FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2nd, 2021
Mio Yamamoto
World in Tohoku (WIT)
info@worldintohoku.org

Business and Nonprofit Leaders Collaborate to Advance Maternal Wellbeing〜WIT Launches Japan’s First Program Focused on Nonprofit Governance and Board Training

Tokyo, Japan and online: In July 2021, World in Tohoku (WIT) is launching the Board Fellow Program toencourage cross-sector collaboration between private companies and non-profit organizations and train
future social impact leaders. The theme of the inaugural year of the program is “Inclusion &Empowerment,” and particularly focuses on achieving a society where women can realize their fullpotential even after having children. To kick off the program, WIT will host a public virtual event on“governance that leads to social impact” on July 16th.
One in four mothers in Japan suffers from postnatal depression, and 46.9% of women leave the workforce
after having their first child. The child poverty rate among single-mother households exceeds 55 percent.
This situation has only worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the Board Fellow Program will
involve three direct-service non-profit organizations working on issues of maternal wellbeing—Kizuna
Mail Project, Nobel, and Madre Bonita—as well as an employee from J.P. Morgan, professors, lawyers,and doctors.
Rather than simply providing a volunteer opportunity for corporate leaders, the Board Fellow Program
will have participants dive into social and governance issues over six months, enabling them to see issues
from the perspective of nonprofits. In this way, the program will promote long-term collaborations, suchas having corporate employees serve on non-profit
boards, a practice that is still rare in Japan. Aki Ko,
Founder of Nobel, said, “Through discussions withbusiness leaders with different perspectives, we canget closer to a society where mothers raise children
with support from the whole community.”
For more information on the Board Fellow Program:
http://worldintohoku.org/bfp/
Please contact info@worldintohoku.org if you are interested in programs on nonprofit board, governance,and cross-sector collaboration to solve social issues.

Photo 1: Nobel provides childcare for sickchildren of working mothers. Courtesy ofNobel.
Photo 2: A postnatal care class run by Madre
Bonita. Courtesy of Junko Kimura- Matsumoto.

About WIT: WIT cultivates leaders,organizations, and communities that co-create
across boundaries to better society. We have provided leadership development programs to 200+
mission-driven organizations, 500+ leaders from the business and social sectors, and students.
Book “Governance of non-profit organizations” (2020, Eiji Press)
http://worldintohoku.org/

About the participating nonprofits:
The Kizuna Mail Project combats issues like postnatal depression and lonely child-rearing by promoting
casual text message communication for new parents to establish connections with others.
https://www.kizunamail.com/

Nobel strives for a society where mothers can balance work and child-rearing by providing back-up
daycares and childcare services for mothers of sick children.
https://nponobel.jp/

Madre Bonita empowers mothers to realize their full potential by providing postnatal care classes,
instructor training, and research on postnatal child-rearing.
https://www.madrebonita.com/

About the participants:
In addition to the above non-profit organizations, the following is the participants from various sectors
including business, academia, and social:
Yu Ishida

Miyagi University/ Mori-no Dengonban Yururu

Noriko Utsuzawa

Doulaship Japan

Megumi Urasaki

NTT DOCOMO, Inc.

Yasuko Ohara

Creative Mom’s Link

Itaru KatoJ.P. MorganAzusa Kurokawa

Orange Page Co., Ltd.

Sadayo Kobayashi

KODOMOLOGY Co., Ltd.

Haruna Shibata

ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Ryushi Shimizu

NTT DOCOMO, Inc.

Hitoshi Nishimura

A human resources company

Takeshi Nemoto

Nishimura & Asahi

Kazuyo Hashimoto

ReplusAki Matsuyama

salesforce.com Co., Ltd.

Takahide Maruki

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

Honami Yoshida

JKSK, doctor, Ph.D. in Medicine, Master of Public Health