Waffle July 2026 Update
Thank you as always for supporting Waffle’s activities.
On Saturday, June 20th, we held the Technovation Girls 2026 Japan Official Pitch Event. Marking the 10th anniversary of the program’s arrival in Japan, elementary, middle, and high school students from across the country confidently presented the culmination of six months of hard work. The venue was filled with excitement as participants seriously tackled social issues and shaped solutions using technology. It was also a month full of activities both in Japan and abroad, including a collaborative booth with KPMG Japan at Tokyo Pride 2026 under the theme “A Society Transformed by AI, Together with Everyone,” and visits to partner companies in New York.
A 10-Year Culmination! Technovation Girls 2026 Japan Official Pitch Event
On Saturday, June 20th, we held the Technovation Girls 2026 Japan Official Pitch Event in Tokyo. In this milestone year marking the 10th anniversary of the program’s launch in Japan, 408 participants from 78 teams across all 47 prefectures took part. At the final stage, 11 selected teams presented their apps and business plans before the judges.
This year, AI utilization and ethical considerations were newly added as judging criteria, resulting in content with even greater depth than in previous years, testing both technical skill and ethical thinking. Past mentors and award winners also took the stage to look back on the program’s 10-year journey and share messages of hope for the next decade.
Award-Winning Teams
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award | Team “FKA” Two apps combining “Bird Counter,” which automates bird observation using AI for wetland conservation, and “Bird Quest,” a game-style collection app for young people
MetLife Foundation Award | Team “ring☀️The Zero-UI Smart Nurse Call” “ring,” a zero-UI nurse call system that lets users call for help using only their gaze
Lenovo Award | Team “FKA”
NTT Group Award | Team “Heart💕Link” “nookut,” an app that helps elementary and middle school students with autism spectrum traits learn communication skills
Salesforce Award | Team “Little Care” “Star Connect,” an app that eases the loneliness of children undergoing long-term medical care
Japan Research Institute Award | Team “Chiimu Seikai” “Yuki-Akari,” a safe-walking support app for visually impaired people in heavy snowfall regions
Unity Award | Team “Sun Lab.” “Sun Voice,” a participatory app that lets young people think about politics safely and easily
In her closing remarks, Sayaka Tanaka, CEO of Waffle, said, “When given the opportunity, middle and high school students truly create wonderful ideas. Waffle began from a question I felt 10 years ago, and there is still so much for us to do.”
In addition, the results of the World Summit were announced last week by the U.S. headquarters, and a record three teams from Japan were selected. “infiniti girls” was chosen as an Elementary Division Finalist for the second year in a row, and both “FKA” and “Little Care” were named Regional Honorees (Asia). Finalist team infiniti girls will compete at the “World Summit” in Bengaluru, India, this October. This marks the third consecutive year a Japanese team has been selected as a finalist, and infiniti girls’ two consecutive selections are the first such achievement by a Japanese team.
A Concentrated Hour of Learnings from Boston: Exploring “Leadership That Is True to Myself”
On Thursday, June 11th, Kumiko Morita, Director of Waffle, hosted an online event titled “Authentic Women Leadership — From Boston: What Does Leadership True to Myself Look Like Through My Own Filter?”
During May, Morita took part in the JWLI Fellowship, a leadership training program for women leaders held in Boston. This event shared what she learned at Babson College immediately after returning to Japan. She introduced practical frameworks that can be tried starting the next day, including resilient leadership, measuring EQ (emotional intelligence), and exploring one’s own authentic leadership through an “Authentic Filter.” Participants shared comments such as, “Rather than imposing knowledge, it felt like being encouraged to move forward,” “I was able to understand the necessary skills and mindset in a structured way, down to concrete actions for growth,” and “It gave me a chance to reconsider my own strengths and identity.”
“A Society Transformed by AI, Together with Everyone” — A Month of Pride with KPMG Japan
Every June marks the global observance of Pride Month. Waffle partnered with KPMG Japan on a variety of initiatives throughout the month.
On Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th, we set up a collaborative booth at Tokyo Pride 2026 Pride Parade & Festival held in Yoyogi Park. Under the theme “Toward a future where AI-driven change is something everyone builds together,” visitors enjoyed quiz-style content designed to teach diversity and inclusion in the age of AI in a fun way. We also joined the Pride Parade itself, walking together in celebration of the diversity of gender and life.
