PH Ambassador Highlights Role of Nihongo Partners Program in Strengthening People-to-people Exchanges Between PH and JP
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano (3rd from left) with representatives and participants of the Japan Foundation Nihongo Partners Program, namely, (from left to right) Ms. Helga TABUCHI, Councillor to the President of the Japan Foundation; Mr. Jin YAMASHITA and Ms. Yuriko HOSHI, members of Batch 12 of the Nihongo Partners Program; and Ms. Polina HAGA, Program Officer of the Nihongo Partners Department of the Japan Foundation during the latter’s courtesy call on 21 July 2026.
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano welcomed representatives and participants of the Japan Foundation Nihongo Partners Program during the latter’s courtesy call on 21 July 2026.
“The Philippine Embassy strongly values collaboration with Japanese entities such as the Japan Foundation, particularly through its Nihongo Partners Program. We hope to further reinforce these people-to-people exchanges between our two countries, especially through Program’s teacher and student engagements as we celebrate this year the 70th Anniversary of the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations between the Philippines and Japan,” highlighted Ambassador Garcia-Albano during the courtesy call.
Ambassador Garcia-Albano further shared recommendations on how the Nihongo Partners Program can contribute to stronger economic cooperation between the Philippines and Japan, through the provision of language learning requirements of Japanese companies engaging Filipino employees in export processing zone areas.
The Nihongo Partners Program was represented by Ms. Helga TABUCHI, Councillor to the President of the Japan Foundation; Ms. Polina HAGA, Program Officer of the Nihongo Partners Department of the Japan Foundation; as well as two of the members of Batch 12 of the Nihongo Partners Program, namely, Ms. Yuriko HOSHI and Mr. Jin YAMASHITA, who participated as Japanese language teaching assistants in secondary schools in Davao City and Compostela, Cebu City, respectively.
Ms. Yuriko HOSHI, member of Batch 12 of the Nihongo Partners Program presents the highlights of her participation in the Nihongo Partners Program, specifically her memorable experiences being deployed in secondary schools in Davao City.
Mr. Jin YAMASHITA, member of Batch 12 of the Nihongo Partners Program presents the highlights of her participation in the Nihongo Partners Program, specifically his memorable experiences being deployed in secondary schools in Compostela, Cebu City.
Ms. HOSHI and Mr. YAMASHITA shared their respective experiences during their seven-month assignments in the Philippines, including learning about Philippine culture and studying Filipino and the local language in their places of assignment.
Established in 2014, the Nihongo Partners Program sends Japanese “partners” to educational institutions in Asia to assist Japanese language teachers and their students. In the Philippines, these partners are usually deployed to secondary schools selected by the Department of Education (DepED) and the Japan Foundation in Manila. To date, 128 Nihongo partners have been deployed to the Philippines.
Batch 13 of the Program is scheduled for assignment to various schools in the Philippines from August 2026 to March 2027
