Why did I become an activist?
I used to believe poverty was self-inflicted. From age nine I lived in Thailand, and every time I saw someone begging in Bangkok I thought, “They beg all day instead of working — no wonder they’re poor.” At fourteen, dragged along on my father’s business trip to India, I met Arson, a begging boy who spoke five languages. He is the origin of everything I do.
He spoke fluent Japanese and perfect English — “I learned from tourists,” he said. Then he explained: “We each have a daily begging quota set by gangs. Those who miss it get taken away for organ trafficking. I beg for more than my quota and secretly share with friends who fall short. I realized languages make begging work better, so I study hard.” Hearing this from a seven-year-old, I was speechless — such a world actually existed. When we parted, he refused my money: “I don’t want your money. Someday, get us out of here. I’d love to go to school.” After returning home, I realized how wrong “poverty is self-inflicted” had been, and began volunteering at orphanages, slums, free schools, and NPOs in Japan and abroad.
Why Borderless Foundation?
One day in my third year of junior high, I was expelled over unpaid tuition — my mother had fallen into debt. Divorce followed, we returned to Japan in a rush, and my mother disappeared, leaving us children behind. My father, in poor health, earned less than two million yen a year; I had three younger brothers. “Me? Poor?” — that was when I truly understood how much I had treated poverty as someone else’s problem. I resolved to “earn through social contribution”: in my final year of high school, with 300,000 yen in capital, I founded Tobira Cafe, donating 5% of sales.
When I reported to my longtime mentor that Tobira Cafe had finally turned profitable after three years, he looked at me and asked: “But tell me — does selling coffee change the world? Are you satisfied doing good, or do you truly want to change the world? Which is it?” Shaken, I resolved to challenge myself once more to build ventures that change the world. Through internships at large-scale social enterprises like Drishtee Foundation — which creates 600,000 jobs — I became convinced that collaboration among people facing different issues is the most effective path. Just then I met Taguchi-san, and was given the chance to help launch Borderless Foundation.
What’s my next challenge?
I want to spend the limited time of my life fully on realizing world peace. If that helps even one more child, there is no greater joy. To be useful to others, I must first keep growing — setting big goals, challenging myself daily, and never stopping learning. That, I believe, is my mission.
My immediate goal is to go beyond helping the person in front of me: to master the skill of drawing bold social reform while facing today’s problems with sincerity. I want to realize world-changing ventures together with everyone involved in the Foundation, and I’m thrilled that many nonprofit services that make society better will launch from here. I will keep challenging. Thank you for supporting the Foundation.
