Step out of the audience.
Step into the story.
Give every teenager the chance to discover who they have yet to become
From Adachi, Tokyo: a student organization of about 40 high school and university students who create the Mock Ward Mayoral Election, held in the ward office and assembly chamber, and Osouji-tai, cleanup education for elementary school children.
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December 2023 · Prime Minister's Office A policy proposal to the Prime Minister
As the top team of the 1st National High School Policy Championship, we were received at the Prime Minister’s Office, where we paid a courtesy visit to Fumio Kishida, the 101st Prime Minister of Japan. With many members of the press looking on, we presented “introducing mock elections into schools” and “a proposal for a digital voting system” directly to the Prime Minister — just six months after we were founded.
I sincerely hope you will keep taking on each challenge, one by one, and hold on to your commitment to contributing to societyFumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan (at the time)
See the record of the proposal -
2023 · 1st edition No. 1 in Japan
From 406 students on 102 teams across Japan, 10 teams passed the document screening and went on to the main round at the National Diet Building. There we made the top 3, and in an online final open to voters across Japan we won 2,612 votes and First Prize. Our proposal took on the theme “A new kind of election, powered by digital” from the angles of education and technology. The contest was hosted by the Junior Chamber International Japan and supported by the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Education. It was the moment we began in earnest as a student organization.
See the award record -
June 2025 · Special lecture In dialogue with a World Bank Vice President
Our founder Soka Horii, in dialogue with Mercy Tembon, Vice President of the World Bank (at the time), discussed youth participation and youth councils around the world. Drawing on our Mock Ward Mayoral Election in Adachi City and on what we had learned from the Toronto Youth Cabinet, he argued for a mechanism that connects young people’s voices to policy as an institution. That question is still being pursued in our research on a youth council for Adachi City.
See the record of the conversation -
July 2025 · Pacifico Yokohama In dialogue with the Mayor of Ashiya
At Summer Conference 2025, hosted by the Junior Chamber International Japan, our founder took the stage with Ashiya Mayor Ryosuke Takashima for a panel discussion. The theme: “Civic education changes a town and its future — toward a society where young voices are heard”. He led the discussion, speaking to the structural barriers that keep young people from engaging with politics, to a record of creating openings such as the Mock Ward Mayoral Election, and to a youth council concept modeled on the Canadian example.
We need a framework where government, schools and the community work as one to give shape to the voices raised in our outreach classes across the countrySoka Horii | Founder, TEIGEN JP
See the record of the conversation -
August 2024 · Toronto, Canada Meeting the head of Toronto's youth council
Toronto City Hall — where our founder met Stephen Mensah, Executive Director of the Toronto Youth Cabinet (TYC). TYC is an official body of the City of Toronto and the largest youth advocacy body in the world, making policy proposals and running workshops from a young person’s point of view. The two sides exchanged notes on their work and explored ways to partner — the starting point for what became our Youth Council Model (In Development).
It was an honor to hear Horii’s passion and determination in working toward a Tokyo where young people’s voices are reflected in decision-making.Stephen Mensah | Executive Director, Toronto Youth Cabinet
See the record of the meeting -
2023 · 70th edition Special Prize and NHK President’s Award
Hosted by the United Nations Association of Japan: The 70th High School Students' Speech Contest for International Understanding and Cooperation. Our founder was one of 20 speakers who passed document screening to reach the Tokyo round at JICA Global Plaza, where he took the Special Prize. Representing Tokyo, he advanced to the national round at the Elizabeth Rose Conference Hall, United Nations University, where representatives of every prefecture competed. Out of 301 entries nationwide, he was awarded the NHK President's Award — the top 2%.
See the award record
- People Reached1,000+People reached across all programs — Mock Ward Mayoral Election, Osouji-tai, school outreach and more
- Average Age17.0 yearsAverage age of our 38 members. Teenagers run this organization.
