Eight lucky YES students recently returned from BizVenture Japan, a YES Extreme Experience in collaboration with the North Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence, which saw them spend the week in Tokyo, Japan! After three years of successful online and domestic BizVenture Japan programmes since the programme launched in 2021, BizVenture Japan 2024 marks the return of our first international trip post-pandemic!

In the lead-up to the program’s Business Challenge in which the students were tasked to present business solutions aligned with one of three SDGs (SDG 1. No Poverty, SDG 3. Wellbeing, and SDG 5. Gender Equality), the group prepared for their business plan and pitch by visiting a number of businesses, participating in cultural activities, sight-seeing, and eating their way around Tokyo.

The group gained in-depth exposure to both New Zealand and Japanese Businesses in Tokyo, undertaking a diverse range of business visits to Cookie Time, Panasonic Centre, Edo Kieiko, Musashin Recycling Centre, New Zealand Embassy and the Supermarket Trade Show.

In between business visits, students were immersed in Japanese culture, participating in a Japanese business culture workshop, daily Japanese business language lessons, sushi-making classes, a Warakuan tea ceremony, walking food tours, and visiting iconic Tokyo sights such as Tokyo Tower, Shibuya Crossing and Sensoji Temple.

The BizVenture Japan program is designed to continually build on New Zealand’s diplomatic relationship with Japan serving as an important show of commitment by New Zealand and Japan to develop global citizens and business-savvy young people, who will be future leaders in the education and business sectors across our two countries. As part of the tour, Young Enterprise students visited the New Zealand embassy where they heard from the New Zealand Trade Commissioner, Kylie Archer and other embassy staff regarding the NZ-Japan relationship, indigenous exchanges, and NZ businesses in Japan.

With 5 days’ worth of business visits, cultural immersion, and local cuisine under their belts, the group were joined by 8 local Japanese students who collaborated directly with the Support Our Kids organization to deliver their business challenge in teams using the knowledge and experiences they picked up throughout the week. The winning team comprised of Ella Parker from Kerikeri High School, Kojiro Asano from Miyagi Prefecture, and Mio Horie from Fukushima Prefecture. The winning team ‘Enlightenment’, aim to coordinate and run short, informative, and engaging presentations about mental health and related well-being issues to students in Japan thereby raising awareness, reducing stigma, and sparking positive conversations helping improve overall mental health levels in Japan.

When reflecting on his time in Japan, YES Student, Joel Taylor, said, “The BizVenture Japan program has strengthened my commitment to pursue a career and university degree in marketing and business from a global perspective. It deepened my love for Japan, a country that now holds a special place in my heart and makes me eager to return for a university exchange.”

BizVenture Japan student, Olivia Wu, referred to the program as being transformational, saying, “It left a mark on my professional and personal growth, I gained self-confidence through being with other people and being away from home, and it provided business knowledge that I can use in my university study and in a future career.”

We would like to acknowledge our collaborators, without whom these trips would not be possible: North Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence, New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo, Support Our Kids and MAD International.

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