A Challenge for Life in a New Town, While Working. "DIVE INTO JAPAN" Launches in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture

ANDYOU General Incorporated Association (Location: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Miyu Tanaka) has begun accepting applications for the first cohort of "DIVE INTO JAPAN," a two-week practical program in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, where young people from across the country will stay in the region and seriously confront their "life-defining challenges" and the region's "SOS." The program is fully supported by the social business community "WACCEL" (Location: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Organizer: Yoshihiro Shimamura; General Producer: Tomohiro Sumitani).

This initiative is a two-week practical program where young people gain experience in "living, working, and challenging themselves" in the region, fostering new connections with the community while practicing their own challenges, under a unique system supported by media and mentors.

Participants will stay in the region for two weeks, working for local businesses that require labor while pursuing their individual challenge themes. By reinvesting the compensation, connections, and experience gained from their work into their own challenges, they deepen their pursuits and become new contributors to the region and its businesses. This program does not separate "involvement in the community" from "what one wants to do," but rather fosters new connections with the community starting from each young person's challenge. Through this, it aims to expand social touchpoints, friendships, and future options, realizing a society where young people's challenges and contributions to the region are in a virtuous cycle.

A System to Experience the "Responsibility of Connecting with Society"

The most distinctive feature of this program is its system that allows young people to experience the "responsibility of connecting with society." With full media support from the social business community [WACCEL (Organizer: Yoshihiro Shimamura)], participants will publish their challenges as articles.

These articles will cover not only successful experiences but also the processes of failure, conflict, and how they were overcome during their challenges. Furthermore, a system is in place where participants can request mentorship from mentors inside and outside the town, and evaluations and comments from others regarding their challenges and growth will also be published.

In an environment where challenges are observed by many people and the process and evaluations are recorded, participants naturally feel a sense of "connection to society" and begin to face their own challenges and existence with responsibility. We believe that the personal growth born from such experiences will ultimately contribute to the strength of the region and Japan.

For participants, this program is a fundamental opportunity to seriously confront challenges that define their lives. Through DIVE INTO JAPAN, we want to broaden the gateway for young people to connect with society. We are striving to create a system where the growth and responsibility born from their own challenges ultimately contribute to the strength of the region and Japan.

Background for Selecting Namie Town as the First Location

Namie Town in Fukushima Prefecture, which marks 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake.

While reconstruction is progressing, each region faces its own unique challenges, and the shortage of young successors is a key theme for future community development. On the other hand, Namie Town has a deeply rooted culture of warmly welcoming and supporting the challenges of newcomers. The activities of "Namie Avengers," where various people from inside and outside the town engage with the community by leveraging their "passions" and strengths, are a symbolic initiative. By actually visiting Namie Town and meeting such individuals, we were greatly attracted to this "climate that welcomes challenges." The attitude of the local community in supporting young people's challenges and creating new value together deeply resonates with the vision this program aims to achieve.

It is through these connections that Namie Town was selected as the first location for DIVE INTO JAPAN.

Through this program, we will foster opportunities for young people from outside the town to continuously connect with the region while learning together with the local community. We aim to expand the circle of people involved with Namie Town, convey its appeal as a "region that supports young people's challenges" to a wider audience, and create a new cycle that leads to future related populations and successors.

Examples of Participant Challenges

*Pre-participants worked on their individual challenge themes while earning approximately 80,000 yen in compensation over two weeks.

Program Features

★ What You're Passionate About Now Becomes Your Challenge

Genres are not limited to education, art, entrepreneurship, community development, music, or sports.

You can practice what you are currently passionate about or have always wanted to try as your unique challenge theme.

★ Meet Mentors Suited to Your Challenge

Participants can request mentorship from mentors inside and outside the town, such as business owners, creators, and educators, based on their challenge themes and future goals. You can proceed with your project while receiving support tailored to your individual challenge.

★ "Earning" Becomes a Strength for Yourself and the Region

Participants will stay in the region for two weeks, working for local businesses while pursuing their own challenges. The compensation earned will become challenge funds, and connections and experience will also empower their challenges.

Meanwhile, it also serves as a system where they become new contributors to the region and businesses, creating a cycle of vitality between young people's challenges and the region's energy.

★ "Challenge History" Connects to the Future

Participants' challenges, including not only successes but also failures and how they were overcome, will be recorded and disseminated. Regardless of academic background, job title, or past environment, a "challenge history" of serious engagement will remain in society, leading to new careers, companions, and opportunities.

Comments from Stakeholders

Pre-participant: Kazuyuki Hata, 2nd Year Student, Yamaguchi University of Science and Technology

The biggest change through my challenge in Namie Town was my mindset. Mentors like Mr. Kozuka and the adults in Namie Town listened intently to my stories and offered encouraging words. Thanks to them, I, who used to be negative, can now view failures positively. I've come to enjoy interacting with people, accept others' ways of life, and now I like myself a little more for who I am. I'm truly glad I took on the challenge in Namie Town.

Town Mentor: Akihiro Maejima, Representative Director, Date Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

I was born and raised in Namie Town, and I still live here.

