September 2026 Updates and Activity Report

Thank you as always for supporting Waffle’s activities.

In August, our new program “Waffle AI Changemaker” launched in locations across the country, where female middle and high school students took on the challenge of developing products that combine AI with local industry. We also held the Empower Next Program intensive camp, where university and middle/high school students went all the way to releasing an app in just three days.

In this issue, along with our August activity report, we are sharing registration information for the “Waffle AI Leadership Program,” which begins in October. We hope you will read to the end, and share it with those around you.

Waffle AI Changemaker Held Nationwide — Female Middle and High School Students Take On AI and Local Industry

Waffle’s new program “Waffle AI Changemaker,” which launched this summer, is now being held in locations across the country. In August, we held sessions in three places: the Kami-Ina region (Nagano Prefecture), Fukui Prefecture, and Nagasaki City (Nagasaki Prefecture).

Kami-Ina Region, Nagano Prefecture (August 2)

Students across a wide range of grades, from first-year middle schoolers to third-year high schoolers, took part. Employees of local companies TAKANO CO., LTD. and YAMAURA CORPORATION also gave talks. One team, which had assumed that manufacturing must be a difficult industry for women to work in, changed their view after hearing directly from people working at local companies, and developed “Work Palette,” a site where women can share their own voices. By the end of the session, every participant had raised their score for “I am considering going into the technology field.”

Fukui Prefecture (August 6)

Held as the “Fukui Girls Future Tech Leader Program,” this session brought together 43 female high school students from 11 schools across the prefecture. In roughly half a day, 11 teams produced 11 apps. The projects took a fresh look at local industry, including a site connecting the region’s textile producers with next-generation designers and an experience-travel site touring Echizen washi paper and Echizen lacquerware workshops.

In the post-event survey, participants’ sense that “I think I could do this myself” rose from an average of 2.44 to 4.12. All 28 participants who had answered “I don’t think I could” beforehand raised their score, and the number who answered “I am considering going into the technology field” grew from 8 to 25.

Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture (August 19)

This session was co-hosted with MetLife Insurance K.K. and the City of Nagasaki. Students discussed challenges facing Nagasaki, such as how to preserve the testimony of atomic bomb survivors, and took on the challenge of developing apps that help address them using AI. One participant shared, “I realized that as long as you have the desire to create something, what you can do is limitless.” Our heartfelt thanks to all the local governments, companies, and schools that made these sessions possible.

Sessions were also held in September in Yonezawa City (Yamagata Prefecture) and Obihiro City (Hokkaido).

Empower Next Program Camp Report — Building a Prototype in Three Days and Pitching to Investors

From Friday, August 7th to Sunday, August 9th, we held a three-day, two-night intensive camp for the Waffle Empower Next Program in Tokyo. About 20 students, from middle schoolers to university students who want to take on entrepreneurship, gathered together.

Rather than only hearing from entrepreneurs and giving pitches, participants made full use of AI to build complete prototypes within the three days. They developed from morning to night, had real people use their products, took the feedback, and revised again. Then they prepared their pitch materials. It was a remarkably intense three days.

Our speaker on the first day was serial entrepreneur Yuka Kojima, who spoke candidly about her experience founding a VR company overseas. The final day brought the participants’ first-ever VC pitch, with Xia Ye, Principal at MPower Partners, and Huang Xinyue of DIMENSION joining us.

“It’s amazing that you built a prototype in three days!” “Aren’t you already entrepreneurs?” As comments like these came in, we could see the participants’ expressions change. One participant shared, “Starting a company was never an option in my mind before, but I’m beginning to think it might be a good one.”

A final demo day is planned in Tokyo in December. We hope you will look forward to it.

Kumiko Morita, Director of Waffle, Speaks at the Science Council of Japan Tohoku Regional Meeting Public Lecture

Kumiko Morita, Director of Waffle, spoke at the Science Council of Japan Tohoku Regional Meeting public lecture, “The Future of Work and Regional Careers: Living, Working, and Creating in the Regions in the Age of AI” (venue: Link Station Hall Aomori).

Morita spoke on the theme of “Girls × Technology: Changing the Future of the Regions.” She described the “leaky pipeline” structure in which the number of women pursuing science and engineering declines at each stage, the differences in STEM pathway choices even within the Tohoku region itself, and the need to engage a wide range of stakeholders, including through policy proposals.

Especially memorable was the panel discussion, which included students from Aomori University. “A small population is a possibility, because the barrier to entry is low.” “I wasn’t able to do things like speaking on stage from the very beginning. Please support young people who are willing to take on a challenge.” It was a session that left everyone feeling ready to move forward positively.

Our sincere thanks to everyone at the Science Council of Japan Tohoku Regional Meeting for the invitation, to co-hosts Aomori University and Tohoku University, and to everyone who attended.

Waffle Club August Report — “Do Conditions Change the Harvest? Aim for the Biggest Harvest — Let’s Build a Farming Game App!”

Sunday, August 23rd brought the second installment of our special summer vacation series, themed “An experience that widens your options this summer!” This time the keywords were “agriculture × tech × international cooperation.” After a career talk from current university student Kisshi, participants took on the challenge of building a harvest game app that factored in elements such as weather and fertilizer.

