ANNUAL REPORT

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学校法⼈ユナイテッド·ワールド·カレッジISAKジャパン
⾧野県北佐久郡軽井沢町⾧倉5827-136〒389-0111
UWC ISAK Japan
5827-136 Nagakura, Karuizawa, Kitasaku-gun
Nagano 389-0111 JAPANuwcisak.jp
Copyright UWC ISAK Japan 2018

A SHARED MISSIONUWC makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures
for peace and a sustainable future
UWC ISAK JAPAN'S UNIQUE IDENTITYISAK Japan empowers students to become transformational leaders
who explore new frontiers for the greater good of Asia and beyond

OUR LEADERSHIP“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” - Abraham Lincoln
It has indeed been a long journey since I first met Taniya-san in 2007. In 2008, we had a dream that only a handful of us shared: toestablish a school that empowers all of our community members to become transformational leaders who explore new frontiers andtackle challenges in the real world.
It was extremely hard to raise funds then due to the financial crisis that affected the world, but we knew we had to start somewhere.
We consequently offered a summer school in 2010, and when we thought we finally started to see a bit of hope in 2011, the Tohoku
Earthquake devastated Japan. Even in 2012, very few others believed that a school of this magnitude could open.
Here we stand today – as a community with 170 students from 53 countries, growing into 190 students from 72 countries next school
year, supported by over 70 faculty and staff members gathering from 15 countries around the world. We pride ourselves on being theonly school in Japan that ensures embracing “true” diversity by offering scholarships to nearly 70% of our student body. I cannot thankyou all enough for your support throughout those ten years and for your continued enthusiasm and trust in our educational movement.
A UNITING FORCE IN A DIVIDING WORLDLIN
KOBAYASHIMESSAGE FROM THE
CHAIR OF THE BOARD

UWC’s mission of making education a force to unite people, cultures, and nations is more relevant than ever. In today’s world, many of
the conflicts are arising not necessarily because of national borders, but more often from the divide between haves and have-nots,
different religious believes, or historical perspectives. We need more people who can embrace and celebrate diversity instead ofattacking and eliminating others with different perspectives.
A RAPIDLY CHANGING AND UNPREDICTABLE WORLD NEEDS INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND LEADERSHIP
A rapidly changing and unpredictable world needs transformational leaders who can ask themselves - without being constrained by thesocial norms or expectations - what is most important to them and what is truly needed by the world. Unless it is something that you
feel deeply passionate (or frustrated) about, it is quite hard for us to pursue it with resilience. We do not have to be wanting to beleaders. As Frederick Buechner said, if and when our deepest gladness meets with the world’s deepest hunger, you move mountains(and become a leader as a result). It is our hope that our students' lifelong quest of their “deepest gladness” begins here with us.
The future is unpredictable, for sure, but that’s an exciting thing! We can either prepare ourselves for this rapidly changing world andbe ready to take on any wave of change that comes our way or, we can even invent the future so that it is predictable. I feel extremely
fortunate that we are a community that believes in the power of making the impossible, possible.

I had long dreamt of setting up a school where students from both developing and developed countries would live and study together
with the aim of making the world a better place. For almost as long, I’d been looking for the person who could devote themselves tomaking it happen. Luckily, 11 years ago I met Lin and our journey began. Our vision was to fill the gap between education and the realworld, which is why we identified and focused on design thinking and mindfulness leadership.
In spite of an extremely challenging period following the financial crisis as well as many regulatory restrictions, this dream has finallycome true through the tremendous support of our many stakeholders, including our 100 founders, our Head of School Rod Jemison,
members of the faculty, staff and other supporters and, of course, our incredible students.
In 2017, we became UWC ISAK Japan and are very proud to be the newest member of the UWC movement, sharing its mission tounite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.
Highlights for me from these past 10 years include our first and only ISAK graduating class in 2017 and first ever UWC ISAK Japanclass in 2018. Both graduation ceremonies were deeply moving and convinced me that the lives of our students were completelychanged by their experience at school and someday they will make the world a better place.

