NEWS

ICU Student Team Wins Award at the MIDORI Strategy Student Challenge

Update: March 6, 2026

At the 2025 MIDORI Strategy Student Challenge Kanto Block Competition, ICU's Wabisabi Wasabi team was awarded the Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office Food Future Award.

The award-winning team consists of the following fourth-year students in the College of Liberal Arts: Shunya Yamaguchi (representative of Wabisabi Wasabi; Ｍajor: Environmental Studies), Mikito Furuya (Double Ｍajor: Environmental Studies Public Policy), Wakana Izumi (Ｍajor: Environmental Studies and Minor: Psychology), Yuka Nishimura (Ｍajor: Environmental Studies and Ｍajor: Chemistry), Mika Okura (Ｍajor: Environmental Studies), and Michiru Sasaoka (Double Ｍajor: Environmental Studies, Philosophy and Religion).

The awards ceremony and networking event held on February 6, 2026 were attended by three student representatives and Professor Ryosuke Fujinuma (Ｍajor: Environmental Studies) who serves as their advisor.

In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries formulated the MIDORI Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems to transform Japan's food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries into environmentally sustainable sectors. The MIDORI Strategy Student Challenge aims to support this initiative by recognizing and presenting outstanding projects by student groups--Japan's future core generation of 2050--engaged in activities that contribute to reducing environmental impact, thereby expanding the scope of efforts. The program was held nationwide in FY2025 as well, comprising nine regional block competitions and a national competition.

The Wabisabi Wasabi team received the award in recognition of its initiative to raise awareness of the Mitaka Osawa Wasabi conservation activities.

Comments from the awardees:

Shunya Yamaguchi

In this project, we organized a "Wasabi Field Tour" and "Wasabi Symposium" as an academic and educational practice of collective intelligence that reflected the ideals of liberal arts while making use of ICU's unique climate and culture. From the initial planning of the events to their implementation, we had many opportunities to learn and valuable encounters. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who was involved in this event. Thank you very much.

Mikito Furuya

The revival of Mitaka Osawa Wasabi began with steady environmental improvements and was realized through collaboration with people in Mitaka City and other members of the local community; however, its recognition remained quite limited. Through our Wabisabi Wasabi Project this year, we were able to raise awareness among ICU students, as well as students from ICU High School and neighboring high schools, about the existence of the wasabi fields and provide them with hands-on wasabi experiences. On the other hand, I believe there are still many people who have never heard of Mitaka Osawa Wasabi. I hope that through various enjoyable initiatives, the appeal of this wasabi will continue to spread in the future.

Wakana Izumi

The project began with our surprise at discovering that such a place existed at ICU. Of course, I knew the campus was rich in nature, but I was astonished to learn that wasabi--once referred to as a "phantom" variety--was being cultivated on our own campus, and that we could create a project using that wasabi with our own hands. Filled with both surprise and excitement, we devoted ourselves wholeheartedly to the activities. I believe today's achievement was made possible through the cooperation of everyone in the local community, as well as ICU students, faculty, and staff. I hope that many more exciting projects will emerge in the future, inspired by the diverse natural environment of ICU's campus.

Yuka Nishimura

By holding wasabi harvesting experiences and events that explored agriculture from various perspectives on our nature-rich campus, I feel that we were able to create a valuable opportunity to deepen understanding of food products--including wasabi--and agriculture. As the project progressed, I was personally able to discover new aspects of the appeal of the wasabi fields and was pleased to deepen my learning together with everyone involved. I am deeply grateful for everyone who supported this project.

Mika Okura

This project highlighted the on-campus wasabi fields, which are not widely known even among students. I feel that we were able to bring out a hidden charm of the campus and share it broadly both within and beyond the university. Being involved in the rare initiative of students, faculty, staff, and members of the local community coming together to engage in agriculture on campus was a valuable experience for me. The project was made possible thanks to the support of our team members, Professor Fujinuma, university affiliates, and members of the local community.

Related Links
Wabisabi Wasabi 　@wabisabi_wasabi_icu
"ICU Mitaka Campus Woodland" @icunomori
Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Office： "Shoku-Mirai" Awards "Raising Awareness of Mitaka Osawa Wasabi Conservation Activities" Wabisabi Wasabi (Japanese Only)