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The Ohba Seminar at Hachioji Campusconducted research on fair trade as part of its Global Studies Seminar

On October 26 (Sat.) and 27 (Sun.), 2024, the 58th Teikyo University Seisha Festival was held at Teikyo University Hachioji Campus, and our university Faculty of Languages and Cultures Department of Foreign Languages Associate Professor seminar of Mayo Ohba conducted a fair trade coffee sale and fundraising activities as a practical activity of the Global Studies Seminar. The seminar also participated in the "Hachioji Kitaguchi Marche," a stall event held at the Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe (Hachioji City, Tokyo) on Sunday, December 15 of the same year, and conducted similar activities.

In Associate Associate Professor 's Global Studies Seminar, students are studying the connections between Japan and countries in the Global South from a variety of perspectives, in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Following on from last year, this year too, students focused on fair trade, learning about the outline of fair trade in the first semester, and in the second semester, in order to put what they learned into practice, they participated in the university's Seisha Festival and a stall event at Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe, where customers were asked to set a price for fair trade coffee, with all proceeds donated. This activity was made possible with the support of Daiohs Japan Co., Ltd. and Kobe Coffee Co., Ltd.
Fairtrade products are sold at a price commensurate with the labor of local producers, resulting in higher sales prices, and awareness of fair trade products in Japan is still low. Following on from last year, this year's initiative, which aims to raise awareness of the current situation in developing countries and connections with them through fairtrade coffee, provides an opportunity for not only students but also buyers to consider their connections with developing countries in their daily lives. After receiving an explanation, buyers decide on their own payment amount, but this year we also introduced an initiative where buyers can choose which organization they would like to donate their payment to. Given the Noto Peninsula earthquake and subsequent heavy rain disaster at the beginning of 2024, donations were made to three organizations, both domestic and international: Noto Peninsula Relief Fund, Japanese Red Cross Fund, and Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's UNICEF Fund.

On the first day of the university festival, our university's Chairman and President, Yoshihito Okinaga, stopped by to inspect the event and purchased some fair trade coffee after listening to an explanation from students. The fair trade coffee was also sold to people of all ages who supported the initiative at the Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe event that followed. Proceeds from the two events totaled 135,896 yen, of which 91,425 yen was donated to the Noto Peninsula Relief Fund, 23,135 yen to the Japanese Red Cross, and 21,336 yen to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's UNICEF Fund.
Reflecting on the project, students shared their thoughts, saying, "The idea that 100% of the purchase price would be donated was well-received, and we had many more visitors than we expected." "Customers who were interested in the idea of contributing to developing countries by purchasing fair trade coffee expressed a desire to actually purchase fair trade products in their daily lives." "It was a valuable experience that allowed us to think about and learn about fair trade." "The activities at Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe were different from those at the university festival in terms of age, scale, and the level of explanation required, so it was very educational." Associate Associate Professor commented, "One customer who purchased coffee said, 'This kind of activity by young people is a source of hope and encouragement for society,' which was very encouraging for our students. I'm pleased to have been able to share with the students the importance of Practical learning, including hands-on learning, rather than just classroom learning." These activities are based on our university's Educational Philosophy of "“One’s way”" and specific Educational Guidelines of "Practical learning, International perspectives, and Open mindedness," and contribute to the creation of a sustainable, inclusive society through practice. Teikyo University will continue to support students' research activities, including those related to the SDGs.

Project Members

Shien Aisaka, Seiko Shinohara, Ayumu Honma, Mizuki Meguro, Rio Yasukawa, Nana Yasutake (4th year students, Faculty of Languages and Cultures)
Ryunosuke Aoyama, Keita Oyama, Tsubasa Ogata, Hiroha Senuma, Anri Takashima, Kento Senda, Yutaro Tominaga, Bunta Fujimoto, Ayumu Mori, Kasumi Moriya (3rd year Faculty of Languages and Cultures)

For more information on Faculty of Languages and Cultures, click here
For more information on Teikyo University's SDGs initiatives, click here
For more information on Kobe Coffee Story's SDGs initiatives, click here
Click here for more information on Daiohs Japan's SDGs initiatives

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