About JVC
The Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC*) is an international NGO established in 1980. It originally consisted of Japanese volunteers who rushed to Thailand to save displaced people in Indochina. Later activities were focused on a variety of areas including rural development, forest conservation, post-conflict reconstruction, peacebuilding, medical care, disaster relief, and advocacy. We have accumulated much experience in supporting people in more than 20 countries. We implement activities meeting local needs and situations with an eye toward the futures of people and the communities they live in. JVC aims to build peaceful and self-sustainable societies, and we are currently active in Laos, Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, Korea (DPRK), and Japan.
[*The abbreviation “JVC” comes from our original name, Japanese Volunteer Center. Although our name was changed to Japan International Volunteer Center in 1983, the well-known JVC was left as it is.]
Finance
In the 2023 fiscal year, the JVC operated on a budget of approximately 267 million yen. The graphic below provides a breakdown of the budget for the 2023 fiscal year.
(Fiscal Year 2023 Finance Report: PDF)
Staff
25 (12 domestic and 13 on-site staff members)
[As of February 2025]
 President: KUMAOKA Michiya |
 Secretary General: OMURA Mariko (OMURA interview: blog article) |
Offices: Tokyo, Laos, Palestine, Sudan
Board of Directors
KUMAOKA Michiya (JVC President)
UCHIDA Shoko (JVC Vice President)
OMURA Mariko (JVC Secretary General)
FUJIYA Rika (Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, Keio University)
HIGASHI Satomi (Saitama University Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences)
KIM Kyungmook (Institute of Korean Studies, Comprehensive Research Organization, Waseda University)
NOGAWA Mio (Alternative People’s Linkage in Asia (APLA))
ONO Takehiro (Hokkaido University of Education)
TAKASHIMA Tetsuo
[As of February 2025]
Auditors
NAKAYAMA Masayuki (Professor, Kokushikan University)
TAKEMURA Kenichi
[As of February 2025]
Advisors
Inez M. BASKERVILLE (JVC Benefit Concert Founder)
TAKAHASHI Kiyotaka (Professor, Keisen University)
TANIYAMA Hiroshi (Former President of JVC 2006-2018, Former President of Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC))
[As of February 2025]
Awards
1988 The Tokyo Bar Association Prize for Human Rights
1989 Asahi Welfare Prize
1992 Mainichi International Exchange Awards
1995 Prime Minister’s Awards
2015 Peace Studies Association of Japan Prize for Peace
2018 2018 Okinawa Peace Prize
