NEWS

On September 28, 2026, Ohana, a student organization selected under Project B, a program that supports student-led initiatives addressing social issues, held a life education class at the Annon Children's Cafeteria hosted at Sainenji Temple. Ohana is committed to providing opportunities for younger generations to learn about the importance of life and coexistence with animals, with the goal of fostering compassion and respect for all living beings. “Life Education” is an educational program primarily designed for children to promote understanding of animal welfare and human-animal relationships. Previous activities have included interaction events with rescue dogs, workshops to create dog toys for donation to the Oita Animal Welfare Center, and visits to the center itself.

In this session, the theme focused on community cat activities, providing children with an opportunity to learn about both the lives of animals in their communities and related social issues. A record-high 19 children participated in the event. The program introduced local initiatives such as Beppu City’s community cat program and the Oita Sakura Cat Project, and featured video screenings of picture books including Haru's Day and A Story of a Dog, both of which address the issue of dog euthanasia. Children also participated in interactive activities such as a spot-the-difference game featuring the distinctive “sakura ears” (a cherry-blossom shaped ear tip that indicates that a stray cat has been safely captured and spayed or neutered as part of a community cat program) of community cats, as well as quizzes on cat behavior and the causes of stray cat overpopulation. Through these games and activities, participants deepened their understanding of the challenges faced by community cats and the significance of community cat initiatives.

The program also provided an opportunity for children to connect the importance of life with issues affecting their local community by learning about the factors contributing to the increase in stray cats and efforts to promote harmonious coexistence between people and animals. Participants shared positive feedback such as, “It was fun,” and “I want to learn more,” indicating that the event successfully sparked greater interest in community cat activities and animal welfare.

Comment from Ohana Representative Koyori Otani (Second-Year Student in the College of International Management, Japan)

way, we sometimes wondered whether we were truly qualified to speak about issues such as animal euthanasia and community cat initiatives without having firsthand experience in those areas. However, seeing children interact joyfully with a rescue dog and hearing comments such as, “I didn’t know that before,” and “I want to be a responsible pet owner,” made us realize that raising awareness and sharing knowledge can also play an important role in protecting animal lives.
We hope that, when these children grow up and consider welcoming a pet into their family, they will remember the importance of responsible pet ownership and consider adoption from animal shelters as an option. Over the past year, there were times when we struggled and even shed tears, but Project B gave us invaluable experiences that we could never have gained through our regular student lives. To any students who may be hesitating to take the first step, I encourage you to challenge yourself and pursue your ideas.