MAMORUTANIYA

REPRESENTATIVE
FOUNDER'S MESSAGE

But it is not just the students that have been learning. We have learned so much from the students too. In fact, one member of thisyear’s graduating class said to me that when they first arrived at our school their goal was to change the opinions of others, but foundit impossible because of the many different backgrounds and beliefs. But now, rather than trying to change people’s opinions they
focus on including people from a variety of backgrounds, opinions, and ways of thinking and working together to make a better future.
This was a very powerful lesson.
Today there are so many complicated situations in the world, but I believe our graduates will help create a better future by uniting
people around the world. Our Motto is “One Life. Realize Your Potential. Be a Catalyst for Positive Change.” One Life has a double
meaning. The first is that you have only one life to live. The second meaning is Oneness, meaning that we are all one—people,
animals, plants, the whole earth, the entire universe.
In step with our motto, I truly believe our students will express themselves fully in their one precious life to unite people all over theworld and to help make the world a better place.

I vividly remember the day I arrived at the future site of UWC ISAK Japan!!! It was hard to imagine - almost
inconceivable - six years later what is currently here today; seven buildings, a home for the Head of School, and three
future edifices that will be the home for 200 students, and more than 75 faculty/staff. Our current physical plant andsuccess are directly due to the sheer passion and determination of Lin Kobayashi and Mamoru Taniya to create aschool community that would change the lives of young people forever. We sincerely appreciate the leadership anddedication of the members of our board, who unconditionally believe in the mission and vision of UWC ISAK Japan.
More exciting has been the ability of our Founders to contribute their resources - both financially and personally - toensure we have the essential ingredients to empower our community members to become transformational leaders.
Their enthusiasm, passion, and excitement continue to drive all of us to be better people and make a significant
difference in the world we live in - THANK YOU! Reflecting on my 25 years in education, I have never seen acommunity more invested in their institution.

RODERICKJEMISONMESSAGE FROM THE
HEAD OF SCHOOL

As we begin our fifth year as a school, we can certainly be ecstatic about how far we have come and what the futureholds for UWC ISAK Japan. And while we certainly must take time to celebrate these enormous accomplishments,
we all agree that there is tremendous room for growth and we must continue to focus on our four core values:
identifying what's important and needed; using diversity as a strength; taking action in the face discomfort, and;supporting others in their actions.
I want to show my sincere appreciation for all that you have done to make this school such a success. More
importantly, I look forward to working with you to ensure UWC ISAK Japan remains a beacon of hope for everyone
looking to change this world for the better.

OUR COMMUNITY

170
30
40
70

STUDENTS FROM 57 COUNTRIESFACULTY FROM 10 COUNTRIESSTAFF FROM 5 COUNTRIESPERCENT OF STUDENTS RECEIVING
FULL OR PARTIAL FINANCIAL AID

UWC ISAKCOMMUNITY(2017-18)

OUR ALUMNIISAK's

HIMANSHU
BHURTELPROJECT NEPAL
Images courtesy of ISAK'S Project Nepal (www.isakpronepal.org)

CLASS OF 2017

I vividly remember the afternoon ISAK's Project Nepal started. It was a chilly
Saturday afternoon in late April 2015. I was lying under a kotatsu, scrollingthrough my Facebook feed when I started seeing post after post about anearthquake in Nepal. As soon as I confirmed it was true I ran to tell my fellow
Nepalese students.
We knew we had to do something so we came up with a plan to raise money.
We felt even a little contribution could make a difference so we just set a goal ofraising about 10,000 JPY from the ISAK community. But the more people wetalked to the more they encouraged us to think bigger. So we set a new goal of
100,000 JPY.
To reach our new goal we knew we needed to talk to as many people aspossible, but as we did, we found the community rally around us, asking how
they can help and encourage us to continue to think bigger. So we raised ourtarget to 1,000,000 JPY, 100x our original goal. By the end of our first phase offundraising to this new goal, we actually achieved 4,000,000 JPY!
The community and donor support was an incredible start, but we had a lot ofwork to do to ensure the funds and resources actually made it to the people thatneeded it. We faced bureaucratic and logistic challenges, but through passion,perseverance, and teamwork, we were able to help impact and improve the livesof thousands of Nepalese by building temporary learning centers, funding
medical supplies, and assisting with medical support, among other activities.
We were honored that ISAK's Project Nepal was recognized by the former
President of Nepal on behalf of the Let's Build School's Campaign and to beawarded the "Young Future Potential Leaders for Effective Community Support"by the Karuizawa Rotary Club, but the most important thing for our team was—and continues to be—making an actual difference. Personally, I am thrilled tosee how ISAK's Project Nepal has been taken up by new generations of
ISAKers, who are making it their own, yet remaining true to the project's and theschool's original vision.
ISAK's Project Nepal taught me many things. Among those lessons is theimportance of just doing something when you see a need and how incredibly
powerful the ISAK community can be in incubating an idea. It was then that I
fully understood the importance and potential of the ISAK community in helping
to change the world for the better.