Our company, primarily involved in crane leasing and transportation, supports the region's recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Furthermore, since 2024, we have launched a regional issue-solving business, confronting the challenges faced by depopulated rural areas and disaster-stricken regions.

Labor shortages, particularly in industries like food service and agriculture, are severe. Also, with no high schools in the area, there's a lack of youthful energy. I hope that the town will gain new vitality through the young people's energy and this social experiment for self-realization in Namie Town.

Off-town Mentor: Takashi Kozuka, Representative Director, Cosmo Health Co., Ltd.

It was very impressive to see the participating students return with such increased self-confidence that their expressions and tone of voice changed before and after the program. Precisely because they are in a protected position as students, the experience of challenging themselves in a region they had no prior connection to, like Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and being warmly accepted by the local community as "outsiders," has led to personal growth for each student. I pay my respects to the magnanimity of the people of Namie Town who contribute to the growth of Japan's youth, and I hope this program will continue to be held and provide opportunities for the challenges and growth of many young people.

About ANDYOU General Incorporated Association

ANDYOU General Incorporated Association, with the mission "To make Japan the country where young people contribute most to society in the world," creates a cycle where the experience of serious challenges, regardless of background or motivation, leads to social connections, contributions to the region and Japan, and the participant's own growth and career, through a unique system supported by media and mentors.

Recruitment Overview

Program Name: DIVE INTO JAPAN in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture

Program Period: August 31, 2026 - September 13, 2026 (13 nights, 14 days)

Target: Young people aged approximately 18 to 25

Number of Participants: 12

Participation Fee: 80,000 yen (tax included)

*Includes accommodation, program fees, and local transportation costs.

*Round-trip transportation costs to the venue are the responsibility of the participant.

Application Deadline: July 16, 2026

Application Contact:

Instagram: @miyu_ehs

Mail: [email protected]

Social Business Community "WACCEL"

A social business community that continues to inspire people through collaboration.

It fosters a community where individuals who learn, challenge, grow, and achieve continuously gather. Through collaboration with celebrities, business leaders, and creators active in various fields, it engages in diverse initiatives and content creation.

WACCEL's Initiatives:

Program distribution on YouTube etc. / Online lectures / Book production / Project creation / Column, dialogue, interview article production / News dissemination / Casting for various events

Past Casting Achievements:

Saori Yoshida "SHOUT! 2024"

Kyuji Fujikawa "Fastball - Lessons Learned Through a Baseball Career -"

Makkoi Saito "Makkoi Saito Lecture" (Organized by the Nurses' Association of Tsuruoka Municipal Shonai Hospital)

WACCEL Official Website: https://waccel.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG01_a1_jI7FcCwx0ORtw0w

X: https://x.com/waccel_academy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waccel_staff/

WACCEL Organizer: Yoshihiro Shimamura

https://waccel.com/shimamurayoshihiro/

Started a business in his teens and has been active in various fields, including as a businessman, investor, and film producer.

Currently, as an investor, he is a major shareholder in companies such as Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc., CyberAgent, Inc., and Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings, Inc. He is also the largest individual shareholder of TV TOKYO Holdings Inc.

As a film producer, he has consistently created works aimed at international sales, with his first, second, and third films winning awards at international film festivals. His latest work reached #1 and #2 in 6 countries on Netflix and debuted at #1 in US streaming.

He was interviewed by Bloomberg as an individual investor and film producer, commenting on his outlook and investment strategy for IP and content stocks in 2026.

https://www.bloomberg.com/jp/news/articles/2025-12-18/T7G1RRKK3NYB00

https://www.bloomberg.com/jp/news/articles/2026-02-13/TADBFWKJH6VH00

His book "What Billionaires Next Door Do After 5 PM" (PHP Institute) won 2nd place overall and the Economics/Money category award at the "Reader's Choice Business Book Grand Prix 2025." In 2025, he published "Community Capital Theory of Billionaires for Surviving the 100-Year Life Era," which won 7th place overall and 2nd place in the Economics/Money category.

Yoshihiro Shimamura Official Site: https://shimamura-yoshihiro.jp/

X: https://x.com/yoshi_shimamura

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shimamura_yoshihiro/

WACCEL General Producer: Tomohiro Sumitani

https://waccel.com/sumitanitomohiro/

Originally from Yamaguchi Prefecture. Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Mathematics. During university, he engaged in stock investment and venture businesses but was unsuccessful. After graduation, he worked in sales at a major securities firm. Meeting hundreds of business owners inspired him to pursue his own path as a business owner, and he became a disciple of Yoshihiro Shimamura, the organizer of WACCEL, who was involved in multiple businesses through collaboration. Practicing what he learned from Shimamura, he became independent and established a corporation in 2017. He currently manages multiple companies, including tech ventures, and became the General Producer of WACCEL in January 2021.

Tomohiro Sumitani Official Site: https://sumitanitomohiro.jp/

X: https://x.com/donnokakugen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumitanitomohiro1985/

Notes

We will refuse service to anyone involved with anti-social forces, religious organizations, political organizations, multi-level marketing, network businesses, etc. All services provided by our company are subject to this refusal.