- Schools Represented22 schoolsSchools our 38 members attend (national, public, private and international)
Cumulative reach as of July 2026; membership as of June 2026. Definitions and sources are given in Track record.
Two Pillars
Why citizenship education and cleaning?
Citizenship education and youth participation
Wiring teenagers into the rooms where decisions get made.
The Mock Ward Mayoral Election, the Mock Gubernatorial Election, outreach classes, and a youth council model (in concept). Thinking policy through, arguing it out, and standing to be chosen yourself. With the Diet now debating whether 18-year-olds may run for office, this is citizenship education that prepares for that day.
See all our programs Pillar 02Community cleanup and public-mindedness
The nearest piece of the public, in your own hands.
Osouji-tai: Protect Your Neighborhood. Putting your classroom and your town in order with your own hands is where responsibility for society starts.
See Osouji-taiFounding Question
Who gets to meet the person
they have not yet become?
It is always the same people who speak up. The same hands go up; the same ones get chosen to represent everyone. TEIGEN JP began in that unease. What we believe, in five chapters.
Partners & Collaborations
The institutions, companies and
organizations who built this with us.
GOVERNMENTAdachi Ward AssemblyWARD ASSEMBLYAdachi Board of EducationBOARD OF EDUCATIONAdachi Election Administration CommissionELECTION COMMISSION
COOPERATION
YOUTH NETWORK
FORUM
AWARDJunior Chamber International JapanCONFERENCE
GOVERNMENTAdachi Ward AssemblyWARD ASSEMBLYAdachi Board of EducationBOARD OF EDUCATIONAdachi Election Administration CommissionELECTION COMMISSIONCOOPERATIONYOUTH NETWORKFORUMAWARDJunior Chamber International JapanCONFERENCE
GOVERNMENTAdachi Ward AssemblyWARD ASSEMBLYAdachi Board of EducationBOARD OF EDUCATIONAdachi Election Administration CommissionELECTION COMMISSIONCOOPERATIONYOUTH NETWORKFORUMAWARDJunior Chamber International JapanCONFERENCE
GOVERNMENTAdachi Ward AssemblyWARD ASSEMBLYAdachi Board of EducationBOARD OF EDUCATIONAdachi Election Administration CommissionELECTION COMMISSIONCOOPERATIONYOUTH NETWORKFORUMAWARDJunior Chamber International JapanCONFERENCE
YOUTH PLATFORM
GLOBAL
AWARD
ENVIRONMENT
EDUCATION
YOUTH ELECTION
STUDENT ORGANIZATION
YOUTH PLATFORMGLOBALAWARDENVIRONMENTEDUCATIONYOUTH ELECTIONSTUDENT ORGANIZATION
YOUTH PLATFORMGLOBALAWARDENVIRONMENTEDUCATIONYOUTH ELECTIONSTUDENT ORGANIZATION
YOUTH PLATFORMGLOBALAWARDENVIRONMENTEDUCATIONYOUTH ELECTIONSTUDENT ORGANIZATION
YOUTH PLATFORMGLOBALAWARDENVIRONMENTEDUCATIONYOUTH ELECTIONSTUDENT ORGANIZATION
YOUTH PLATFORMGLOBALAWARDENVIRONMENTEDUCATIONYOUTH ELECTIONSTUDENT ORGANIZATION
Co-hosts, supporters, partners, memberships, speaking invitations and awards. Partial list, in no particular order.
Awards & Honors
From a national first prize to a world finals.
Since our founding in 2023 we have earned nine awards and selections (as of September 2026). From a national competition backed by central government ministries to a speech contest organized by the United Nations Association of Japan, proposals made by teenagers have been recognized.