YUNA
SAKATANI
CLASS OF 2017

DYLAN
OSHIMA

CLASS OF 2017

I grew up in Japan and despite going to an international school for a few years, I didn’t
have a lot of experience engaging with international cultures. But that all changed when
I came to ISAK.

I originally came to ISAK for Summer School and it was a life-changing experience. I loved the teachers, the culture and the focus on
mindful leadership. So, despite the fact that the high school was still just an idea and had no track record, I knew that ISAK was where I
wanted to invest the next three years of my life. So, I applied and … was shortlisted!

I remember a conversation that emerged in English class. We were discussing sexism
and some of the students pointed out that Japan was a sexist culture, in their opinion.
They pointed to the expected roles for women, from office ladies serving tea tobecoming a housewife.

Thankfully, the story didn’t end there and I eventually got my offer of acceptance and financial support and my journey began. I had highexpectations, but my three years in Karuizawa helped make me who I am. Not a day goes by where I don’t reflect on how fortunate I am tohave attended ISAK and to have benefitted from the financial assistance and support of ISAK's incredible donors.

I wasn’t offended that they felt this way, but I was really confused. Throughout mychildhood I dreamed of one day getting married, taking on my husband’s family name,and fulfilling these societal expectations, just as my classmates had pointed out. I was
surprised and confused to learn that people from other cultures considered thesesocietal expectations sexist.
The experience first taught me the importance of not being offended by someone else’s
opinion, which can shut off dialogue. The second thing I learned was that by looking at
my culture through the eyes of others I could learn so much and could develop insights
I would never get otherwise.
I find that I am using the tools and knowledge I picked up at ISAK to navigate thecomplex issues I face at university and to teach others, including ISAK Summer School
students, the incredible importance of perspective.

I am currently having an incredible time studying at the University of Edinburgh. Aside from my part-time job working for a company
creating blockchain applications on the Ethereum network, I am involved in the Edinburgh Computer Science Society, where I organize andfacilitate many events, and work with a number of big tech companies to reach out to students. I've participated in several 24-hourhackathons and was even flown in by Manchester University’s Computer Science Society and was invited to the J.P. Morgan Chase “Codefor Good” hackathon. I have learned so much and met so many talented individuals by participating in these hackathons.
The UWC alumni network has already proven to be invaluable as I have made connections with many fellow UWC alumni in Edinburgh due
to our shared bond. But as an alumnus of UWC ISAK Japan, in particular, I feel I have a duty to give back to the community. I may not yet
have a lot of financial treasure to contribute, but I am more than happy to give my time and my talent, where it exists, to summer school
and other initiatives to help ISAK continue to be a beacon of hope.
I hope to see others like me attend UWC ISAK Japan so that they too can understand that it is possible to shape the world around you if
you just have the will to do something and you take the initiative (and you always remember to thank the people who helped you get where
you are).

