stood by their own opinions while still being open to those of others. I tend to be easily influenced by situations or other people’s opinions, so I hope to learn from their example.”

As the 2024–2025 program concludes, we celebrate the meaningful conversations, friendships, and intercultural growth that took place. We thank all participating students, teachers, and schools for making this year’s Global Classmates such a vibrant and impactful experience.

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