Interests that look unrelated at first glance, such as agriculture, technology, and international cooperation, in fact connect into “a path that engages with the world.” Kisshi spoke about her own journey, including her experience of struggling with her own choices.

Participants shared comments such as, “What stayed with me most was the sense of achievement when the program I typed appeared on the screen,” and “The mentors taught us so attentively, and it was really reassuring!” Others said, “She spoke from her own real experience to people who are actually struggling with their path, and it was very helpful,” and “Being unsure is never a bad thing. I want to think it through thoroughly so I can make the choice that suits me.”

The theme of “a path that engages with the world, opening up beyond what you are interested in” seems to have offered a significant clue to middle and high school students who are unsure about their own direction.

Announcements

[Now Recruiting Participants] Waffle AI Leadership Program

Over four months, from late October 2026 through January 2027, female and non-binary university and graduate students will identify a problem they want to solve, build it into an app, and release it to the world.

“I’m interested in AI, but I don’t feel like I can really use it.” “I want to build something, but I have no programming experience.” “I can’t imagine myself having leadership yet.” This is the program we most want to reach students who feel this way.

Leadership is not a personality you are born with. Offering an opinion, making a decision, dividing up roles, bringing others on board — these are things you can only acquire by actually doing them. These four months will be a time for practicing leadership while building an app. This program is made possible through the support of Kyndryl Japan. In addition to providing the venue, their employees will accompany participants as mentors throughout the four months.

Program Overview

Period: Late October 2026 – January 2027 (four months)

Eligible participants: Female and non-binary university and graduate students (no programming experience required)

Format: Hybrid, online and in person (travel subsidies available for some sessions)

Fee: Free

Application deadline: Monday, October 12, 2026

Online Information Sessions (45 minutes each, 7:00 PM–7:45 PM)

Thursday, September 24 / Thursday, October 1 / Wednesday, October 7

Cameras off and audio-only participation are both welcome. You may also apply directly without attending an information session.

Details and registration available here.

[Scheduled for October] Workshop: “Frames and Decorations, All Your Own! Let’s Build a Photo Booth–Style Photo Editing App Just the Way You Like It!”

October’s Waffle Club is the workshop “Frames and Decorations, All Your Own! Let’s Build a Photo Booth–Style Photo Editing App Just the Way You Like It!”

Following a worked example, participants will program an app that lets you upload a photo and decorate it just the way you like with frames, stamps, and a freehand pen. Women mentors work alongside participants throughout, so it’s fine even if it’s your first time. Once the basics are complete, you can choose a beginner, intermediate, or advanced variation and finish with an app that is one of a kind.

Date & Time: Sunday, October 25, 2026, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

Format: Online (Zoom)

Eligible participants: Female and non-binary middle and high school students

Fee: Free

Application deadline: Sunday, October 11

Details and registration available here.

Request for Donations and Support Toward Certified NPO Status

Every program introduced in this newsletter — AI Changemaker, Waffle Club, and Technovation Girls — is free to participate in. This is so that opportunities reach students wherever they live and whatever their financial circumstances. What makes this possible is your donations.

Waffle is currently working toward obtaining “Certified NPO” status. To obtain certification, we need to meet the requirement of receiving donations of 3,000 yen or more from at least 100 people per year, which also serves as an indicator that Waffle is an organization supported by the public. Achieving this certification will make donations tax-deductible, making it easier for more people to support our activities.

3,000 yen is enough to deliver programming materials to one middle or high school student. Would you join us in creating the moment when someone who thought “technology has nothing to do with me” realizes “maybe I could do this too”?

Details on donations and support available here.

Introducing the Volunteers Who Support Waffle — Alumni Mentors Active at AI Changemaker

Waffle’s activities are made possible through the support of many people. At the AI Changemaker sessions held across the country this summer, many university students who once took part in Waffle programs themselves, including Waffle College graduates, have joined us as instructors and mentors.

The “I did it!” experience they felt in the program, they are now delivering to those coming after them. Being close in age lets them stay near each participant, offering encouragement like “I was just like this at first, too,” and supporting each individual’s challenge.

We can feel that Waffle’s community, passed down from one cohort to the next, is steadily growing. To everyone taking part as a mentor: thank you so much!

Message from a Waffle Member

Kayo Sasaki, Manager of Waffle

Thank you always for supporting Waffle’s activities. This summer, I personally devoted a great deal of energy to “AI Changemaker,” which we have been holding all over the country. It is a program where participants learn about the industries, resources, and challenges of their own region, consider how they themselves could change things, and use AI to give their ideas shape as an app. The ideas that came from participants were truly wide-ranging, and many of them were things we adults would never have thought of. I was deeply moved.

Watching them, I was reminded once again that technology is not “only for people who already know about it,” but a tool for giving shape to each person’s own interests and to whatever they wish could be better. Meanwhile, this summer’s Waffle Club welcomed a record 35 middle and high school students. Participants gathered from all over the country, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and we were able to create an entry point where they could feel “maybe I could do this too.”

A small realization at Waffle Club goes on to become the ability to connect what you love and the challenges of your region with technology. Spending this summer with participants across the country at AI Changemaker has brought that connection home to me once again.

We have another Waffle Club planned for October. If you know any female or non-binary middle or high school students, we would be delighted if you would let them know. Thank you for your continued support of Waffle.