ALINAGOH

CLASS OF 2018

I remember one time when everyone in our dorm was gathering to celebrate someone’s
birthday. Everyone came, except one student, who said that birthdays are notcelebrated in her religion. It really forced me to step back and think about diversity. I
realized that living in diversity is about learning from each other and being able to coexist, despite our different views and traditions. Before this event, I assumed thateveryone generally lives the same as I do. But something as apparently simple ascelebrating a birthday helped me become more aware of our differences.
On another occasion over dinner one day, a fellow student expressed an opinion thatwas different (and probably not a popular one). At first I thought that other students
would step in and stop them, but they actually said, “let’s talk about it.” I felt it was aperfect illustration of diversity. In my three years at UWC ISAK Japan, I learned that theimportant thing was not whether views and opinions were “right” or “wrong”, but that weneed to acknowledge and explore different perspectives, even if you can’t agree.
Before I came to ISAK, I was on a very safe and stable academic path in Singapore. I
attended a top school and all my friends and family were there. So stepping off thesafety of that path and joining ISAK, which had almost no track record at that point, wasthe single biggest risk I had ever taken. It was both an incredible blessing and a
massive challenge. Without a doubt, ISAK gave me a much better perspective on what
options are available and it prepared me for whatever might come next. I can honestly
say that without this school and community I would be a very different person.

AUSTRALIA
University of Melbourne

University of Groningen
University of Maastricht

University of Warwick
University of YorkBELGIUM
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Hague Universityof Applied Science

SINGAPORE
Yale NUS

UNITED ARAB EMIRATESNew York University Abu Dhabi

SOUTH KOREA
Yonsei University

UNITED STATESAgnes Scott College
Amherst College
Barry College
Beloit College
Berklee College of Music
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Centre College
Clark University
Colby College
Davidson College
Depauw University
Drexel University
Durham University
Earlham College
Fordham University
Franklin & Marshall College
Haverford College
Hult Business School
Juniata College
Kalamazoo College
Kenyon College
Lake Forest College
Lehigh University
Lewis and Clark
Loyola Marymount University
Luther College
Macalester College
Middlebury College
Millsaps College
Mt. Holyoke College

CANADA
Queen’s University
Quest University
St. Thomas University in Canada
Trent University
University of British Columbia
University of Toronto
HONG KONG
Chinese University of Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong
INDIA
Azim Premji University
OP Jindal University
ITALY
Bocconi University
JAPAN
Asia Pacific University
International Christian University
Keio University
Okayama University
Osaka University
Sophia University
Tokyo International University
Waseda University
KAZAKHSTANKIMEP University
NETHERLANDS
University of Amsterdam

THAILAND
Faculty of Medicine
Ramathibodi Hospital at
Mahidol University
TURKEY
The Middle Eastern Technical Univ.
UK
University of AberdeenKing’s College London
London School of Economics
Newcastle University
Queen Mary University
St. George’s University
Swansea University
The University of Edinburgh
The University of Manchester
University College London
University of Bath
University of Bristol
University of Essex
University of Huddersfield
University of Leicester
University of Liverpool
University of Rochester
University of Sheffield
University of St. Andrews
University of Strathclyde
The University of Surrey
University of the Arts London

New York Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
New York UniversityOccidental College
Pace University, New York City
Purdue University (College of Science)
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRochester Institute of Technology
Rollins College
Saint Mary’s College of California
Sarah Lawrence College
Seton Hall University
Skidmore College
Smith College
SUNY College at Geneseo
Suffolk University
Tufts University
University of California-Davis
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of California-Santa Clara
University of California-Santa Cruz
University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Puget Sound
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of South Florida
University of Utah
University of Vermont
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Wagner College
Wartburg College
Washington and Lee University
Whitworth University
GAP YEAR
Global Citizen Gap Year

UNIVERSITYACCEPTANCES
CLASS OF 2017
(matriculations in bold)

HONORARY ADVISOR
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado

BOARD OF DIRECTORSLin Kobayashi (CHAIR)
Mamoru Taniya
Roderick Jemison
Hidehiro Imatsu
Makoto Takano
Paul McInerney
Kimiya Yamamoto
Kotaro Yamagishi
Masakazu Yanagisawa

UWC ISAKADVISORY BOARD
Nobuyuki Idei (CHAIR)David Katsujin Chao
Heang Chhor
Yasuchika Hasegawa
Takashi Kawamura
Kakutaro Kitashiro
Edward Suzuki
Kan Suzuki
Fumio Tateishi
STATUTORY AUDITOR
Shigeyuki Mito
Tsutomu Horiuchi
Naoki Tamura