The 1st National High School Policy Championship
Supported by the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Ministry of Education. Our TEIGEN: mock elections nationwide, and digital election reform. →MIRAI CREATOR'Z 2026 — a national award for young people shaping Japan's future
Organized by the Japan Youth Career Support Association. In its first edition, open to people aged 10 to 30 nationwide, about 1,500 took part; our founder Soka Horii received three special awards (the SHIBUYA QWS Award, the Japan Association of New Public Award and the Yomite Award).The 70th High School Students' Speech Contest for International Understanding and Cooperation
Hosted by the United Nations Association of Japan. Special Prize in the Tokyo round; NHK President's Award in the national round (301 entries nationwide). →The World Scholar's Cup
An academic tournament with more than 50,000 students from 60 countries. Represented Japan at the Dalian global round and earned a place in the final tournament. →The 4th NEO Awards, Earth Day Tokyo
The entry was exhibited at Marui Yurakucho. →Our Belief
A Question Can Move Society.
A small unease you cannot yet put into words meets other people, becomes a TEIGEN, and moves society. The five powers of a question, as we understand them.
words yet.Don't let the small wrongnesses go past you.Read this chapter → 02Yourself02 ─ SelfA question opens the person
you have not yet become.Ask, and you meet a version of yourself you had not met.Read this chapter → 03Meeting03 ─ EncounterA question brings
people together.The same question ties together people who would never otherwise have met.Read this chapter → 04TEIGEN04 ─ TeigenA question becomes a TEIGEN.Turning unease into a TEIGEN — a proposal built to reach the people who decide.Read this chapter → 05Society05 ─ ChangeA question can
move society.One TEIGEN outlives the moment — as policy, as curriculum, as the next person's opportunity.Read this chapter →
Projects
Every program begins with a question of its own.
Citizenship EducationWhy does citizenship education so often stop at practicing how to vote?Adachi Mock Ward Mayoral ElectionHeld three times since 2023; the Mayor of Adachi City attended the third
Clean EducationWhy are Japan's streets among the most beautiful in the world?Osouji-tai: Protect Your NeighborhoodDeveloped with Duskin; first held in December 2025
OutreachDoes citizenship education reach the teenagers who are not already interested?School Outreach ProgramSupported a mock election for about 320 second-year students at Kohoku High School
Confirmed
See every project, including the Setagaya Mock Ward Mayoral Election →
Message
Message from the Founder
Teenagers have been the audience.
Put them at the center.
At nineteen, leading an organization of 38 students and building, with government, assemblies, schools and companies, the chances for teenagers to move things.
Soka HoriiSOKA HORII | FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Read the full messageTrack Record
Forty talks and appearances.
As of July 2026. From the Prime Minister's Office to assembly study sessions and middle school classrooms — a different audience means a different talk.
Government
Government & Ministry- Policy proposal to Fumio Kishida, then Prime Minister, at the Prime Minister's Office (December)
- Youth Leader Forum, Association for Promoting Fair Elections and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (November, Kanto–Koshinetsu–Shizuoka block, Tokyo representative)
- Citizenship Education Meeting, Japan Citizenship Education Forum (March)
Assemblies and schools
Councils & Schools- Study session for members of the Yashio City Assembly, Saitama (June)
- Aichi Prefectural Tokai Shofu High School (July)
- Adachi Municipal Fourth Middle School (March)
Business bodies and conferences
Conferences- Summer Conference 2026, Junior Chamber International Japan (July) — on stage with Kazuhiro Fujihara
- Summer Conference 2025 (July, Junior Chamber International Japan, Pacifico Yokohama) — conversation with Ashiya Mayor Ryosuke Takashima
- Adachi 100-Person Meeting — its youngest ever guest speaker
International
Global & Dialogues- Meeting with Stephen Mensah, Executive Director of the Toronto Youth Cabinet (August, Toronto, Canada)
- In conversation with Mercy Tembon, then Vice President of the World Bank (June)
- "Hints for How to Live": in conversation with the Mayor of Minoh and the Mayor of Miyake (April, Ikeda, Osaka)
Voices
TEIGEN JP, in Our Own Words
“Bickering in the ward office bike lot.”
