The international youth exchange program of the Cabinet Office originally started in 1959 when it implemented the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Mission Program” which the then Prime Minister Kishi had proposed personally in order to commemorate the marriage of H.M. the Emperor, who was at that time the Crown Prince.

In 1967, the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” started as one of the projects to commemorate the Centennial of the Meiji Restoration. Both the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Mission Program” and the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” gave a big dream and hope to the youth of Japan since the government would take the initiative to send the youth overseas at the time when it was still very difficult for them to go aboard on their own.

Due to the recent expansion of the international role of Japan and the remarkable advancement in internationalization in various fields all over the world, the improvement of the contents of international youth exchange programs of the Cabinet Office has been found necessary in order to cope with such a changing social environment. Firstly, therefore, the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” was reorganized and upgraded to the “Ship for World Youth Program” in 1988. The main objective of the former program, which was sending Japanese youth overseas, was changed, so that the exchange between Japanese and foreign youth became one of the main activities. The contents also became more academic through the introduction of activities such as discussions and seminars.

　　　　　　　　