Furthermore, on Tuesday, June 23rd, we spoke at KPMG Japan’s Pride Month seminar. Director Kumiko Morita spoke on the theme of “AI and Diversity,” and Kensaku Tsujita, PR of Waffle, spoke on “Pride and Social Change.” Their message — that “AI is not ‘neutral’; it learns the biases that exist in society” and “who creates technology shapes what kind of society we live in” — drew reactions such as, “I was surprised to learn that AI can have biases too.”
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone at KPMG Japan for a wonderful month together.
Visiting MetLife Foundation and Kyndryl Headquarters in New York
In June, Waffle visited MetLife Foundation and Kyndryl in New York, both long-standing supporters of our work.
During the visit to MetLife Foundation, we shared how our activities have expanded to all 47 prefectures across Japan and discussed our support for participants living in rural areas, as well as the skills and leadership that the next generation will need in the age of AI.
At Kyndryl’s headquarters, we exchanged views with the Social Impact team and the Kyndryl Foundation on closing the gender gap in the technology field and on talent development. We also shared examples of program graduates who chose careers in IT as a result of the program and are now thriving at technology companies, reflecting the results of two years of collaboration.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Tia Hodges of MetLife Foundation, and Pam Hacker and Monoswita Saha of Kyndryl, for their warm welcome.
Details of the visit available here.
Announcements
[Happening July 26th] Waffle Club: Hear from a QA Engineer and Build a Diagnostic App!
On Sunday, July 26th, we will hold the 14th Waffle Club online. This session features a two-part program: a career talk with a female QA engineer at Cybozu, and the creation of a diagnostic app.
Following a career talk titled “How I Encountered Technology as Someone Who Loves Making Things,” participants will work with a female mentor to create a diagnostic app that gives results based on quiz answers — for example, “What home appliance are you?” or “What ice cream flavor are you?” — with room for your own customization. Participants will also get to experience checking the finished app from a QA engineer’s perspective. No programming experience required!
Event Details
Date & Time: Sunday, July 26, 2026, 10:00 AM–12:30 PM
Format: Online
Eligible participants: Female and non-binary middle and high school students
Fee: Free
Application deadline: Saturday, July 12
Introducing the Volunteers Who Support Waffle
Waffle’s activities are made possible through the support of many people.
For Technovation Girls 2026, employees from companies including the NTT Group, Morgan Stanley, Amazon Web Services Japan, MetLife, Microsoft Japan, Deloitte Tohmatsu Group, and Salesforce Japan served as technical and business mentors, supporting teams throughout the six-month program. They stood by participants whenever they faced technical challenges in app development or struggled with their business plans, supporting their challenge all the way to the end.
At the pitch event on June 20th, certificates of appreciation were presented to the mentors who provided support over the six-month period. The mentors dedicated a combined total of over 322 hours to supporting teams this year. We are deeply grateful for their passionate dedication to supporting students and their tremendous cooperation. Thank you so much.
Message from a Waffle Member
Maiko Kose, Technovation Girls Manager of Waffle
Thank you always for your support of Waffle’s activities. On June 20th, we successfully completed the Technovation Girls 2026 Japan Official Pitch Event.
Ten years ago, when this program first arrived in Japan, only a handful of participants took part. This year, 408 participants gathered from all 47 prefectures nationwide. Nearly half of them were either returning “revenge” participants from last year, or students who had taken part in some other Waffle program and were inspired to challenge themselves with Technovation Girls as a result — participants with continuous motivation. Amid the challenges of choosing a path forward and busy school lives, I once again realized that our mission at Waffle is to remain a supportive community for participants who keep their passion for technology alive and continue to challenge themselves to grow further.
And recently, the World Summit results were announced. A record three teams from Japan were selected, and every one of them is a team that has continued to challenge itself over several years. It has also been reported by the U.S. headquarters that, globally, it is the continuous challengers who achieve results. In 2027, Technovation Girls will enter its 11th year, and “continuity” is becoming the keyword for this next phase. To all the mentors and sponsor companies who supported us this year and over the past decade, and to everyone who cheers us on — thank you so much.
We would be truly grateful for your continued support going forward. Thank you.
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