Yuna Yokoyama | Shofukai, Legacy Fellows, first cohort, founding member
At fifteen, interested in national security, she asked the founder to start something where people her age could talk politics. Missed deadlines, envy and respect for the founder — the founding years up close.
Read the interview“Gum under the desk, bread in the toilet bowl.”
Masatsugu Goto | Manager, Clean Education Division
Gum stuck under the desks and bread jammed in the toilets — what he saw at school in New Zealand. Why is Japan comparatively clean? He turned that question into a program that had never existed before.
Read the interview“Handing out flyers right up to the day.”
Saki Akiyama | Participant 2025 → Operations Team 2026 → Manager, Civic Education Division
From participant in the Mock Ward Mayoral Election to its organizing team a year later. Past a stretch of losing confidence in effort with no clear right answer, she now leads the work as manager of the Civic Education Division.
Read the interview“The day I didn’t say a word in the meeting.”
Aoi Mihoya | Setagaya Mock Ward Mayoral Election Operations Team, third cohort
Joined more than six months after the team had already started. With no idea how to write an email or hand over a business card, the answer was to build a situation where saying "I can't" was not an option.
Read the interview“Second year of high school, project manager.”
Shuta Kanehara | Project Manager, Adachi Mock Ward Mayoral Election, third cohort
A high school junior leading a team where every member is a high school student. In an organization that runs on roles rather than age or seniority, he puts it plainly: a team that falls apart without me is a team I have failed to build.
Read the interviewTEIGEN JP / Locations
Where We Work
Where we work
Photo: redlegsfan21 / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTEIGEN JP's secretariat: S-Building 3F, 2-1-19 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032.
Contact the secretariatWhere TEIGEN JP began in 2023. We hold the Mock Ward Mayoral Election in the Adachi City Office hall and the ward assembly chamber.
See the Mock Ward Mayoral ElectionWe hold our general meetings and board meetings at the Ginza Community Hall.
Read the 2026 general meeting reportTokyo Innovation Base (TiB). We use it to prepare large events and to work with outside partners.
The founding members (2023, at the Junior Chamber International Japan hall)
FROM A QUESTION TO A SYSTEM
One person's question,
turned into someone else's opportunity.
Adachi City, 2023.
In a climate where nothing was expected to change, one 15-year-old could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Why should the chance to think about society and act on it depend on where you happen to grow up?
Three friends from the same neighborhood answered that question. One person's unease became four people's resolve, and TEIGEN JP began.
Read what happened next
The first Mock Ward Mayoral Election did not end as a one-off event. High school students who had taken part came back to build the next one, and partnerships with local government, schools and companies followed. What began in Adachi is now spreading to Setagaya and to Tokyo as a whole.
That way of learning — ask, think, work with others, act — has since moved beyond citizenship education into new practices, starting with learning through community cleanup.
An organization that began with four people is now38.
Through our work so far we have reached1,000 people with opportunities to learn and to argue things out.
But the number we most want to grow is not participants, or programs.
It is this: the person who received an opportunity creates the next one for someone else.
That cycle is the point.
TEIGEN JP is not built to preserve its founder's intentions. It is built so that each generation can take the question it inherits, ask it again in its own words, decide for itself, and rebuild the practice around it.
One person's question is becoming something other than an answer to hand down. It is becoming the machinery that lets the next person start asking.
The next chapter belongs to the next Questioner.
Scenes
The room, not just the record.
Latest News
Latest News
PROJECTPolish Your Grown-Up Skills Through Cleaning: reportAt Big Wave Higashimukojima, a shared shop space, we held “Polish Your Grown-Up Skills Through Cleaning,” a reskilling course in cleaning education for adults, for the people who use the space.
SPEAKINGA talk at Tokai Shofu High School in AichiAt Aichi Prefectural Tokai Shofu High School, our executive director, Soka Horii, gave a talk on turning your own formative experience and your own drive into policy that moves society.