COUNCILS
Hidehiko Hayashi (CHAIR)
Heang Chhor
Craig Coutts
Kenji Govaers
Brenda Hasham
Yasushi Hatakeyama
Ryusuke Honjyo
Tomonori Itoh
Roderick Jemison
Lin Kobayashi
Hiroko Kono
Masahiro Koshiba
Liang Peay Lin
Mariko Magnan
Shusaku Minoda
Takashi Murata
Shigeru Sato
Norio Takamatsu
Shotaro Tanaka
Mamoru Taniya
Kimiya Yamamoto
Masakazu Yanagisawa

GOVERNANCE(2017-18)

FOUNDERS
Yasushi AndoKen Aoyama
Hiroyuki Arita
Heang Chhor
Yasushi Fujita
Keizo Fujitake
Takahisa Fujitake
Junko Fukutake
Jun Furukawa
Goldman Sachs Gives
Shin Horie
Hidehiro Imatsu
Hideki Kinuhata
Nina and Takashi Murata
Fumiko Ozawa (Kanenobu)
Katsunori Sago
Taizo Hasebe
Maki and Yasu Hatakeyama
Michiyo and Hidehiko Hayashi
Toshio Himuro
Hitoshi Honda
Ryusuke Honjyo
Hoppy Mina Co., Ltd.
Nobuyuki Idei
Masahisa Iketa
Takashi Inoue
Tomoharu Inoue
Ishibashi Foundation
Tomonori Ito
Mikiko and Toshio Iwasaki
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa

Kaji family
Haruki Kamiyama
Hitoshi Kashiwaki
Gen Kato
Shogo Kawada
Takashi Kawamura
Ichiro Kawanabe
Saori Kimura
Shinji Kimura
Kakutaro Kitashiro
Kazutoshi Kobayashi
Masatada Kobayashi
Lin and Shigetoshi Kobayashi
Yasuro Koizumi
Terumi and Yojiro Koizumi
Masaru Kojima
Hiroko Kono
Masae Koshiba
Masahiro Koshiba
Mariko and Jacques Magnan
Muneaki Masuda
Kohei Matsuki
Paul and Maki McInerney
Shuzuyo and Shusaku Minoda
Ichiro Miyake
Suguru Miyake
Eiichi Miyazawa
Hiroaki Mizutani
Shuhei Morofuji
Akiyuki Nagase

Amane Nakashima
Takeshi Natsuno
Brian Nelson
Nonaka Institute of Knowledge
Ogawa Scholarship Foundation
Okada Memorial Club
Shinichiro Okumoto
Shigeru Sato
Teruhide Sato
Koichi Saura
Nobuo Sayama
Yi Shi
Toru Shimada
Makiko Suehiro
Yuichiro Sugahara
Edward Suzuki
Yuriko Takahashi
Yoko Takai
Makoto Takano
Ken Takayama
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Shotaro Tanaka
Mamoru Taniya
Rika Taniya
Fumio Tateishi
Haruhiro Tsujimoto
Koki Uchiyama
United Managers Japan Inc.
United States-Japan Foundation
Yasuhiro Wakebayashi

Kotaro Yamagishi
Noriko Yamaguchi
Kimiya Yamamoto
Masakazu Yanagisawa
Seiji Yasubuchi
Ayako Yoshida (Masako and Hiroshi Sasaki)
Einosuke Yoshino
Shinji Yoshizawa
Mei YuCATALYST SUPPORTERS
Naruatsu Baba
Tamotsu Kosano
Akira Kosugi
Yasumasa ManabeJunko Mori
Haruo Nakamura
Satoru Oshita
Genki Shiota
Xiaolei Sun
Takeshi Tanaka
YKK Holding Asia Pte Ltd.
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
airweave inc.
SECOM Co., Ltd.
LIXIL Group Corporation
Shigeyuki Mito, TMI Associates
Morrison & Foerster/Ito & Mitomi
IDEO Tokyo
Panasonic CorporationUWC ISAK

GOVERNANCE(2017-18)

OUR FINANCESPROFIT & LOSS SUMMARYBALANCE SHEET SUMMARYFY2017APRIL 1, 2017 MARCH 31, 2018