SPEAKINGSpoke at a council member study session in Yashio City, SaitamaAt Yashio City Hall, we spoke at a council member study session titled "Opening the Future of Local Assemblies: Standards for Evolving Local Councils through a Citizen's Perspective."
PROJECTLet's talk about the world, here in Soka — Dokkyo University students × the Mayor of SokaWhat you saw abroad, what you felt on exchange, the cultures you met. Why not bring what the world taught you back to the future of Soka?
PROJECTWe held our 2026 general meetingWe held our 2026 general meeting at the Ginza Community Hall, with every member together in one room.
Organization
Organization Profile
| Name | TEIGEN JP, a student organization |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 June 2023 |
| Executive Director | Soka Horii |
| Office | S-Building 3F, 2-1-19 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032, Japan |
| Where we work | Adachi, Tokyo — and outward from there, across Tokyo and the country |
| Members | 38 as of June 2026, drawn from 22 schools and universities, from first-year high school to first-year university |
| Selected record | First prize, inaugural National High School Policy Championship, supported by the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Ministry of Education (2023) / NHK President's Award, 70th High School Students' Speech Contest, the United Nations Association of Japan (2023) / courtesy visit and policy proposal to the Prime Minister (2023) / global finalist at The World Scholar's Cup (2024) / in conversation with Mercy Tembon, Vice President of the World Bank (2025) / three special awards at MIRAI CREATOR'Z 2026 (2026) / more than 30 media appearances (as of June 2026) / over 1,000 people reached across all programs, including outreach classes; six events with 240 participants in total — three Mock Ward Mayoral Elections and three deliveries of Osouji-tai (as of July 2026) Track record → |
| Programs | Citizenship education: Mock Ward Mayoral Election／School Outreach Program Community cleanup: Osouji-tai: Protect Your Neighborhood |
| Main partners | Adachi Ward Office, Adachi Ward Assembly, Adachi Board of Education, Adachi Election Administration Commission and more than fifteen others (Duskin Co., Ltd. cooperated in the development of our cleanup education curriculum) |
| Contact Us | contact@teigenjp.org |
For You
Whatever brought you here.
Teachers, local government staff, teenagers wanting to start something, journalists. Tell us why you came and we will point you at the answer.
Schools and boards of education looking for an outreach class
Citizenship education for middle and high schools — Mock Ward Mayoral Election for School and Mock Principal Election — and Osouji-tai for elementary schools. Two to four periods, ¥30,000–50,000 per delivery as a guide; the cleanup class fits in one period. What to prepare, how neutrality works and what it costs are answered here too.
GovernmentFor GovernmentLocal governments and assemblies working on youth participation and voter outreach
Co-hosting and sponsoring mock elections, co-designing voter outreach, research on the Youth Council Model, and serving on councils or speaking at study sessions for assembly members. In Adachi City we have held the event three times since 2023 with the ward office, assembly, board of education and election board, and the Mayor of Adachi City attended the third.
Starting oneFor TeensTeenagers who want to start something where they live
The mock election and the cleanup class are both finished models. We hand over the materials and the know-how and stay with you until it is running. The first conversation is thirty minutes, free, online, and available all year — not just during recruitment.
SpeakingFor SpeakingLooking for a speaker
Citizenship education, youth political participation, Gen Z in public life, teenagers taking a risk. Forty engagements so far, from the Prime Minister's Office to a middle school classroom. From one 50-minute period, in person or online.
InterviewsFor PressJournalists considering coverage or a broadcast appearance
Our organization and founder profiles and logo files are public. More than 30 media features (as of June 2026). Requests for interviews, comments and contributed articles go through our press desk.
PartnershipFor CorporateCSR and CSV teams at companies and foundations
Sponsorship and donations, CSR and CSV partnerships, materials, goods and venues, corporate training, co-created programs. Everything given goes to running the organization and developing the materials, and we publish how it was split and what it did.
Changing society is not
reserved for special people.
The next TEIGEN starts with the question already in you.